The Resy Hit List: Where In New Orleans You’ll Want to Eat in June 2024
There’s no question we hear more often: Where should I go eat? And while we at Resy know it’s an honor to be the friend who everyone asks for restaurant advice, we also know it’s a complicated task. That’s where the Resy Hit List comes in.
We’ve designed it to be your essential resource for dining in New Orleans: a monthly-updated (and now expanded!) guide to the restaurants that you won’t want to miss — tonight or any night.
Six Things In New Orleans Not to Miss This Month
- Not Just for Cocktails: Bar Marilou recently rolled out an afternoon tea service on Saturdays from noon-4 p.m. The French-inspired service is offered with a generous spread of specialty teas, three courses of savory and sweet eats, and one glass of Crémant per guest. Cocktails and caviar service will also be on offer.
- Afro Freedom Afro Feast: There are still a handful of tickets left for this annual Juneteenth experience from Serigne Mbaye of Dakar NOLA, which gathers some of the city’s finest chefs to cook over an open fire in the manner of their African American ancestors. The multi-course dinner will happen at Grow Dat Youth Farm in City Park on Sunday, June, and you can book tickets directly on Resy.
- A Taste of Venezuela: Chef Julio Machado, formerly of Mucho Más, and his brother, Carlos, recently opened Origen Bistro in the Bywater. The menu explores Venezuela’s cuisine, which, like that of New Orleans, is influenced by the contributions of Indigenous people, the Spanish, enslaved Africans, and the Caribbean. Pretty and bright with natural light, the restaurant offers all-day and brunch menus as well as happy hour specials on beer and wine. Check it out here.
- Bar Shift: Erica Flowers has taken over the cocktail program at Compere Lapin, just in time for the return of Sunday brunch. Drawing inspiration from the rich culture of New Orleans and the Caribbean, PUNCH’s Best New Bartender of 2023 shares her signature style through a selection of seasonal cocktails that celebrate the flavors of the islands to complement chef Nina Compton’s distinctive, robust cuisine. Try the bottomless brunch punch on offer for $25 per person.
- Hot Stuff: Mason Hereford and Nate Barfield, the kingmakers behind Turkey & the Wolf, recently backed one of T&W’s opening chefs in Hot Stuff, a new counter-service spot with a spin on the Southern meat and three in the University area. Central to the space is a long table loaded with a daily rotation of main dishes — fried chicken, smothered pork chops — served with jacked-up versions of workaday standards like green beans and mashed potatoes. Follow them here.
- Life After Emeril’s: Chef Bernard Carmouche has decamped to Café NOMA. The city native is bringing contemporary influences to the picturesque oak-shrouded restaurant inside the New Orleans Museum of Art. No time to peruse the museum? Café NOMA has an entrance of its own, no museum admission needed.
New to the Hit List (June 2024)
Chapter IV, Fives Bar, Lil’ Dizzy’s, Parkway Bakery and Tavern, Saint-Germain, Yakuza House.
1. N7 Bywater
Founded by filmmaker Aaron Walker and situated behind a high wooden fence on an obscure street, N7 provides few signs you’ve arrived, namely a small burned-in impression in the wood. But to step behind the swinging gate is to enter another world. A lush garden surrounds the small, open building. Candlelight glows. Within this petite French restaurant, beautiful people sip natural wines and share artfully arranged plates of French-Japanese delicacies deftly turned out by chef Yuki Yamaguchi. Pro tip: During inclement weather, garden seating may not be available, so check with the restaurant (via your Resy confirmation; it has no phone).
2. Lil’ Dizzy’s Treme
It was a close call during the pandemic when Wayne Bacquet decided to hang up his apron for good. But after a long shutter Baquet’s son, Wayne Jr., and his wife, Arkesha Baquet, stepped in and reopened this beloved Creole lunch spot. Lil’ Dizzy’s is all about home cooking–from seafood gumbo to overstuffed po-boys, and red bean specials on Mondays–with an atmosphere that makes everyone feel welcome. On most days, the plate lunch special can get you out the door for under $10. Not so on Fridays when Catfish Jourdain is on offer for $21.50, but the fried filet topped with shrimp and crab meat in lemon butter sauce with a choice of two sides is worth it.
No reservations, lunch only Sunday-Thursday.
3. Chapter IV Central Business District
Chapter IV fulfills the late Leah Chase’s dream of having grandson Edgar “Dook” Chase IV, an economist, financier, businessman, and classically trained Le Cordon Bleu chef, rise to assume the mantle of family leadership. Chase’s menu at his breakfast and lunch spot honors his legendary family’s Creole culinary heritage while making things intriguing to younger palates. Oysters are fried for his interpretation of Oyster Rockefeller, then served on the half-shell atop creamed spinach and topped with pickled red onions and jalapeno. Weekends bring brunch with live music, lively cocktails, fried oyster Benedicts, fish and grits, and fried chicken sandwiches. The younger Chase is also the exceedingly handsome figure behind PBS’ “The Dooky Chase Kitchen: Leah’s Legacy.”
