Where to Eat in December: Galatoire’s, Dakar NOLA, Bar Marilou, and More

The holidays are an especially joyful time to dine at this Quarter stalwart. (Yes, Carnival is also prime Galatoire’s dining time, but we ain’t there yet!) Dress up for dinner and start with fried eggplant and crab maison. You’ll want snacks immediately because you’ll likely be drinking a lot. Or go for lunch. It’s always a blast — just be prepared to have the rest of your day be a delirious wash.

Moody and festive, this sleek venue in Maison de la Luz is very much the right kind of vibe for a December celebration. There’s a brightness to even the heaviest of drinks here, as with the Tokyo Record, which includes elderflower to lift the drink’s Japanese whisky and amontillado sherry. There are non-alcoholic cocktails as well, and the food menu is frisky, with plates like fry bread with honey butter and frogs’ legs with fermented Fresno chile hot sauce.

Serigne Mbaye has been cooking around town for years. Now his pop-up iteration of Dakar has become a brick-and-mortar version. He’ll still be cooking Senegal-inspired dishes influenced, in part, by his youth, but also by his time in the South. Think dishes like grilled Gulf shrimp with tamarind jus and jollof rice made with Carolina Gold rice in the restaurant’s tasting-menu-only format. And until Dakar gets its liquor license, corkage is only $15, with bottle recommendations being offered by nearby Second Vine Wines and Spirit Wine.

Call or text 504-493-9396 for more info.

Maybe you haven’t dined at Nina Compton’s flagship in a while? Head over to Tchoupitoulas and remind yourself why Compère Lapin remains one of the finest restaurants in the city, if not the country. The cooking still beautifully straddles the Caribbean and Europe. The space is still somehow both big and intimate. And, of course, dishes like the blackened pig ears with smoked aioli and the sweet potato gnocchi with curried goat and cashews still anchor the inspired menu.

It’s gonna be an indulgent few months, what with the end-of-the-year holidays and Carnival straight on their heels. For a breather of sorts, the Cal-Ital-Orleanian cooking at this Marigny fixture is a delicious shift. The salads are always fresh and winning, as are the raw seafood preparations. Even the pastas and main courses have a lightness to them. The exposed wood in the dining room feels like you’re at a pal’s house — assuming, that is, your pal cooked some mean Italian-leaning food.

Fans of chef Steven Green have been waiting and praying and waiting some more for Scrambled to open. Now — finally — Green’s latest venture is here, serving his freewheeling take on brunch dishes. That means the blinis are red velvet-style, the chicken is in the waffles in the form of waffle dogs, and French onion soup has been upended into a grilled cheese sandwich. Purists and the health-conscious, rest easy: There are classic breakfast sandwiches and vadouvan-spiced tofu, served either in a bowl or as a po’boy.

Contact Scrambled at 504-427-2277.

We all know and understand the food-hall concept by now. Right? Maybe not. At this new venture, varied dining concepts are housed in one building, as expected. Here’s the detour: From your table, you can order from any of the six concepts with full service. Maybe one of your pals wants charred octopus from El Greco, another craves a lobster roll from American Culture, and another wants a great gimlet from the bar. Everyone is covered.

Dining at this hotel feels a bit like dining at someone’s house. Well, if that house had a sprawling patio abutting St Charles Avenue — and a charming porch to boot. Two appetizers are already classics: The namesake Chloe salad with Bibb lettuce, Royal Red shrimp, and ravigote dressing, and chef Todd Pulsinelli’s legendary shrimp étouffée dumplings, which have followed him from gig to gig. Crack open a bottle of wine from the smart list and while away a morning, afternoon, or evening.

The crew behind the great Broad Street Ethiopian restaurant in Mid-City has moved to a much bigger location on Bayou Road. Expect the same tangy, giving injera to use as an implement for scooping portions of lamb tibs or bayenetu, a collection of five vegan preparations. There’s a fresh cocktail menu, and with the weather having turned brisk, an Addis Toddy with spiced tea and your choice or bourbon, rye whiskey, or rum might be the optimal meal-ender.

Call 504-218-5321 for more info.

Wagyu sashimi; lobster rolls; Mexican-style street corn: This newish restaurant at, yes, the junction of Jefferson and Orleans parishes, offers something for most everyone. Beers from many a local brewery, like Faubourg, Abita, and Port Orleans, are served alongside hard-hitting cocktails like the Train Wreck with El Dorado rum and green Chartreuse. Dessert keeps it simple and people-pleasing with treats like chocolate mousse pie and lemon-Chantilly cake.