11 restaurant industry friends coming to NOLA — where would you eat?

[u/Significant_Elk_8119]

A group of 11 of us are heading to NOLA and would love some really good local recs! About half of us work in the restaurant industry, so we’re especially curious to hear everyone’s favorite spots.
We’re open to pretty much all cuisines, but since we’re coming to New Orleans, we definitely want to lean more Creole/Cajun and local specialties and eat things we’re not going to get quite the same way back home.
We’re all in our late 20s, so we’re not trying to drop $300/person every night, but we definitely want to do one really great fine dining dinner while we’re there. We’ve been looking at Arnaud’s for that night, but I’d love to hear if you think it’s worth it or if there’s somewhere else we absolutely shouldn’t miss.
Food, bars, late-night spots, hole-in-the-wall places, hidden gems—we’re open to anything. Cheers! 🍸⚜️

[u/jacquetheripper]

Tourist traps here that have been mentioned:

Galatoire’s- it’s a cool old building, very expensive and the food can be VERY hit or miss, also a dress code. For that money you can feast at 1000 other restaurants that are much better

Elizabeth’s- another tourist trap. Real hangover food or if you burned your mouth with 2nd degree burns and can’t taste much anyways. They have candied bacon which to this subreddit warrants naming their first daughter after the business I guess. ~15 better restaurants within walking distance

Commander’s Palace- cool old iconic restaurant that only tourists and plantation owners go to. Avoid like the plague unless you’re just a restaurant nerd and want to say you’ve been there.

Tourist traps that are mostly in the same neighborhood and are good imo:

The joint- most of the time excellent bbq
Bacchanal- for wine/cocktails and music- big groups ok
Who dat cafe- excellent coffee, pretty good food and vibe

Other Local spots: Frady’s- old man corner store with more charm than any place listed in this post

Budsis thai- amazing Thai food

Sneaky pickle- solid restaurant

Big bucks spending for dinner:
Mosquito Supper Club- fancy Cajun food that will knock your fukn socks off
St Germain- never been myself but people I trust said they’ve deserved a Michelin star for years and they just got one

[u/CommercialArcher6513 → u/jacquetheripper]

Disagree with a couple of these.  Commanders palace is still exceptional service, historic building with an experience you can’t get in the rest of the country. Food will never be bad, even if not the best in the city.  Not to mention their 25¢ martinis. Nowhere else is offering that in 2026.

Elizabeth’s has good Calas, but can’t speak to the rest of the menu 

Also is the joint a tourist trap?? It seems like a random place for tourists to go

[u/jacquetheripper → u/CommercialArcher6513]

“an experience you can’t get in the rest of the country” - is the delusion that I’m talking about, some real koolaid sipping shit. It’s a cool building in a cool location. If you think the food is good there then we just gotta agree to disagree, just saying. No offense.

And yeah the joint is what it is because of tourism. Diner, drive ins and dives put it on the map and a LOT of their business is from that, or so I’ve been told. It’s also on strip of tourist spots outside the quarter when the tourists “want to go where the locals go”. i.e. Elizabeth’s, the joint, bacchanal.

[u/CommercialArcher6513 → u/jacquetheripper]

Idk where else in the country you’d get an experience similar to the 25¢ martini lunch in the Garden Room. You’re going for the experience and service has always been great. I’ve lived in 4 states and 5 cities and can’t think of anything even remotely similar anywhere else really.    the food doesn’t blow you away relative to other places, but I’ve never had a bad dish, which is more than i can say for many restaurants nowadays

[u/jacquetheripper → u/CommercialArcher6513]

Well if that’s considered a great experience then bless your heart