Oh my… Creole cuisine is very good, but also very heavy! One of the best things to do in New Orleans is to eat. Ever wonder where the best restaurants in New Orleans is? There’s TONS of places to eat, and a lot of good places too. Pretty much every restaurant offers a vegetarian dish. They might not advertise that they do, but if you ask your waiter, I’m sure they’ll be able to accommodate or show you the secret vegetarian menu. I recommend looking at Google and seeing what the live wait time is and what the normal peak hours are for each day. After examining that, you can decide which day and what time is best to visit the restaurant. Make sure to wear loose pants! You’ll be eating A LOT in New Orleans.

Where are the best restaurants in New Orleans?

Eat chargrilled oysters at ACME.

The best place to get chargrilled oysters is ACME. It gets really crowded during peak eating hours (lunch and dinner) so I highly recommend going when it’s not prime time eating hours for lunch or dinner. We went on a Wednesday night around 5 pm. It was about a 10-20 minute wait and there were 6 of us. The oysters were AMAZING. Everyone loved them and slurped every last bit of the dish. I’m a vegetarian so I didn’t try it, BUT there’s a vegetarian option. The hush puppies are really good and you can get a vegetarian burger. The vegetarian burger was alright – it was nothing spectacular though.

Avoid the crowds at Crescent City Brewhouse.

Crescent City Brewhouse is a great place for big groups!! You have the ability to make a reservation or walk in… we walked in around 6-7 pm on a Saturday & it wasn’t that busy. So it’s a perfect place to go to when all the other restaurants are booked! It’s pretty easy to get a table since they’re not that crowded. It was nice that they had live music- it added a lovely touch to the restaurant! Food was alright… it was good, but nothing spectacular. This restaurant is solely good for big groups and when all the other restaurants are crowded. They don’t have anything vegetarian on the menu, but they are able to make items on the menu vegetarian. For example, the waitress said she really liked the BLT but instead of bacon, she would add avocado. I got the oyster club without meat (weird I know) but it was actually really good! The service was really slow… our waitress would show up a bunch of times at once, and then disappear for a long time. She had another big table though so maybe that’s why? Unusually slow service though. The place is two stories & very spacious. Not overly loud either.

Enjoy happy hour at Luke.

Best meal we had was at Luke. Everything was delicious and they have an amazing happy hour. Their happy hour consists of half off drinks, $.75 raw oysters, $1.25 fried oysters, etc! (*prices are subject to change) Really good deals so I recommend coming for happy hour during 3-6 pm. You can make reservations online. The group felt the raw oysters were the best here over all the other restaurants we went to. The Luke burger was really good and filling. The crispy Brussels sprouts were hands down the best- it was SO good… omg! I wish I had them in front of me right now. The Jumbo Louisiana Shrimp “En Cocotte” was really really good too! The shrimp Étouffée was really good but they liked the en cocotte dish better. They do have a vegetarian option- you have to ask for it though since it’s not on the menu. When I asked my waiter what the vegetarian options were… he recommended mussels… I think he might have been confused with what vegetarian meant. He asked the chef & told us that there was a vegetarian pasta that they can make. The vegetarian pasta was SO good!! Super flavorful & very filling. It was the best vegetarian option I ate compared to all the other restaurants we went to. The jalapeño grits were also really good!

Eat mamas stuffed chicken at NOLA Restaurant.

We went around 4 pm which was great because there was no line and was not crowded at all. They do not have a vegetarian menu so that was unfortunate. They were super accommodating though and said they can try & make a dish vegetarian for me. I decided to get a cheese pizza with onions (it was bad- I don’t recommend it). My family got the mamas stuffed chicken (their absolute favorite), pork cracklin nachos (very good), corn bread and collard greens (really good) and other items that were alright. My sister really loves the stuffed chicken there… she gets it every time she goes to New Orleans. The staff were so friendly. Everyone was very kind & provided great customer service!

Enjoy a meal at Oceana Grill.

Oceana Grill is a good place to go to. We went on a Friday during off hours (around 4 pm) and it wasn’t that crowded! Again – check Google wait time and see what the wait time is. There’s a vegetarian menu that has some options (not that good though). The service was excellent there! Everyone was so friendly and accommodating.

Where to go for breakfast/brunch?

Have the best breakfast at Ruby Slipper Cafe.

You MUST go to Ruby Slipper Cafe. There’s a few throughout the city, and this is a restaurant you do not want to miss. The wait is usually over an hour long, but don’t be intimidated by it. There’s a great option to add yourself to the wait list. There’s a lot of delicious meals you can get there, but you have to get the banana foster. I thought it was really sweet, so I recommend sharing the dish with everyone at your table. You can read the full details on how to maximize your experience at Ruby Slipper Cafe.

Where to eat a beignet?

Go to the infamous Cafe Du Monde.

Call me crazy but my group did not like this place. We went on a Wednesday night around 8 pm and it was not crowded at all which was amazing!! We seated ourselves, sat down, and the waiter came and took our order. I’m not sure if it was our specific order or if all their beignets taste like this… but ours were kind of crunchy & didn’t taste fresh. We wanted to give this place another chance, but we didn’t have time. I definitely wouldn’t wait a long time for the beignets there. There’s WAY better beignets at other places. The line typically gets extremely long. If you sit down, there is table service so you don’t have to wait in the long line. I recommend going during non-peak hours.

Try a praline beignet at Loretta’s.

We were fortunate enough to try Loretta’s at the Beignet festival. It was a lot more expensive than it was at the restaurant. You can go to their restaurant or you can go to their booth at the French Market. It takes about 8 minutes to get, so if you’re in a rush, I’d order them first. The praline beignet is SO good. You must get it!!!

Indulge and enjoy!!!

Enjoy all the delicious meals in New Orleans. I hope you enjoy the food as much as we did! What was your favorite restaurant? Did you find a restaurant that was really good that’s not on my list? Comment below! I would love to hear your feedback.