Louisiana

Half Cajun, half Southern and all New Orleans, Cochon is the restaurant that sets the tone for chef Donald Link’s empire. Arguably nearest to his heart, Cochon draws directly on his roots and experiences growing up in Acadiana. Unsurprisingly, pork is a focus here, with recommended dishes including smoked ribs with pickled watermelon, and fried boudin balls with pickled peppers. But seafood is a close second; an appetizer of wood-fired oysters in chile butter will leave you craving more. 

The main room features handmade rustic furnishings balanced against polished concrete and raw brick, and a second room in the back offers semiprivate dining, making it a good choice for larger groups. The bar jukes in a moonshine-y direction for those so inclined, and the restaurant’s casual Cochon Butcher offshoot (just around the corner) offers a more affordable menu as well as a butcher counter with prepared foods.

Arnaud’s values tradition over innovation. You won’t find farm-to-table anything at this French Quarter Creole grande dame. What you will find are quintessential dishes like potato-encrusted Gulf fish accented with Herbsaint butter, shrimp smothered in the restaurant’s inimitable rémoulade sauce, and the justifiably famous soufflé potatoes. The antiquarian charm of its warren of dining rooms and the only-in-New Orleans experience of a café brûlot (a flaming postprandial concoction of coffee, orange and brandy) prepared tableside make dining at Arnaud’s a meal to remember. To sample the ambiance without the commitment of a full meal, the adjacent French 75 bar features top-notch cocktails along with a small-plates menu that hits some of the same notes.

Quite possibly the most iconic restaurant in the city, the kitchen at this sprawling blue-and-white mansion in the Garden District has turned out some of the culinary world’s biggest names, including Emeril Lagasse and Paul Prudhomme. These days, executive chef Tory McPhail runs the show at the contemporary Creole trailblazer, turning out firebrand dishes like roasted Gulf fish with rainbow chard, spiced pecans, Prosecco-poached jumbo lump crab and a sauce made from sweet corn and Woodford Reserve bourbon. 

McPhail’s “dirt to plate within 100 miles” policy ensures that ingredients are locally sourced and dishes are seasonally inspired. Our heirloom tomato salad stocked with three types of fresh, in-season tomatoes could not have been more refreshing, and the court bouillon vinaigrette and ginger-tarragon oil drizzled atop added a balanced kick. While any seating will please, the weekend jazz brunch is the best time to go. Request a table in the light-filled Garden Room upstairs overlooking the patio, and be sure to order the bread pudding soufflé with whiskey sauce for dessert.

This white-tablecloth neighborhood restaurant has become an Uptown institution. Known for its Creole creations like smoked soft-shell crab, lamb chops in horseradish butter, and sweetbreads, it consistently makes the best-of lists, including the 2018 Best Restaurants in New Orleans list by Times-Picayune food critic Brett Anderson. The meat-heavy menu features five variations of veal dishes including sautéed veal liver paired with a fried farm egg and crispy onions, and a veal chop with a fresh herb demi-glace. Just like in the French Quarter’s Galatoire’s, the tuxedoed waitstaff make a career of working here, and regulars come back weekly. Closed Sundays. Lunch served only on Thursdays and Fridays.

Patois is pocketed deep in a residential neighborhood in Uptown and was a pioneer in ushering in a lighter approach to fine dining in New Orleans. The vibrant, market-driven menu draws heavily on French influence but with an idiosyncratic approach that likes to introduce unexpected notes to established classics — think Louisiana satsuma brightening a traditional dish of Gulf fish almondine. 

The menu is at its best when it cuts loose with fun choices like Cast Iron Sizzling Octopus with a chorizo-and-fennel sofrito, bitter greens and local vegetables, or fish almondine in a citrus meunière sauce accompanied by a potato cake and buttered green beans. The restaurant is housed in an old corner bar and split across two levels, with a quieter dining room up a short flight of stairs and a main room featuring a long bar with elegant décor and plate-glass windows. If available, request a seat in the latter to appreciate the sociable vibe. Closed for dinner Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Lunch is served only on Fridays.

