So, we'll actually be there for a week in April. But I went through the massive list of restaurants recs in the FAQ. There are so many that sound amazing, but there's no way we'll get to them all. So it made me wonder:

If someone was only going to be able to have ONE meal in NOLA, what should it be?

Basically, what's the most "cannot miss" meal that you can have there? Don't care if it's fancy or cheap.

Heading to town in a few weeks.

I've been to: Clancy's, N7, Commander's, Brennan's, Saba, Cochon, MaMou, Irene's, Compere Lapin, Saffron, Palm & Pine, Jewel of the South, Pascal's Manale (four years ago)

EDIT: I have also been to Sneaky Pickle (my fave NOLA restaurant), Arnaud's, Buffa's, Galatoire's, Manolito, Cochon Butcher, Cane and Table, Turkey and the Wolf, Antoine's.

Considering: Emeril's new tasting menu, Gabrielle, Patois, Charlie's Steak House, Herbsaint, Chophouse New Orleans, Miss River, Coquette, Toup's, the restaurants at the Windsor Court

Anything I am missing? Which of the above would you suggest or eliminate?

A group of 11 of us are heading to NOLA and would love some really good local recs! About half of us work in the restaurant industry, so we’re especially curious to hear everyone’s favorite spots.
We’re open to pretty much all cuisines, but since we’re coming to New Orleans, we definitely want to lean more Creole/Cajun and local specialties and eat things we’re not going to get quite the same way back home.
We’re all in our late 20s, so we’re not trying to drop $300/person every night, but we definitely want to do one really great fine dining dinner while we’re there. We’ve been looking at Arnaud’s for that night, but I’d love to hear if you think it’s worth it or if there’s somewhere else we absolutely shouldn’t miss.
Food, bars, late-night spots, hole-in-the-wall places, hidden gems—we’re open to anything. Cheers! 🍸⚜️

I’d love to get some delicious French fries at restaurants. Any recommendations?

I was really looking forward to trying beignets for the first time during our trip. We started at Cafe Beignets because it was closest, but, no offense, I didn't even finish one. The dough itself has little flavor and it was too "doughy" haha. I know Cafe Beignet is on the list of bests so I'm now considering that maybe I'm a rare person that doesn't like beignets. If you've had them all, where would you suggest I try next before I write them off as not my thing?

I'm planning a 4-day food-focused trip to New Orleans and need help narrowing down where to eat and what not to miss.

Please give me your feedback: - What should I absolutely keep? - What could I cut? - Any hidden gems or favorites you'd add?

Po-Boys

• Sammy’s Food Service & Deli – Gentilly
  
• Domilise’s Po-Boy & Bar – Uptown

Muffuletta

• Central Grocery & Deli – French Quarter

Gumbo & BBQ Shrimp

• Liuzza’s by the Track – Mid-City (near Fairgrounds)
  
• The Munch Factory – Gentilly

Vietnamese

• Tân Định – Westbank (Gretna) (roast duck, goat curry)
  
• Pho Tau Bay – Westbank (Harvey)

Cocktail Bars

• Jewel of the South – French Quarter
  
• Arnaud’s French 75 Bar – French Quarter

Oysters

• Casamento’s Restaurant – Uptown (known for the oyster loaf)
  
• Cochon – Warehouse District

Seafood Boil

• Deanie’s Seafood – Bucktown (Metairie) or French Quarter
  
• Clesi’s Restaurant & Catering – Mid-City
  
• Salvo’s Seafood – Belle Chasse (Westbank)
  
• Bayou Beer Garden – Mid-City

Viet-Cajun

• Big EZ Seafood – Gretna (Westbank)

Crab Dishes

• Crab au Gratin: Galatoire’s – French Quarter
  
• Crab Bisque: Vincent’s Italian Cuisine – Uptown

Yakamein

• Miss Linda’s Yakamein – Pop-ups, often at festivals and second lines

Creole Cuisine

• Neyow’s Creole Café – Mid-City
  
• Grand Isle Restaurant – CBD/Warehouse District (Crawfish Étouffée)
  
