The French Quarter in New Orleans is famous for its vibrant nightlife, colorful buildings with cast-iron balconies, and fantastic Cajun restaurants. There are dozens of amazing restaurants scattered throughout the FQ and they range from your older spots serving classic Cajun dishes to fancier restaurants who pride themselves on serving daily catches from the Gulf. I managed to try a bit of both during my time in New Orleans and I’ve picked my favorites for you below,

On the very top of everyone’s Must-Eats list for New Orleans is, of course, Café du Monde. Famous for their delicious and fluffy beignets, Café du Monde has been open since 1852 in the New Orleans French Market. Now, it is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, offering a menu of dark roasted coffee and chicory and beignets. Their beignets are, by far, the best that I’ve ever had, and a visit to NOLA is not complete without beignets at Café Du Monde.

For a great happy hour, check out Restaurant R’evolution, a restaurant/bar that features seasonal cocktails inspired by Pre-Prohibition-era libations. They run happy hour on Wednesday – Sundays from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m and feature $7 house mixed drinks and a variety of small bites. You can easily fill up on the little nibbles, but if you’re looking for something more substantial, their Gulf Shrimp and Blue Corn Grits are absolutely fantastic. It was a fantastic first dinner to introduce me to some good ole Southern cooking.

My absolute favorite meal in the French Quarter was at GW Fins, where chefs use seasonal ingredients and daily catches to create a menu that highlights Louisiana’s freshest ingredients. It is pricier than some of the other restaurants in the FQ, but if you’re looking for a nice meal or even a special meal while in town, I highly recommend GW Fins. To start, I had the #1 Bluefin Tuna Tartare w/ Mango, avocado, wasabi, Marcona almond. And for my main, I had the Parmesan Crusted Flounder w/ Jumbo lump crab, asparagus, crispy capers, charred Meyer lemon beurre blanc. The fish for this dish changes daily, depending on what is fresh that day. I highly recommend this regardless of which kind of fish they have that day. This dish was one of my favorites and I would eat this again anyday. The charred Meyer lemon beurre blanc sauce was so flavorful and just the right amount of tart. So, so good.

Galatoire’s is a hundred-year old fine-dining institution serving French-Creole cuisine. The waiters are all wearing bow ties and full suits and everyone’s dressed very sharply. We opted to have our anniversary dinner here and it was an absolute treat. If you go to Galatoire’s, definitely have the Oysters Rockefeller – oysters on the half shell, topped with herbsaint scented spinach. This was fantastic and the sauce left behind in each shell was so good with bread. For my main, I had the Sauteed Redfish with Lemon Caper Beurre Blanc sauce and Lump Jumbo Crab. This was a recommendation from our waiter and it was fantastic. Not as good as the fish with jumbo crab that I had at GW Fins, but a solid contender.

For almost two centuries, The Napoleon House has stood on the corner of Chartres and St. Louis streets in the historical French Quarter. In 1814, the then Mayor of New Orleans had wanted the house to serve as a refuge for the exiled Napoleon Bonaparte. It never came to be, but the house has been called Napoleon House since then. Today, it houses a restaurant with countless servings of the signature Pimm’s Cup and long list of classic Creole favorites. Come here for their famous Specialty Italian Muffuletta with Ham, Genoa Salami, Pastrami, Swiss and Provolone Cheese, Housemade Italian Olive Salad, served warm on a seeded Italian Loaf. You can also grab another classic New Orleans favorite here – the Seafood Gumbo.