Chef Sue Zemanick’s bistro in Mid-City has an emphasis on seafood and locally sourced produce prepared with Mediterranean, Latin and French-colonial influence. Dishes change frequently on the market-driven menu, but ones that capture its approach include sautéed halibut with English peas, haricots verts and spring onions in a ginger-infused mushroom broth. Vegetarian options like king trumpet mushrooms with roasted cauliflower, vadouvan (French curry) butter and citrus impress by drawing out the personalities of the key ingredients and then framing them in unexpected ways. The James Beard Award-winning Zemanick has Slovak roots, so expect to see a few comfort dishes like pierogies on the menu as well. The restaurant is in a converted shotgun house, which creates an intimate and uniquely New Orleans ambiance.

Jason Goodenough’s contemporary Southern bistro is tucked in the crook of the Riverbend neighborhood far from the hustle of downtown. It has become a local favorite with a menu of precise, inspired dishes that issue from its small open kitchen. A signature appetizer is the Oysters Goodenough, flash-fried bivalves served on the half shell with smoky Benton’s bacon, creamed leeks and béarnaise sauce. The Louisiana crawfish “gratin” starter in a brandy sauce with sweet corn is also excellent. A dish of roasted duck breast is accompanied by garlic-and-sage bread pudding, celeriac purée and rapini, and a pan-seared striped bass main featuring crab meat and Swiss chard is coated in a smooth layer of almond-brown butter. 

The dining room, decorated by interior designer Curtis Herring, is a study in understated elegance, and service is attentive without being obtrusive. This restaurant is off the typical tourist map, which is just how the locals like it. Closed for dinner Sundays and Mondays.

This acclaimed Central Business District restaurant, located in a historic 19th-century mansion, has a high-ceilinged main dining room, large windows, soaring columns, antique mirrors and chandeliers. On chef Ross Dover’s ever-changing menu, you might see starters such as potato gnocchi tossed with blue crab and black truffle, or foie gras prepared three ways. Main courses could include roasted flounder Pontchartrain with local chanterelles, shrimp and blue crab; blackened dorado set atop jasmine rice and paired with local shrimp; or lacquered duckling with elotes (street corn) grits and buttered radish. For dessert, opt for the lemon-blueberry Pavlova drizzled with local honey and topped with a dollop of lavender foam. Lunch served only during the week.

Few New Orleans restaurants have made as much of a statement as chef Alon Shaya’s love letter to his culinary heritage. At Saba his Israeli roots entwine with those of his adoptive home of Louisiana to present a menu unlike any other in the city. Built around a collection of small dishes and platters, choices here include a warm blue crab hummus with seasonal accompaniments, shakshuka with poached egg, roasted eggplant and zhoug, and an array of small sharable choices that take full advantage of local markets and artisan purveyors. 

Every meal is accompanied by steaming hot pita fresh from the woodburning oven. Meals here are best enjoyed family-style, and the cocktail menu uses many ingredients, like fresh herbs, fruit and infusions, in conjunction with the kitchen to bind everything even more closely together.

You can get great seafood at a lot of places in New Orleans, but there is no seafood restaurant quite like Pêche, the Link Group’s seafood analog to the pork-centric Cochon. The heart of Pêche is its wood-fired grill, a custom-made beast that executive chef Ryan Prewitt plays like an instrument. Start with a raw bar dish like crab claws with pickled chiles or a crab salad with cucumber before moving on to innovative small plates such as spicy ground shrimp and noodles or crawfish accompanied by jalapeño capellini. For the table, the whole grilled fish to share is highly recommended. 

Prewitt was named Best Chef in the South by James Beard in 2014, the same year that Pêche took home the award for Best New Restaurant in America. Prewitt is not just an awards darling either — he plays a big role in sustainability efforts by working with local fishermen and farmers. Blueberries are sourced from J&D Produce in Mississippi, poultry from Peeps Farm and honey from Allen Bee Farms in Plaquemine.