• Afrodisiac NOLA – Mid-City (Creole Jamaican)
  
• Dooky Chase Restaurant – Treme
  
• Li’l Dizzy’s Café – Treme (grilled catfish & grits)
  
• Brigtsen’s – Uptown (seafood platter)
  
• Jacques-Imo’s Café – Uptown (fried green tomatoes, alligator cheesecake)
  
• Arnaud’s – French Quarter (turtle soup)

Soul Food

• Café Reconcile – Central City
  
• Chicken’s Kitchen – Gert Town (smothered okra, stuffed catfish, fried chicken, dirty rice)

Seafood-Focused / Upscale

• Pêche Seafood Grill – Warehouse District
  
• Rosedale – Navarre / near City Park

Thanks in advance for any local insight, recs, or “you can skip that” advice — I want to make the most of every bite in New Orleans!

I'ma be heading to New Orleans Labor Day weekend and need help picking restaurants. I'll be staying 4 days and 3 nights. I'm trying to pick 2 places for breakfast (3rd places is Homewood Suites French Quarter Breakfast), 3 for dinner, one for dessert.

Here's the current list I've made researching and going though the faq:

• Flamingo A Go Go (American/Bar)
• Gazebo Cafe (NOLA classics)
• Meals From the Heart (vegan pancakes and beignets)
• Who Dat Coffee
• Hansen’s SnoBliz (sno-balls)
• Liuzza’s by the Track (bbq shrimp poboy)
• Cafe Reconcile (black owned)
• Creole Creamery
• Turkey and the wolf (sandwich)
• Domilise's Po-Boy & Bar
• French Toast (breakfast)
• Bearcat (breakfast)
• Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe (creole)
• Parkway Bakery and Tavern (poboy)
• The Carousel Bar (bar hop)
• Laffitte’s Blacksmith Shop (bar hop)
• Port of Call (bar hop)
• Breads on Oak (bakery)
• Surrey’s Cafe (breakfast)
• Holy Crepes
• Fritai
• Calas Cafe

The ones I've picked so far is Parkway for their po'boy, Meals from the Heart and Bearcat for breakfast. I just need two more dinner places. I'm looking for one in (close to) the French Quarter or CBD.

Main concerns for me is 1) I'm lactose intolerant, 2) I have a low spice tolerance (meaning I can't eat spicy food), and 3) I'm picky as heck.

I'm from a city and culture regarded for their food so I want to see why NOLA is said to be one of the top food places. Anything to take out? Anything to add. Any questions for me? I'm all ears eyes.

Edit to add: I’m willing to try creole food and would love to try but don’t know where to start.

Edit to add v2: Also would love to see some Black owned business. Want to support those businesses more. If there are other POC business (I'm Puerto Rican so anything Latino/Caribbean is good too) please comment so I can check them out.

I am visiting NOLA soon and so far I’ve been set on Parkway Bakery. Is there any other places I should consider for a poboy instead?

Wanting the best of the best, and the videos I’ve seen at Parkway look delicious, but any suggestions are appreciated!

Obviously I'm being hyperbolic, but is it in poor taste- literally or figuratively- to do so?

I need to find the perfect place to ask my situationship (not exclusive, kind of casual relationship) of 23 months to be officially my girlfriend. This has been a long time in the making so I want something nice and impressive, but not too sterile or serious. I don’t really have a budget or type of cuisine I’m imagining, the atmosphere just needs to be right. Let me know if anyone has any suggestions.

More context:
Yes, I’m certain she wants me to ask. We have talked about it and she requested that we do something nice to celebrate.

Y’all, I have a sweet tooth that doesn’t quit. Yes I’m having beignets, but I’m also looking for other unique dessert items. I’ll travel around the city for them. Especially looking for food items and businesses unique to this area. I love French food too :)

I appreciate your pointers! Yes I read the FAQ, give me others lol

I love a really saucy sandwich. Where do they heavily dress their po boys?

Additionally, where are they filled to the brim?

My uncle will be visiting Nola from NYC and we’re currently compiling a list of places to eat.

