The Complete First-Timer’s New Orleans Food Guide

It’s no secret that New Orleans is an amazing food city. With its blend of Southern cooking and Creole cuisine, New Orleans is one of the best American cities (and possibly worldwide) for food-minded travelers.

With that said, figuring out where to eat (and drink) was difficult during my recent three-day trip, considering just how many places that are to eat here. 

This complete New Orleans food guide breaks the best foods to try in New Orleans, and places to try them, plus some other all-around great restaurants, and awesome bars.

What to Eat in New Orleans

Po’boy 

This classic New Orleans sandwich usually comes with a choice of fried shrimp, fried oysters, or some other seafood, plus lettuce, tomato, pickles, and a remoulade or mayo.

There are so many options for places to get these, and I’m sure that opinions among locals differ a ton, but here are three:

Where to try po’boy

• Marigny Brasserie on Frenchmen Street was where I partook in a New Orleans po’boy. I opted for one with fried green tomatoes and grilled shrimp, and I would 10/10 recommend. (640 Frenchmen St.)
• Domilise’s Restaurant and Bar is a beloved spot in the Garden District/Uptown that’s been family-operated for decades. (5240 Annunciation St.)
• Johnny’s Po-Boys is the French Quarter’s oldest family-run po’boy shop. (511 St Louis St.)

Gumbo 

Somewhere between a soup or a stew, this famous NOLA dish has chicken, sausage, and/or seafood. 

Etouffee 

Etouffee is a stew with a thick roux-based sauce. It’s a bit spicy and usually has seafood like crawfish or chicken. 

Jambalaya 

While this technically leans more Cajun than Creole, this is also a popular dish here that’s rice-based, and has fillings like Andouille sausage, chicken, and seafood. 

Where to try gumbo, etouffee & jambalaya

• Dooky Chase’s has been well known and loved for its Creole soul food since it opened in 1941, and gumbo and etouffee have become part of its impressive legacy. (2301 Orleans Ave.)
• Mr. Ed’s Oyster Bar & Fish House has all types of delicious Creole and New Orleans classics like red beans and rice, and lots of seafood, like of course, oysters. (512 Bienville St.)
• Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe  has been around since the 1940s and is a great spot for gumbo, fried chicken, and po’boys. (1500 Esplanade Ave.)
• Zesty Creole on Canal Street has all the NOLA classics, including gumbo, jambalaya and crawfish etouffee. (827 Canal St.)

Muffaletta 

This Italian sandwich has layers of ham, salami, and provolone, with an olive dressing, all on a sesame roll.

Where to get a Muffaletta 

• Napoleon’s House is a historic New Orleans institution in the French Quarter. They serve their Muffuletta hot — I also love that you can order a full, a half, or even a quarter size. (500 Chartres St.)
• Verti Marte in the French Quarter also serves them hot or cold, and is open 24/7. (1201 Royal St.)
• Central Grocery is an iconic NOLA Italian market where muffulettas originated. They were closed for a while due to hurricane damage, but it looks like they’ve finally reopened! (923 Decatur St.)

Beignets 

This deep-fried pastry is a NOLA staple.

It’s topped with powdered sugar, which be warned, goes flying everywhere if you even look at it the wrong way. I pulled a real first-timer in New Orleans move and was wearing black when I tried it, which I would not recommend.

Where to eat beignets in New Orleans

• Cafe Du Monde is probably New Orleans’ most famous beignet spot. It opened originally as a cafe and coffee shop (they’re known for their chicory coffee as well as a cafe au lait, in addition to their beignets). There are 10 locations throughout the city, including in the French Market and in City Park (French Market: 800 Decatur St., City Park: 56 Dreyfous Dr.)
• Cafe Beignet is another popular place with four locations, such as one on Canal Street and another in a cute little park with live jazz on Bourbon Street (where I went). I wasn’t super impressed with the rest of my breakfast, but the beignets were 10/10. (311 Bourbon St.)
• Loretta’s Authentic Pralines is another well-known place with two locations, one of which is in the French Market in the French Quarter. Their crab beignets are on my list for things I have to try my next time in NOLA! (1100 N. Peters St. Stall #9)

If you’re looking for an easy way to try a bunch of NOLA staples while learning about some culture and history, why not go on a food tour? This food and history walking tour includes at spots serving gumbo, muffulettas, and po’boys, plus a couple desserts like pralines and bananas foster. Check it out here.

(More) Best Restaurants in New Orleans 

So we’ve covered the foods you have to try in New Orleans, but how about some restaurants that are just plain good?

