Now on Resy: Clancy’s, Emeril’s, Restaurant R’evolution, and More Local Favorites

This quietly excellent New Orleans classic has been in business since the 1940s, and in the early ‘80s helped spearhead the modern Creole bistro scene. The vibe is homey and the food is multi-layered with flavor. The gumbo is essential, and seafood and veal are featured on the ever-changing menu (and if smoked softshell crab is available, order it).

St. James Parish-born star chef John Folse has served Cajun and Creole fare around the world for decades, and his urbane variations on these world-class cuisines at this warm NOLA essential are a high point of dining in the city. Don’t miss his trademark Death by Gumbo (with quail, andouille, and oysters). 

This is the real thing: a homey, beautifully refurbished Uptown Victorian cottage, where chef Melissa Martin celebrates the richness of traditional Cajun cuisine and the wealth of seafood found in local waters with a nightly fixed-price menu that might include pickled shrimp, fried stuffed crab, and — if you’re lucky — Velma Marie’s oyster soup.  

When Fausto’s in Metairie changed hands a while back, the new proprietors knew just what to do: keep the romantic white-tablecloth atmosphere and not mess with the classic old-school Italian menu that’s been drawing diners for decades with chicken fettuccine Alfredo, veal marsala, and all the other dishes everybody loves. 

If you’re in Covington, you already know all about Torre and David Solazzo’s longstanding, world-class Italian restaurant, famed for its knockout antipasto plate, housemade pastas, and a garlic-rosemary grilled chicken that defines the genre. And if you’re in New Orleans? It’s less than an hour across the Causeway, and definitely worth the trip. 

You don’t have to be an Anne Rice fan to enjoy this vampire-themed bar and restaurant, where the atmosphere is spooky fun, the cocktails include a Blood Bag (i.e., vodka pomegranate lemonade), the menu ranges from oysters to panini to signature short ribs, and there are tarot card and tea leaf readings. You can even be custom fitted with a pair of fangs.  

Torre and David Solazzo’s popular Del Porto is a Covington essential for Italian fare, but you won’t want to miss their casual, high-energy gastropub a block away, where Italian dishes (including wood-fired pizzas) are supplemented with pitch-perfect references to Mexico, the Middle East, Central Europe, and beyond. 

Vyoone Segue Lewis is a classical clarinetist, a pediatric geneticist, and a real estate developer with French and Afro-Creole roots — so why wouldn’t she run a French restaurant in a historic Warehouse District building? Expect an impeccable French onion soup, duck à l’orange, and other Gallic classics that are well-loved.

At her Mid-City dining destination, evolved out of a popular pop-up, Vassiliki Ellwood Yiagazis features both Greek and traditional Jewish dishes (gyros, yes, but also matzo ball soup). Not to be missed: her signature Lambeaux — braised leg of lamb with whipped feta and onion-garlic jam on John Gendusa French bread.

Long before they launched their popular Uptown version of Vincent’s, Vincent Catalanotto and Tony Imbraguglio gifted Metairie with this warm and friendly Italian treasure, featuring dishes you know and love — cannelloni, chicken Marsala, osso buco — plus house specialties like artichoke hearts (battered and fried, with crabmeat and shrimp).

Chefs Blake Aguillard and Trey Smith, along with co-owner Drew Delaughter, used the wine bars and neobistros of France to create a neighborhood spot that highlights a wine-friendly experience. Head to the small, homey dining room for a ten-course tasting menu that reflects the seasons. In the mood for something more casual? Head to the garden patio (no Resys needed) for natural wines and classic cocktails.

Warakorn “Tom” Intavichai and his family (whose Thai Ocha was a hidden treasure in Metairie) run this delicious restaurant, where colorful chandeliers and floral murals provide the setting for traditional Thai food with a twist or two.

Here’s a place to come for both the sizzle and the steak: a Colombian-style churrasquería, courtesy of Antonio Mata and chef Edgar Caro of Basin Seafood & Spirits fame, with steaks (plus a whole fish and a half-chicken) cooked perfectly on a wood-burning grill alongside five kinds of potatoes that’ll make you want to toss your low-carb diet on the fire.

This one’s worth a toast: Effervescence boasts 200 labels of bubbly wines, ranging from affordable fizz to top-of-the-line Champagne, all of which are best sipped with something from their small bites menu — think Gulf oysters and crispy crawfish crêpes — caviar service included.

You’ll definitely have a good time at this whimsical hot spot from the team behind Turkey and the Wolf, with its retro décor full of neon, lucite, and vintage tchotchkes; its selection of quirky house cocktails, assorted martinis, and apéritif-of-the-moment vermouths; and its short but definitely tempting crudo-to-curry menu.

Part jam shop (where co-owner Sara Levasseur makes her Jamboree Jams), part wine bar, this tiny but alluring Marigny favorite offers an array of snacks from kale salad to dill meatballs, serious weekend brunches, and homemade soft-serve ice cream. Potable essential: the martini with fig-leaf-infused vermouth and anchovy-stuffed olives.

Take a deep dive into Southern Louisiana culture and cuisine at the Boutté family’s “original Cajun restaurant,” where there’s music every night (with dancing practically obligatory) and the menu lets the good food roll, with hand-me-down-recipe crawfish pie, jambalaya, étouffée, and all the other irresistible specialties of the Cajun kitchen.

Dr. Biruk Alemayehu and her family beguiled New Orleans with their authentic family-style Ethiopian cuisine when they opened the original Addis in 2019, and the magic lives on at this larger Bayou Road follow-up. Be sure to order the Ethiopian coffee: The beans are pan-roasted and ground before your very eyes.  

A go-to New Orleans classic since 1992 (transplanted to a new location after Hurricane Katrina), Gabrielle lets chefs Mary and Greg Sonnier interpret Cajun food with wit and originality. If it’s on the menu when you go (and go you should), don’t miss the smoked gumbo with hen meat and chicken-mango sausage.

This elegant contemporary Creole bistro, in a historic turn-of-the-century warehouse (in the Warehouse District, of course), hits all the bases with its gloriously tempting menu, spotlighting everything from fried oysters with spinach and triple cream Brie to veal Annunciation — a creation involving crawfish, shrimp, and green and yellow squash.

Here’s a contrast to the lavish baroque specialties that define NOLA’s Creole cuisine: Just three main choices — wild-caught Gulf drum, fried boneless chicken, or housemade chickpea tenders — on a plate or in a sandwich, coming out fast and delicious, in a bright, low-key room. Don’t miss the sweet potato biscuits or the side of flash-fried bok choy.

Bring a crowd to this clubby-looking Lakeview venue from the team behind Wrong Iron and Velvet Cactus, and dig into the menu of shareable plates (don’t miss the muffuletta eggrolls) and the let’s-have-everything roster of entrées. For a knock-out finale, order The Celebration, an indulgent fantasy of cotton candy, ice cream, cake, and berries.

Don’t miss this brick-lined Decatur Street mecca for classic Cajun fare and genre-defining cocktails (the Sazerac is epic). Gulf oysters are a specialty, and one preparation — chargrilled, with herb-butter sauce and cheese — is an absolute essential.

The dining room adjunct to the Hotel Monteleone’s legendary Carousel Bar, Criollo blends traditional Creole dishes with urbane international fare in an elegant atmosphere of dark wood, limestone flooring, and warm lighting. Pro tip: Save room for the signature butterscotch bread pudding with sea salt gelato.