4. BABs Bywater
James Beard Award-winning chef Nina Compton of Compere Lapin shut down her Bywater American Bistro for what seemed the blink of an eye before she reopened it as BABs, with an aesthetic overhaul. Compton and her spouse and business partner, Larry Miller, describe it as a “restaurant for every day or any day.” It brings focus to Compton’s exemplary pasta-making skills — with signatures like a wagyu beef lasagna with Fontina fonduta; spaghetti carbonara with andouille and black truffles, and cavatelli with shrimp and Compton’s unctuous run-down sauce. There’s also burrata with marinated tomatoes and soppressata; arancini with paddlefish caviar; and so much more.
5. Dakar NOLA Uptown
Chef Serigne Mbaye has created a destination to provide overdue recognition to the culinary contributions enslaved Africans made to the foodways of the American South. Mbaye’s ever-changing seven-source pescatarian tasting menu explores the intersection of his native Senegambian cuisine of West Africa with that of his adopted New Orleans. Each dish arrives with a history lesson explaining its evolution from Africa, through the slave-run kitchens of the n South, to where it is today. Though the subject matter is heavy, the menu of carefully sourced Gulf seafood is not. Mbaye brings levity and warmth by serving most dishes family-style. Consider it part dinner party, part history lesson — and a chance to provide substance for both body and soul.
6. Fives Bar French Quarter
Last fall, businessman and designer Jason Seidman opened this chic raw bar in New Orleans’ most in-demand locale on the ground level of the historic Lower Pontalba building, reimagining it as a mix of contemporary and vintage elements. A wooden horseshoe-shaped bar with a green marble top takes center stage, surrounded by round tables beneath a series of sketches by American artist Gerald Gooch. Executive chef Paul Terrebonne offers a menu of oysters (Gulf and Eastern shore), caviar, and raw seafood, as well as salads, beef tartare, roasted bone marrow, butter-poached lobster rolls, and luscious crème brûlée for dessert.
7. Mister Mao Uptown
Cooking demon Sophina Uong and her husband and business partner William “Wildcat” Greenwell turned a ho-hum former corner store into a tropical roadhouse named after their cat. It has become a go-to spot for “inauthentic” global cuisine from Uong and killer craft cocktails from Greenwell, with names like Daddy Issues and, yes, Uncle Butthead. The menu is subject to Uong’s considerable whims, but a dependable stalwart is the mind-blowing Kashmiri-spiced fried chicken. (Pro tip: Get an order for the table.) Appearances may be made by jelly doughnuts with orange flower water and cardamom sugar; chicken tinga chilaquiles; and Thai shrimp cake with eggs, mustard greens, curry, and fish sauce vinaigrette.
8. Saba Uptown
Chef Alon Shaya’s tribute to his grandfather remains built around an Israeli-influenced menu. Kick off with a selection of salatim served with puffy pita pulled from the wood-burning oven. The hummus is mind-blowingly creamy, with several seasonal versions available daily. A version topped with lump crab, butter, corn, and mint is particularly unforgettable — as are the grilled lamb kebabs, hanger steak with muhammara, and lamb shank braised with pomegranate and pink peppercorns. The duck matzo ball soup is afloat with threads of duck confit for a supremely comforting bowl of goodness. And if you’re coming in a group of eight or more, the family-style Feed Me meal is a terrific choice.
9. Juan’s Flying Burrito Multple Locations
Juan’s first “lit up” on a funky stretch of Lower Magazine in 1997, just before Mardi Gras. If the trippy menu, heavy ink, and fun-house-meets-punker-music-club environment are any indication, they’ve been lightin’ up ever since. Loosely based on San Francisco Mission-style burrito joints, Juan’s differentiated itself with Creole-laced, super-fresh, Tex-Mex-ish food made to order and finished à la minute on the grill. Devoted to local food culture, it has expanded over the years to offer its Hecho En NOLA sensibilities from four locations. Various margaritas are the size of your head. Expect to wait for a table. Get a margarita, and deal with it.
See the menu here.
10. Plates Restaurant Warehouse District
Early last fall after a series of pop-ups, local restaurant veterans chef Farrell Harrison and Brian Weisnicht took over the first floor of the Cotton Mill. Moody lighting, rustic brick, warm natural wood, and vintage plates and cutlery lend a homey vibe to what could be a cavernous space. The menu of shareable dishes was designed as “New Orleans tapas” with small plates bearing influences that span the globe. A four-course family-style tasting menu also is available. Wines are from lesser-appreciated Old World regions. Pro tip: Get the crawfish boulettes. The crustaceans will be gone for the year by the end of the month.
