Brennan’s invented Bananas Foster in 1951. Chef Paul Blangé and owner Owen Brennan created it to use overripe bananas from the port. They named it after Richard Foster, a regular customer and vice chairman of the New Orleans Crime Commission. The dessert is bananas flambéed tableside in butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, banana liqueur, and rum, served over vanilla ice cream. Four restaurants still do it the traditional way with tableside flambé theater.
Brennan’s, 417 Royal Street, French Quarter.
The original. They flambé 35,000 pounds of bananas here every year, making Bananas Foster about 75% of their dessert sales. The service is tableside. Your waiter brings a cart with a burner, heats butter and brown sugar in a pan, adds sliced bananas, cinnamon, banana liqueur, then lights rum on fire creating blue flames. The alcohol burns off in 30-60 seconds. The sauce gets poured over vanilla ice cream. The entire process takes three minutes.
The restaurant’s pink building dates to 1795. High ceilings, crystal chandeliers, multiple dining rooms. Dress code enforced. Reservations fill 60 days out. The 80th anniversary special in 2026 includes Bananas Foster as part of the $80 traditional breakfast. Open breakfast 8am-2pm weekends, 9am-2pm weekdays. Dinner 6pm-10pm nightly. Phone: (504) 525-9711.
Antoine’s Restaurant, 713 St. Louis Street, French Quarter.
Founded 1840, the oldest family-run restaurant in the United States. Antoine’s didn’t invent Bananas Foster, but added it to the menu shortly after Brennan’s created it. The flambé happens tableside in the main dining room or in one of the 14 private dining rooms with names like Rex Room and Escargot Room. The technique is identical to Brennan’s. The presentation is slightly more formal because Antoine’s operates with white-tablecloth French service.
The restaurant is massive, seating over 700 people across multiple rooms. Jacket required for men in main dining rooms. Open for lunch Monday-Saturday 11:30am-2pm, dinner Monday-Saturday 5:30pm-9pm. Closed Sunday. Phone: (504) 581-4422.
Ralph’s on the Park, 900 City Park Avenue, Mid-City.
Ralph Brennan opened this in 2000 in an 1860s mansion overlooking City Park. Part of the Brennan family restaurant empire. The Bananas Foster here follows the original Brennan’s recipe because Ralph is Owen Brennan’s nephew. Tableside flambé service. The dining room has floor-to-ceiling windows facing City Park.
Less formal than Brennan’s Royal Street location. No strict dress code. The menu changes seasonally but Bananas Foster stays year-round. Sunday jazz brunch is popular. Open for lunch Wednesday-Friday 11:30am-2pm, dinner Tuesday-Saturday 5:30pm-9pm, Sunday brunch 10:30am-2pm. Closed Monday. Phone: (504) 488-1000.
Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse, 716 Iberville Street, French Quarter.
Dickie Brennan opened this in 1998. Another branch of the Brennan family tree. The Bananas Foster here is served tableside with the traditional flambé. The restaurant focuses on steak but the dessert menu includes the family specialty. The flambé cart is wheeled to your table after the main course. The presentation is quick, professional, less theatrical than Brennan’s Royal Street location.
The restaurant is a steakhouse first, not a Creole restaurant, so the atmosphere differs from the other Brennan family properties. Full bar with extensive wine list. Open daily 5:30pm-10pm. Reservations recommended. Phone: (504) 522-2467.
