For The Love of New Orleans: Food + Coffee

Last Updated on December 18, 2025 by Stacy Averette

You don’t need a silver fork to eat good food.

–Paul Prudhomme

We ate lots of good food on our recent trip to New Orleans, and most of it did not require a fork or a spoon. Like most people who have a favorite city, we also have our favorite places to eat in our favorite city.

If you search for The Hottest Restaurants in New Orleans Right Now, you’ll get an interesting mix of great places to eat. I haven’t eaten at any of those places, but I’d love to on another trip.

The places we chose weren’t on the “hottest list,” but they’re still great places to eat, and at certain times, you should be prepared to stand in line. Our choices had a lot to do with the memories connected to them, the atmosphere, and good food.

Coffee and Beignets

No trip to New Orleans would be complete without a stop at Cafe du Monde for coffee (cafe au lait) and beignets. This photo was taken mid-morning. Standing in line isn’t necessary if you’re willing to wait until the afternoon.

We love Café du Monde. The atmosphere is excellent.

However, if you prefer something with a slower pace and a European feel, you’ll love Cafe Beignet on Royal Street. The beignets are enormous, and the coffee is delicious. Plus, there are other pastries, drinks, and sandwiches available. Cafe Beignet is our favorite.

This musician was playing while we enjoyed our coffee in the shade of the palm trees. He was outstanding! You can see the entrance to the Cafe at the black urns.

If you’re Uptown or in Metairie and want coffee and beignets, then I suggest New Orleans Coffee and Beignet Company. They also serve a wide range of items besides coffee and beignets. If you go, you must try the chocolate beignets! They’re delicious. We love the New Orleans Coffee and Beignet Company! (The Metaire location is closed.) The current location is inside the Renaissance New Orleans Arts Warehouse District Hotel.

We go to each of these places every time we visit New Orleans, so we’re fully coffee-ed and beignet-ed by the time we leave.

Food

There are lots of places in New Orleans to find a great po’ boy. The Parkway Bakery and Tavern is definitely one of the best. If you go, you can’t go wrong with a friend shrimp, oyster, or roast beef poor boy. My personal favorite is fried shrimp, and I prefer mine “dressed” (lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, and pickles).

Another of our favorites is Camillia Grill. As students living in New Orleans on a small budget, it was always a treat to have a Chili Cheese Omelet, Pecan Pie, and Ice Cream. We usually make one stop here on our visits just for old times’ sake.  There’s almost always a wait, but it’s worth it, and you’ll be entertained as you watch the waiters and cooks.

Cafe Maspero is another one of our favorites. It’s in the heart of the French Quarter and one of those places we always enjoyed as students. You’ll always get delicious food, and you can watch the world go by on Decatur Street.

Update: We visited Cafe Maspero in 2025. The food wasn’t good, and the atmosphere had changed.

My recommendation today would be The Original Pierre Maspero’s on Chartres: delicious food and an excellent atmosphere.

Maddie had a loaded Muffaletta at Cafe Maspero. My favorite places for a Muffaletta in 2025 are The Napoleon House or Central Grocery.

Eric had a Hot Sausage Poor Boy at Cafe Maspero.

Caleb and I shared the Seafood Platter. (This was my mom and dad’s favorite!)

We discovered a new place on our recent visit. Stanley is at the corner of St. Ann and Chartres, with views of Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral. We went for breakfast and loved every bite. I think this place will make it into our restaurant rotation. (Sadly, I don’t have any pictures to share. I lost every photo I took that day on a corrupt SD card.)

Snoballs

You can’t go to New Orleans without having a snoball or three. And whatever you do, don’t call it a snow cone. They’re entirely different, and once you’ve tasted a New Orleans snoball, you’re hooked. I have two personal and sentimental favorite stands: New Orleans Snoballs near the corner of Elysian Fields and Gentilly Blvd. This stand was near our apartment, so we made lots of stops back in the day, and Sal’s is on Metairie Road near our church. In case you’re wondering… raspberry with condensed milk — always.

If you missed my first post about our recent trip to New Orleans, you can click here to read it. I’ll be posting again soon with more pictures. If you’d like to receive new posts in your email inbox, sign up here.

Okay. Now it’s your turn. I know every New Orleans visitor or local has their favorite places to eat. I’d love to hear about yours because sooner or later, I’ll make it back to New Orleans, and I’ll want some new places to try.

As always, thanks for stopping by.