The 10 Restaurants That Defined New Orleans Dining in 2022

We would love Mister Mao and its chef-owner, Sophina Uong, just for the restaurant and Uong’s deep community engagement. But Uong, because she can’t help herself, also cooks like a demon. The menu shifts constantly but the flavors are always big and the cooking influences swerve from India (avocado chaat!) to Mexico (bay scallop tostadas!) to Burma (ginger salad!) — pretty much anywhere that is remotely tropical and likes itself some chile heat.

Come for dinner and cap off a long day by starting with one of the cheeky cocktails, like Daddy Issues, with bourbon, amaro, and Combier. Or come for brunch, and arm yourself with a Walk of Shame (vodka, passionfruit, and rosewater), and let the day take you where it will.

Jackie Diaz and Richard Rose’s St. Claude restaurant is unmistakable, what with its yellow facade with green trim echoing the vibrancy of the Jamaican flag and, often, the smell of jerk hovering in the air.

On the jerk tip, a variety of options: chicken wings, breasts, and legs on their own, or a collection of cuts, plus jerk shrimp, pork ribs and chops, and snapper and salmon. Jerk a-go-go! Should you want a homier option, the brown chicken and oxtail stews are sublime. And if you’re feeling grandiose, go for a combination plate that offers both jerk and stew.

Diaz and Rose’s following verges on the rabid: Witness the recent frenzy for jerk turkey for Thanksgiving. The delirium is warranted.

Order by phone at 504-777-7799.

Earlier this year, we took a pal to Palm & Pine for their first real visit. The response: “Oh my god, why have I not been here? I’ve been missing out!”

That is the correct reaction to Amarys Koenig Herndon and Jordan Herndon’s superb French Quarter restaurant. Everything about Palm & Pine screams New Orleans and in all the best ways. The vibe is welcoming and a little raucous, what with the frequent late-night burlesque shows and the special-event meals like themed Mardi Gras brunches and the annual December holiday lunch. Fun is a given at Palm & Pine, yes, but the food is deadly serious in its conception and execution. One example: You’ve likely seen fish meunière with an optional crab add-on all over town. Ever seen it with satsuma brown butter and turnip cream?

The New Orleans region is awash in a certain kind of Chinese restaurant designed for easy takeaway with maximum flavor at minimum price.

Wishing Town, blissfully, comes at Chinese cuisine from an angle that is rarer in New Orleans: made-to-order dim sum and noodles with a lighter bent. If the weather is brisk when you visit, one of the restorative soups, like the Taiwanese beef noodle soup, the spicy Sichuan dumpling soup, or a hot pot with your choice of three different broth bases will warm you.

The snack section is where to focus if you come with a group. Yes, there are fried pork dumplings and chicken skewers, easy-access bites for American diners. Less common on these shores are roasted octopus balls and beancurd skin salad, all sprightly with vinegar and soy sauce. Get a slice of crepe cake for later. You’ll be glad you did.

Place orders by phone at 504-885-8272.

There’s a whole lot of seafood eating to be had in New Orleans. Many fewer places to eat seafood here in the Japanese manner. And only a handful of places to take the issue, well, in hand.

Jacqueline Blanchard of the fine Riverbend knife shop Coutelier serves temaki, aka hand rolls, with a sparkling assortment of fish, shellfish, and bivalves. Just as Coutelier showcases some of Japan’s best knifemakers, Sukeban employs some of that country’s best ingredients, like the peerless nori she uses as temaki wrappers, and also highlights this country’s best Japanese-inspired products, like the chunky, mind-blowing shiro miso from Moromi in Connecticut. Born down the bayou, Blanchard also adores her home turf. So, for example, the hand-picked crab bound with Kewpie mayo comes from the legendary Higgins Seafood in Lafitte. Sukeban is one-of-a-kind.

Oh, what a blessing to have Lengua Madre in New Orleans! Ana Castro’s personal take on Mexican cooking is hers and hers alone. As such, she could arguably have opened Lengua Madre anywhere. She loves her some New Orleans, though, so the Crescent City’s inexorable pull is our conspicuous luck.

Despite its stunning hot-pink aura, the restaurant’s advances are subtle. Castro lets her ingredients cajole as diners journey the trail of the changing five-course menu. There is always masa in many forms, from tortillas, natch, to, say, sopes with huitlacoche and goat cheese, or a tetela with charred avocado and quelites. Rice, beloved in both Mexico and south Louisiana, is regularly featured. While you’re dining and shifting your knowledge of Mexican cuisine, do the same with your understanding of Mexican spirits by ordering a cocktail made with Mexican whiskey to start your singular experience.

Yes, we know: Tava keeps showing up on these lists on Resy. If Tava’s owner Mashish Patel would stop making such great food, we’d stop featuring Tava. (Can’t stop, won’t stop.)

Part of Tava’s allure is the dearth of south Indian food in New Orleans and its environs. That alone would be reason to visit. But the cooking here is good. The dosas are classic, thin and crisp with a fermented twang. The lamb vindaloo, which we recommend loaded into a flaky kati roll, is kicky and sharp.

The deal-sealer is Patel’s way with tater tots. He gives them the north Indian, big-city treatment by chaat-ifying them. Meaning they are whacked with red onion, cilantro, and both tamarind and mint chutneys. You’re going to need a mango-cardamom daiquiri to calm your frenzied brain.

When word spread that the Sneaky Pickle crew would be moving to larger digs across St Claude in Bywater, it was cause enough for celebration. Then the owners doubled-down by doubling-up on their business, opening a nighttime iteration called Bar Brine.

The kitchen’s freewheeling approach still holds come nightfall. The roasted spaghetti squash is complemented by cocoa nib–sesame seed crumble; chewy Korean rice cakes are swathed in mapo tofu; and the pot-au-feu stars duck confit and housemade ham.

The menu changes on the regular. The tempeh Reuben does not: It’s always on the menu, as is a collection of smart cocktails and a snappy wine list. Bonus: Outdoor seating on Burgundy and Louisa, when the weather cooperates.

If you want to taste the breadth and innovation of Indian cuisine without, well, traveling all across India, this charming restaurant on the Westbank should be your destination.

Plume’s fans know that owners Merritt Coscia and Tyler Stuart are dedicated to celebrating the subcontinent’s specialties in an uncompromising way. Where else in town will you be able to eat sprouted mung beans with mustard oil, lamb neck xacuti with its poppy-seed gravy plucky with tamarind, and charred okra with buttermilk and coconut? Pro tip: During lunch, Plume serves one of the region’s finest sandwiches, the Gulf shrimp kathi roll with lemon pickle and cabbage.

Sue Zemanick, chef-owner of this Mid-City beauty, might be the best seafood cook in town. And, in this place that’s loaded with good fish and good cooks, that’s saying a whole lotta something.

Any given day that seafood prowess might mean chorizo-spiced baby octopus or fried Gulf shrimp with charred-cabbage slaw and Sriracha aioli. Every time we’ve dined there are off-menu fish specials: You absolutely want one of those.

Those uninterested in seafood, rest easy because Zemanick and her team are as adept with veal sweetbreads and beef short ribs as with finned creatures. Dining at Zasu is civilized without being stuffy. Like the neighborhood restaurant of your daydreams.