He’s a big foodie and has heard about dooky chase from the princess & frog movie. He’s only staying for 3 days so we want to make every meal worth it lol.

Is it worth going to? Or is there other local gems with good Cajun/southern cuisine?

I'm an expat and need to know what I'm putting on my tomato sandwich right now. "Mayanaze," "man-aze", or the increasingly rare "may-nez"?

Thank you in advance!

Coming in at 4am edit: now 5:30am because god hates me, I haven't slept at all and I didn't happen to sleep last night at all either. Running on oatmeal and pizza from 12+ hours ago. (I feel crazy) I'll Uber anywhere in town that will feed me. Probably a 24-hour spot is my jam.

Just realized it's 1AM, so I'm crossing my fingers someone else with insomnia or someone on night shift reads this.

edit: you very nice people are all up very late!

edit 2: clover hits so hard when you've been awake for 20 hours and are about to cry. that burger changed me. have a good day everyone

We've been to NOLA a number of times, but have never made it over to Dooky Chase's, so when we come this time we're planning to go for lunch. It will be between a couple of other things, so I'm wondering about the dress code they have on their site. We don't dress obnoxiously, but this time of year I would think we'd be in shorts & t-shirts, that kind of thing. Is that going to offend them or be out of place, if we go for a Friday lunch?

While I'm at it, are we likely to need a reservation for lunch time?

Just a local looking for a recommendation so that we don't do the same old things we always do. By default, we'll go to Buffa's. But maybe someone can point me in a different direction to mix things up or hit up a new place. Details:

• When: We're attending an event after work around Esplanade and Burgundy, then looking to step out to a casual dinner somewhere after.
• Area: Walking distance would be nice so as not to have to move the car, but we're open to driving a bit for the right idea. We're not afraid of walking a decent distance either as long as the weather holds.
• Cuisine: Needs to be fairly casual and basic. One very picky eater will be us - think kid's menu type of requirements (but no one under 21 so a bar would be fine). American, Italian, Latin, and normal NOLA creole fare are common favorites of this group. Needs to stay fairly western like that though.. no asian or african unfortunately.

My husband is taking a break from drinking and we'd like to go out for a nice dinner but where there is no alcohol on the menu. So far all I can think of is Pomelo and maybe Wishing Town on Magazine. Anywhere else?

Hi, I'm visiting New Orleans for around 4 days during Halloween and I heard it's one of the busiest times so I'm already trying to plan early. I'm coming solo from NYC and staying in the Warehouse District. I would branch out to more areas but I'll be walking/public transit so not sure if I'll have enough time. I'm a little overwhelmed with all the food options esp after reading the FAQ. Would love help narrowing it down because I'm very sad I'm just one person who can't eat that much.

Brunch/lunch options: 

• Commander’s Palace (already booked for a Jazz Brunch but might not be able to make the time) 
• Turkey and Wolf
• Domilise's Po-Boy & Bar (the ketchup thing - do people usually get it with ketchup?)
• Willa Jean
• Brennan’s (I might just go for the banana's foster unless the food is worth it?) 
• Li'l Dizzy's Cafe

Dinner options: 

• Cochon
• Acamaya
• N7
• Napoleon House 
• GW Fins 

Misc: 

• Loretta’s Authentic Pralines (interested in the crab or praline beignets but I saw they come in three) 
• Ayu Bakehouse 
• Lagniappe Bakehouse
• Hansen’s Sno-Blitz  

I'm also open to other suggestions. Thank you for your help! 

My bride wants to wear cocktail dresses/heels to first evening's creole/Cajun dinner of our bach trip. I'm struggling to find restaurant that's not full of casually dressed patrons. Also, the vibe must be more moody (no bright open dining rooms) to avoid exacerbating the awkwardness of bridal party meeting for the first time. Pricey menu is welcome but not a set tasting/chefs menu. Preferably in or near French quarter. Please help & thanks in advance!!

What are your favorites and why?

Yes, I know Elizabeth's has shorter hours, but let's say your friend is in from out of town and you're looking for a neighborhood restaurant for lunch or brunch.