Updated as of September 2019

Ah, The Big Easy. When Dave & I first went there in 2014, we fell in love and have been back two more times since. We plan to go back early 2020 also, so we will refresh this list soon after! The flavors and food in New Orleans is not like any other – it is truly a special place. I’ve sought out charbroiled oysters in NYC but they’re never the same. So here are our all-time favorites to eat in New Orleans:

Creole Restaurants: K Paul's Restaurant, Cochon, Commander's Palace
 Oysters: Desire Oyster Bar, Felix's
 Po'Boy Sandwich: Verti Marte, NOLA PoBoys
 Fried Chicken: Willie Mae's Scotch House
 Beignets: Cafe du Monde
 Brunch: Surrey's Cafe and Juice Bar, Brennan's
 Muffuletta: Center Grocery
 Drinks: 21st amendment, French75, Big Easy Daiquiris

Creole Cuisine

1. K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen (416 Chartres Street, New Orleans, LA 70130)
If you come to K-Paul’s, you can tick off a lot of checkboxes of traditional Creole food: blackened meat, debris gravy, classic shrimp etouffée… you really can’t go wrong here. Chef Paul Prodhomme is credited for popularizing the “blackening” technique: dipping meat into melted butter, sprinkling on a spice mix, then cooked in a very hot cast iron skillet, resulting in a brown-black color, which does not taste bitter or burnt. The Blackened Twin Beef Tenders with Debris main dish was outstanding- very tender beef tenderloins cooked perfectly, and the debris gravy was so flavorful. We also had the Shrimp Etouffée (smothered shrimp), where you can taste the many deep layers of the sauce.

2. Cochon (930 TCHOUPITOULAS)
Cochon’s menu has more of a modern feel, but still with all of the traditional cajun flavors. They use locally sourced pork and fresh produce. My favorite dishes were the wood fired oysters with chili- garlic butter, and the pork cheek.

3. Commander’s Palace(1403 Washington Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130)
No trip to New Orleans is complete without visiting Commander’s Palace – it might be one of my favorite restaurants in the world-impeccable service, gorgeous ambiance, plus amazing food. You truly feel special. As soon as you know you will be going, make reservations, stat! The 7 course tasting menu changes each time I go but some of the best things I’ve eaten there were: the lobster bisque (the server claims that lobster shells were pureed to intensify the flavor), the skate wing (tasted like scallop), tender beef with a foie gras sauce, oyster risotto, andouille quail… just to name a few.

Oysters

1. Desire Oyster Bar (located in the Royal Sonesta Hotel, 300 Bourbon Street)
When I noticed the glaring, loud Desire Oyster Bar sign on Bourbon street, it turned me off from wanting to try this place (plus, it was a hotel restaurant, which I try not to go to normally). But this place is legit for charbroiled oysters- and I’ve tried many while in the Big Easy. We ended up trying it because our friends who we traveled with in 2018 were staying in the Royal Sonesta. Boy were we glad we had the opportunity to try these outstanding bivalves. Chargrilled, raw, and even in a po boy, these oyseters were big and juicy. I could eat this all day.

2. Felix’s Restaurant and Oyster Bar (739 Iberville St, New Orleans, LA)
You can’t go wrong with the classic char grilled oysters at Felix’s. Its the perfect pre-dinner snack. They make a mean oyster bloody mary too.

Po’ Boy Sandwiches

1.Verti Marte (1201 Royal St)
Get the All that Jazz & the Oyster Po Boy here. Its open 24 hours a day but this is more of a deli and not a sit down place.

2.NOLA Po’Boys (908 Bourbon St)
The Da Yat Oyster Po Boy has fried oysters with seafood gumbo slathered on- out of this world!

Fried Chicken

Willie Mae’s Scotch House (2401 St. Ann Street • New Orleans, LA 70119)
Few will argue that you will find a better fried chicken than at Willie Mae’s! This was my first brush with real Southern fried chicken and it won’t be my last.

Beignets

Cafe du Monde (800 Decatur Street)
You simply cannot leave New Orleans without trying the iconic beignet at Cafe du Monde. Go right to the take out stand in the back to get an order of the beignets, which are deep-fried choux pastry, a bit like a fritter or doughnut. The chicory coffee doesn’t rock my world but if you haven’t had it before, its worth trying. These are so addictive!

Brunch

1.Surrey’s Cafe and Juice Bar (1418 Magazine St)
There will probably be a wait for brunch here but it’s well worth it. We tried the boudin sausage breakfast biscuit (the side of grits were yummy also) and the Banana Foster’s French Toast.

2.Brennan’s (417 Royal Street)
Brennan’s is where I tried Eggs Sardou for the first time (it was actually invented in Antoine’s, also in the French Quarter), and boy is it delicious. Slightly different from eggs benedict, poached eggs top creamed spinach and artichoke hearts. Hollandaise sauce is still drizzled on the top.

Muffuletta

Central Grocery & Deli (923 Decatur St. New Orleans, LA 70116)
The original Muffuletta was born in this old style Italian market. This is a pretty huge sandwich, filled with delicious Italian meats- salami, mortadella, ham, mozzarella, provolone; and their signature olive salad and giardinera (I don’t even like olives normally).

Drinks

1. 21st Amendment (725 Iberville St, New Orleans, LA 70130)
We always end up back in this bar everytime we visit New Orleans. There’s live jazz and drinks are well made and presented.

2.French 75 (813 Rue Bienville)
Another bar we love to frequent. Intimate and classy, perfect for a pre-dinner drink.

3.Big Easy Daiquiris (409 Decatur St)
It’s not difficult to find Jello shots on Bourbon street, but we love this place because they serve it up like an actual shot that you “inject” in your mouth. Party on!