Our editors can’t stop talking about these seven Louisiana restaurants.
Antoine’s – New Orleans
You walk into the oldest family-run restaurant in America, and the history hits you before the menu does. Antoine’s opened in 1840 on St. Louis Street in the French Quarter. Same family. Same street. 185 years later.
Jules Alciatore invented Oysters Rockefeller here in 1889. The recipe stays secret. The dish stays perfect — six oysters baked with that green herb sauce so rich they named it after the wealthiest man in America at the time.
Fifteen dining rooms sprawl across the building. The Mystery Room hid bootleg liquor during Prohibition behind a door in the ladies’ restroom. The Rex Room holds Mardi Gras memorabilia from krewes that’ve been celebrating since the 1800s. The wine cellar once held 25,000 bottles before Hurricane Katrina’s climate control failure destroyed the collection.
Order the soufflé potatoes. Get the Baked Alaska tableside. Sit in the 1840 Room if you want quiet. The Sunday Jazz Brunch pulls crowds, but the food’s worth the noise.
Bon Temps Grill – Lafayette
This place gets Cajun culture right. The building has culinary history baked into the walls. The Crawfish Étouffée Pot Pie became a signature because someone understood that étouffée shouldn’t be limited to rice.
The Boudin Stuffed Pork Chop shows up on every table. Locals eat here weekly. The gumbo tastes like someone’s grandmother made it this morning. The red beans and rice deliver that true Louisiana flavor without trying too hard.
Lafayette built its reputation on authentic Cajun food. Bon Temps Grill earned its spot in that conversation.
Olde Tyme Grocery – Lafayette
The shrimp po’boy here made Olde Tyme a Lafayette icon. People drive across the state for it. The half-and-half po’boy combines shrimp and roast beef with debris gravy — the kind of combination that makes you wonder why anyone does it differently.
This grocery store turned restaurant stays packed. No frills. No pretense. Just po’boys that justified the legend.
Orlandeaux’s Café – Shreveport
Orlandeaux’s opened in 1921. It’s the oldest continuously operating restaurant in Shreveport and the oldest continuously Black-owned and operated restaurant in the United States.
The gumbo gets called one of the best in Louisiana. The stuffed shrimp comes out perfectly fried with just enough breading to hold together. The greens are seasoned exactly right. This is Louisiana Creole seafood and Southern comfort food done by people who’ve been doing it for over a century.
Expect a wait. The food’s worth it.
The Magnolia Pit – Shreveport
Chef John Strand wanted to create the flavor profile for Louisiana barbecue. He opened The Magnolia Pit in March 2024 and got named an America’s Best Restaurant within a year.
The brisket and ribs come from the smoker all day. The cheddar beer bread is house-made. Everything tastes like someone who cooked professionally for years finally opened their own place and refused to cut corners.
The parking’s terrible. The hours are grueling for the staff. The food makes people forget both problems.
Eliza Restaurant & Bar – Baton Rouge
Russell and Sally Davis worked in New Orleans hospitality for years before opening Eliza in 2016. They wanted a scratch kitchen serving Creole classics with fresh local ingredients.
The restaurant stays cozy. The menu delivers those Creole dishes without overcomplicating them. You get real Louisiana food made by people who know what that means. The service comes with genuine Southern hospitality instead of the performed version.
Downtown Baton Rouge needed this spot. The city got lucky.
The Colonel’s Club – Baton Rouge
This restaurant opened under the Perkins Road Overpass in a former airplane hangar. It won Best New Restaurant in the 2025 Best of 225 awards before it finished its first year.
Southern and American favorites get a worldly twist. The atmosphere runs swanky without being stuffy. The piano lounge serves timeless cocktails. The menu covers shareable appetizers, fresh salads, pasta, fish, and meat.
You can dress up or show up in jeans. The only requirement is having a good time.
Minutes from LSU and downtown Baton Rouge
These seven restaurants earned their obsession. The editors keep going back.
