What to Eat in New Orleans: The Spots Our Family Keeps Going Back To
New Orleans is the city we go back to more than anywhere else. My camera roll says 14 trips since 2021, and honestly half the photos from those trips are food, so I have opinions on what to eat in New Orleans. Some were date days, some were weekends with friends, and lately it’s the three of us with a diaper bag and a stroller.
It’s the city, the culture, the food, the charm… Everything about New Orleans is perfect. You can go there on a girls trip, a couples trip, or with your kids and find everything you need.
So here it is: what to eat in New Orleans, from a Louisiana mom who has done the beignets, the po’boys and the brunch more times than I can count. These are the spots we actually go to, plus the ones still on our list. 🤍
Planning the whole trip? Here’s our 3 day New Orleans itinerary and the places you have to see in New Orleans.
Where We Eat in New Orleans, at a Glance
All in one place, for your notes app, so you know exactly where to eat in New Orleans:
- Café Beignet, 334 Royal St, French Quarter: beignets and breakfast all day, inside and sit down.
- Café du Monde, 800 Decatur St, French Market: the beignet stand that’s been there since 1862.
- Molly’s Rise and Shine, 2368 Magazine St: breakfast sandwiches and biscuits from the Turkey and the Wolf crew.
- Willa Jean, 611 O’Keefe Ave, CBD: a bakery and brunch spot with the cookies you’ll think about later.
- Mother’s Restaurant, 401 Poydras St, CBD: po’boys and breakfast all day since 1938.
- Brennan’s, 417 Royal St, French Quarter: breakfast since 1946 and the home of Bananas Foster.
- Atchafalaya, 901 Louisiana Ave, Garden District: brunch with live music on Sundays.
- The Country Club, 634 Louisa St, Bywater: drag brunch every Saturday and Sunday.
- Turkey and the Wolf, 739 Jackson Ave, Irish Channel: the fried bologna sandwich.
- Joey K’s, 3001 Magazine St, Garden District: a Magazine Street lunch spot with big Louisiana plates.
- The Milk Bar, 710 S Carrollton Ave, Uptown: family run, hot sandwiches and milkshakes.
- Juan’s Flying Burrito, Mid-City (4724 S Carrollton Ave) and Oak Street (8140 Oak St): burritos, bowls and queso.
- Meril, 424 Girod St, Warehouse District: Emeril Lagasse’s small plates spot.
- Jack Rose, 2031 St Charles Ave, Garden District: dinner inside the Pontchartrain Hotel.
Food Tours and Things to Note
Things to Note:
- Check the day before you drive in. So many of these close one day a week. Turkey and the Wolf and Molly’s are closed Tuesdays, Joey K’s is closed Sundays, Atchafalaya is closed Tuesday and Wednesday and the Milk Bar is closed Sunday and Monday.
- Breakfast spots close early. Molly’s closes at 2, Willa Jean at 3 and Turkey and the Wolf at 4. Go in the morning and keep the afternoon for walking it off.
- No reservations at Molly’s. It’s walk in only, and Willa Jean runs a waitlist, so put your name in and wander.
- Bring wipes. Powdered sugar gets on EVERYTHING. Your shirt, the stroller, the baby. No shame in it okay?
Where to Stay in New Orleans
Staying the night? For a first trip, stay in the French Quarter so you can walk to everything. For something quieter, the Garden District puts the streetcar at your door and the Marigny puts you a short walk from Frenchmen Street. Here’s the map plus our top 3.
In a Rush? Here Are Our Top 3 Hotels in New Orleans
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Hotel Monteleone: Right in the French Quarter on Royal Street, a block off Bourbon, with the spinning Carousel Bar and a heated rooftop pool. Click here for rates & availability
⭐️⭐️ Hotel Peter and Paul: An old church, rectory and schoolhouse in the Marigny turned into a hotel. Quiet, pretty and a short walk to Frenchmen Street. Click here for rates & availability
⭐️ The Pontchartrain Hotel: In the Garden District with the St. Charles streetcar right out front, Jack Rose downstairs and a rooftop bar. Click here for rates & availability
These are affiliate links. If you book through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Where to Eat Beignets and Breakfast in New Orleans
Café Beignet on Royal Street
This is where Finley had his very first beignet. Café Beignet has been on Royal Street since 1990, and you sit inside under the big lit sign with breakfast served all day. It’s an easy one with a baby because you’re inside and sitting down.