11. Addis NOLA Treme
This mission-driven Ethiopian restaurant is situated on historic Bayou Road, a trading portage established by Native Americans before the arrival of the French, in what is now a cultural hub of Black-owned businesses. The space was designed by OI Studio and Nomita Joshi to evoke the Motherland. Chef Jaime Lobo mans the kitchen while Dr. Biruk Alemayehu and the couple’s engaging son, Prince Lobo, run the front of the house. The menu caters equally to vegetarians, pescatarians, and carnivores. The Ethiopian coffee service is not to be missed; nor is the Ethiopian honey wine.
12. MaMou French Quarter
Despite the city’s French heritage, classic French food is a rarity in town. In this intimate and atmospheric spot, chef Tom Branighan is rectifying this oversight both with bistro classics (cassoulet and côte de boeuf) and Louisiana cuisine (a take on gulf fish courtbouillon, which features both oyster dressing and sauce rouille) and salmon mi-cuit, in which just-cooked salmon is stuffed in a beignet. The baba au rhum is flambéed tableside. Sommelier Molly Wismeier’s list is a world tour that roves from France to Italy to California to Portugal. A tight space means a tough reservation, so get right on it.
13. Francolini’s Uptown
14. Gris-Gris Lower Garden District
Chef Eric Cook’s flagship is firmly rooted in New Orleans’ singular hospitality, with inspired takes on Southern cuisine. Expertly fried oysters make two memorable appearances. They are the main attraction on a salad with crisp little gem lettuce, thin shavings of radish, a scattering of blue cheese, and a hint of sugarcane vinaigrette. They also co-star in a fun take on a BLT alongside cubes of smoked pork belly and a complex tomato jam. Shrimp and grits are boosted by silken tomato butter and smoked sausage. And Cook’s deeply satisfying chicken and dumplings have the power to bring a warm smile to the stoniest of faces, thanks to a last-minute addition of fresh thyme. Nab a spot on the deep second-floor balcony overlooking Magazine Street for excellent people-watching.
15. Cafe Amelie French Quarter
With one of the city’s most lush and fragrant courtyards, following a heartbreaking and unexpected closure last spring, one month later Café Amelie re-opened next door in an enhanced and expanded interior space while still retaining the courtyard for which it has been beloved for decades. After a night of carousing the Quarter, cochon poutine (fried fingerling potato and mozzarella poutine, topped with slow-smoked pork) tossed back with Midnight in the Garden (rye, rum, Cynar, and cold brew) should clear things up. Or not. Pro tip: Nab a table outside while the fine temperatures hold.
16. Yakuza House Metairie
Ask for a table, or ask the high-roller next to you to scoot it over at the bar. After a year-long meteoric rise in his minuscule first solo spot, chef Huy Pham’s roomier digs nearby are top-of-mind with the serious sushi-centric crowd — who seem happy to pay the price. The menu offers temaki, dressed nigiri, Japanese-style sandwiches, donburi bowls, and noodles. Temaki “sets” come in varieties that include “Nibbles,” ”Starving,” and “Hangry.” On a menu full of them, standouts include creamy Ora king salmon sashimi with shiso furikake, and seared hotate (scallop) dressed with luscious foie gras, unagi sauce, and a frizzle of fried leeks that lands on the palate in a swirl of flavors and textures. Looking to impress? This is your spot.
17. Mosca’s Waggaman
Cash only. Call 504-436-8950 or email them for a reservation. Check out the menu here.
18. Parkway Bakery and Tavern Midcity
There is magic here. Perhaps it floats down, unseen, like a fairy’s dust out of the empty McKenzie’s bakery cake box hanging from a thin wire above the toilet in the ladies’ bathroom. Perhaps the magic is dispensed by Elvis as he swings his pelvis in perpetual motion over the order-taking counter, a sandwich between his ankles. Whatever it is, you’ll see every walk of life in New Orleans here at the communal tables; you don’t have to leave the block. As for the po’boys? Oyster varieties are available on Wednesdays and Thursdays only. The James Brown is a belt-buster with BBQ beef and fried shrimp topped with melted pepper jack cheese. No wrong answers, though.
No reservations. Find more info here.
19. Liuzza’s By the Track Mid-City
No reservations — just show up and hope for the best. Learn more here.
20. Saint-Germain Bywater
Set aside some time for this 10-course stunner of a tasting menu in an intimate setting meant to evoke the experience of dining in someone’s home. The small guest count allows chefs Blake Aguillard and Trey Smith to offer carefully composed, technical dishes that rely on the dry aging of meats, freshly-made washed rind cheeses, and á la minute seafood butchery. The menu changes monthly and features such delicacies as white asparagus, venison, Norwegian king crab, squab, and geoduck. Check the website for frequent vegetarian tasting menu nights. A garden patio wine bar features natural wines, wines with minimal to no added sulfites with a preference for those grown organically or biodynamically. There are also beer, and craft cocktails.
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