Here are a few more delicious, highly-rated places to try — they’re a combination of places I visited during my very own NOLA itinerary and loved, plus a couple of other places I’ve heard great things about!

• Cafe Sbisa is a historic restaurant that’s been around since 1899 in the French Quarter. The ambiance is great and so is the food — I had the blackened redfish, which comes with asparagus, Louisiana jumbo lump crabmeat and citrus butter sauce. (1011 Decatur St.)
• Elizabeth’s is another spot in the Bywater neighborhood that’s received recognition for its Creole and Southern cuisine-style brunch (they also serve lunch). (601 Gallier St.)
• Turkey and the Wolf is a highly-rated sandwich shop in the Lower Garden District serving interesting options like a fried bologna sandwich, and a collard greens melt. (739 Jackson Ave.)
• Toast – This breakfast spot of course serves a variety of toast options, along with crepes, French toast varieties, eggs, and more.  (1845 Gentilly Blvd., 1035 Decatur St.)
• Ruby Slipper Cafe is a popular breakfast spot serving up things like omelets, lots of egg benedict variations, sandwiches, and more. I had a really good omelet with smoked salmon at their Garden District location. (There are a few locations but two include 200 Magazine St., 204 Decatur St.)

What to Drink in New Orleans

We can’t forget the drinks!

If you want an easy way to explore NOLA’s cocktail scene, consider going on a bar crawl. New Orleans is a city with such a rich history — a lot of which veers into spookier, or just plain haunted — territory.

This haunted pub crawl looks like so much fun, and is a great place to learn some local history, while trying different cocktails! Learn more here.

With that said, here are some cocktails that are super popular in the Big Easy.

Hurricane

Created at Pat O’Brien’s, a bar we’ll get to in a moment, during World War II, this is a sweet and fruity cocktail made up of two different types of rum, plus lime juice, orange juice, passion fruit, grenadine, and simple syrup.

Sazerac

This one’s known as New Orleans’ official drink of New Orleans. There’s rye whiskey, absinthe, a sugar cube, and bitters.

French 75

This one doesn’t technically come from New Orleans, but it was popularized here! It has gin, simple syrup, lemon, and champagne — super light, not too sweet, citrusy, and also one of my favorite drinks.

Fleur de Lis

Although I hadn’t heard of this one before my trip, this is another NOLA classic that I ended up seeing offered at a bunch of places.

It actually originated at the Carousel Bar (more on that in a bit), and was on the menu at a number of other places I visited. It’s a gin-based cocktail with elderflower liqueur, lavender simple syrup, lemon juice, egg white, and lemon soda. 

Pimm’s Cup

This is another gin cocktail with lemon juice and ginger ale, plus garnishes of cucumber, strawberry and mint.

It’s technically a British cocktail but the Napoleon House  (the historic restaurant also known for its muffulettas) created its own spin on the drink that became popular throughout the city. It’s pretty light and refreshing without being too sweet.

Ramos Gin Fizz

This gin-based drink was first invented in New Orleans in 1888. It has heavy cream, egg white, lemon and lime, orange flower water, vanilla extract, and soda water. 

Best Bars in New Orleans

• Pat O’Brien’s is another NOLA institution. Since officially opening in 1933, this spot is credited with the creation of the Hurricane cocktail, and they also have a piano bar. (718 St. Peter St.)
• Carousel Bar is a famous spot known for its rotating bar. Located in the historic Hotel Monteleone, it opened in 1949. (214 Royal St.)
• The Sazerac Bar is another NOLA landmark located in the Roosevelt Hotel, whose specialties include the Ramos Gin Fizz and unsurprisingly, the sazerac.(123 Baronne St.)
• Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29 has a mouthful of a name, I know. I love tiki drinks, and this is a fun tiki bar with really delicious cocktails. (321 N. Peters St.)
• The Chart Room is an old-school dive bar that’s cash-only. (300 Chartres St.)
• 30°/-90° (pronounced “30 90”) is a great spot for live music on Frenchmen Street. (520 Frenchmen St.)
• Blue Nile is another popular music venue on Frenchmen Street. (532 Frenchmen St.)
• Harry’s Corner is another cash-only, no-frills dive bar in the French Quarter that’s beloved by locals. There’s an old-school jukebox and it’s considered well-priced. (900 Chartres St.)

As you can see, there’s a tooon of food and drink spots in New Orleans. I definitely ended my trip knowing I’d have to make my way back at some point — and the food and drinks scene is a big reason for that. 

What’s at the top of your must-try list when you go to New Orleans?