- Address: 334 Royal St, New Orleans
- Phone: (504) 524-5530
- Hours: 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, until 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday
- Website: cafebeignet.com
Here is the secret to beignets. You do not need to wait in line at Cafe Du Monde- Cafe Beignet on Royal is our favorite. Also, the water from Cafe Du Monde is for dipping your fingers.
Café du Monde
The classic. Café du Monde started as a coffee stand in the French Market in 1862, and it’s still beignets and café au lait under the green and white awning. Our plate in 2023 was more powdered sugar than beignet, which is exactly how it should be. Grab a table, eat fast and then walk over to Jackson Square.
- Address: 800 Decatur St, New Orleans
- Hours: 7:15 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, until midnight Friday and Saturday (closed Christmas Day)
- Website: cafedumonde.com
Molly’s Rise and Shine
Molly’s is from the same team as Turkey and the Wolf, so you know it’s going to be good. It’s a little breakfast and lunch spot on Magazine Street with art all over the walls. We got the fried chicken biscuit with a pink flamingo stuck in the top and a breakfast sandwich with a tiny flag. Toddler approved, mom approved.
- Address: 2368 Magazine St, New Orleans
- Phone: (504) 302-1896
- Hours: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., closed Tuesdays (walk in only)
- Website: mollysriseandshine.com
Willa Jean
Willa Jean is a bakery and brunch spot in the CBD, and we got cookies and a pastry with our coffee because of course we did. Get the chocolate chip cookie. Get a pastry too. You’re on vacation.
- Address: 611 O’Keefe Ave, New Orleans
- Phone: (504) 509-7334
- Hours: 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily (waitlist, no reservations)
- Website: willajean.com
Mother’s Restaurant
Mother’s has been on Poydras Street since 1938, and it serves breakfast all day, every day. There was a line under the awning when we got there, so give yourself a few minutes. We split a po’boy and an omelette and called it brunch. It’s a short walk from the Riverwalk and the aquarium if you’re on that side of town.
- Address: 401 Poydras St, New Orleans
- Phone: (504) 523-9656
- Hours: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
- Website: mothersrestaurant.net
Brennan’s
Brennan’s has been serving breakfast in New Orleans since 1946, and it’s the restaurant where Bananas Foster was invented. We went on our September 2023 trip and got a table by the big windows. We started with the baked oysters with a cornbread crumble, and Hannah gave them a squeeze of lemon. Even the butter came out molded into a little design. It’s a pretty, sit down breakfast, so make a reservation.
- Address: 417 Royal St, New Orleans
- Phone: (504) 525-9711
- Breakfast and lunch: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
- Dinner: 5:45 to 10 p.m. nightly
- Website: brennansneworleans.com
Where to Eat Brunch in New Orleans
Atchafalaya
Atchafalaya is our brunch pick on Louisiana Avenue, with red umbrellas out front and big colorful paintings inside. We went when Finley was about two months old, and he hung out in his stroller right next to the table while we ate a waffle piled with blueberries and whipped cream and a fried chicken sandwich. A brunch that works with a newborn? Sign me up.
- Address: 901 Louisiana Ave, New Orleans
- Phone: (504) 891-9626
- Brunch: about 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday and Thursday through Sunday, live music on Sundays
- Closed: Tuesday and Wednesday
- Website: atchafalayarestaurant.com
The Country Club
For a brunch that’s a whole show, go to the drag brunch at The Country Club in the Bywater. It’s in an 1884 Creole cottage with a pool out back, and the queens work the whole room while you eat. Book it ahead and go with your loudest friends.
- Address: 634 Louisa St, New Orleans
- Reservations: (504) 945-0742
- Drag brunch: Saturday and Sunday, seatings at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
- Website: thecountryclubneworleans.com
Where to Eat Lunch in New Orleans
Turkey and the Wolf
If you only eat one sandwich in New Orleans, make it the fried bologna at Turkey and the Wolf. It’s thick toast, bologna and a pile of potato chips right inside the sandwich, served on cartoon plates the 90s kids had growing up. We took Finley when he was still tiny, and he hung out on our laps the whole lunch. Their sister restaurant Molly’s is also the best breakfast.
- Address: 739 Jackson Ave, New Orleans
- Phone: (504) 218-7428
- Hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed Tuesdays
- Website: turkeyandthewolf.com
Joey K’s
Joey K’s sits on the corner of Magazine and Seventh in the Garden District, and it’s the kind of neighborhood spot where the plates are big and nobody minds a baby in a high chair. We went for lunch after a morning at the aquarium and it hit the spot.
- Address: 3001 Magazine St, New Orleans
- Phone: (504) 891-0997
- Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, closed Sundays
- Website: joeyksrestaurant.com
If you are wanting to get the best bang for your buck, this is your #1 place. New Orleans can have heavy food, and if you are only here a weekend, well, you can gain 10 lbs.
The Milk Bar
The Milk Bar is a little family run sandwich shop on South Carrollton, not the New York bakery with the same name. Hot sandwiches, milkshakes and a cow print boot vase on the shelf. Look at that cheese pull. I rest my case.
- Address: 710 S Carrollton Ave, New Orleans
- Phone: (504) 309-3310
- Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday
- Website: themilkbarneworleans.com
Juan’s Flying Burrito
Juan’s is our go to when we want something that isn’t Cajun for a second. We’ve done the Mid-City spot on Carrollton and the one on Oak Street, and both times we got the queso. The bowls come loaded with jalapeños, so ask if you don’t want the heat.
- Mid-City: 4724 S Carrollton Ave
- Oak Street: 8140 Oak St
- Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
- Website: juansflyingburrito.com
Where to Eat Dinner in New Orleans
Meril
Meril is Emeril Lagasse’s spot in the Warehouse District, named after his daughter. The menu is small plates made for sharing, so we did what any reasonable people would do and covered the whole table. Flatbread, salad, a little skillet and a lot of passing plates.
- Address: 424 Girod St, New Orleans
- Phone: (504) 526-3745
- Hours: about 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, until 10 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday
- Website: bemeril.com
Jack Rose at the Pontchartrain Hotel
Jack Rose is inside the Pontchartrain Hotel on St. Charles, and the dining room is covered in painted portraits and bright colors. It’s a dress up a little kind of dinner. They brought our dessert out with sparklers, and yes, I took a video.
- Address: 2031 St Charles Ave, New Orleans
- Phone: (504) 608-7112
- Hours: Dinner Wednesday through Saturday from 5 p.m., brunch Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., closed Monday and Tuesday
- Website: jackroserestaurant.com
Top Spots to Eat in New Orleans We Haven’t Tried Yet
These come up on every list of what to eat in New Orleans, and they’re first on ours for next time. Tell me if you’ve been!
- Parkway Bakery and Tavern, 538 Hagan Ave, Mid-City: the po’boy everybody talks about. Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Go around 11 to skip most of the line.
- Dooky Chase’s, 2301 Orleans Ave, Treme: Creole cooking and a big piece of New Orleans history. Lunch Tuesday through Friday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., dinner Friday and Saturday 5:30 to 9 p.m.
- Commander’s Palace, 1403 Washington Ave, Garden District: the jazz brunch, Saturday from 11 a.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. Book ahead.
- Hansen’s Sno-Bliz, 4801 Tchoupitoulas St, Uptown: the snowball stand everybody tells you about. It’s seasonal, so check that they’re open before you go.
New Orleans, We’ll Be Back (Hungry)
Beignets in the morning, a sandwich at lunch and something with sparklers at night. That’s what to eat in New Orleans, and we’d eat it all again.
Planning more? Here’s our 3 day New Orleans itinerary, the places you have to see in New Orleans, our rainy weekend in New Orleans, our New Orleans bachelorette guide and our favorite Louisiana gas station food.
Tell me if you go! Come say hi on Instagram and tell me your favorite bite in New Orleans. 🤍
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Heads up: this post contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Read our full disclosure.
Watch our FIRST trip to New Orleans
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