Written by Beth D’Addono

The Ultimate Louisiana Dining Guide | Listen

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Best Chef: Serigne Mbaye

2024 was a big year for Louisiana chef Serigne Mbaye, his partner, Effie Richardson, and their team. Dakar NOLA, the chef’s widely acclaimed Senegalese restaurant in Uptown New Orleans, earned the James Beard Award for the Best New Restaurant in America. Mbaye, who was raised in New York and Senegal, has created a seasonal pescatarian tasting menu that stitches together the influences of the African diaspora with a broader culinary narrative. The immersive experience connects the dots between history, continents, and cultures, always with the spotlight on Louisiana seafood.

Serigne Mbaye’s Louisiana Recommendations

Chicken’s Kitchen, Gretna

When family comes to town to visit, this is where I go for really good Southern food and amazing hospitality.

Saffron Nola, New Orleans

I love everything at Saffron, but their curried seafood gumbo keeps me coming back.

Queen Trini Lisa, New Orleans

Every person in New Orleans needs to taste her doubles.

GW Fins, New Orleans

Chef Michael Nelson’s dry-aged seafood is to die for.

Best Bartender: Alan Walter

The Brakes, Baton Rouge

Bartender Alan Walter of The Brakes in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

When bartender Alan Walter lines up his mise en place, he doesn’t just see ingredients. He sees colors. It’s an approach that served him well at Bar Loa in New Orleans and now at TheBrakes, a roadhouse-meets-speakeasy tucked away on Baton Rouge’s Government Street. Walter, who grew up in Hammond, has a reputation as an alchemist and cocktail curator extraordinaire. He joined City Group Hospitality in 2022 to open the funky bar, with its vintage country and R&B soundtrack, gorgeous glassware, and all kinds of bric-a-brac—what he calls “grand-tiques.” Walter powers his drinks menu with organic fruit and vegetables and fresh herbs from the garden outside the bar. Expect the likes of a Meyer lemon and dill Spanish gin martini, or a tiki-ish drink of green chartreuse with pressed apple juice shaken with basil, sage, and mint. A group of discerning regulars keeps the 20-seat bar busy. “We get really interesting people in,” Walter says. “I love that.” @thebrakesbarbr

Alan Walter’s Louisiana Recommendations

Atchafalaya, New Orleans

Atchafalaya is a true neighborhood restaurant, but elevated.

The Delachaise Wine Bar, New Orleans

A perennial standby with a low-vibe flair.

Jacmel Inn, Hammond

Lovely feel in a renovated circa 1888 house in the woods.

Best of: Louisiana

Tomato dish from Acamaya in New Orleans, Louisiana — Acamaya

Best New Restaurant: Acamaya, New Orleans

Born in Texas and raised in Mexico City, chef Ana Castro learned the joy of cooking from her grandmother. Her new seafood-centric restaurant, Acamaya in Bywater, mines her roots while offering modern takes on caviar service, swapping blinis with gorditas and incorporating fruity chamoy into ceviche and earthy notes of huitlacoche into arroz negro. The Cordon Bleu-trained chef follows her own culinary path, taking care of her team with kindness and respect along the way.

Best Tried and True Restaurant: Villa Harlequin, Lake Charles

Villa Harlequin feels retro and new at the same time—probably because it’s a marriage between two family-owned restaurants, Villa Restaurant and Harlequin Steaks and Seafood. The Italian restaurant’s original owners retired last year after 50 years in the business. Now, with partners Blakelee Kibodeaux and Lake Charles mayor Nic Hunter and his wife, Becky Hunter, as stewards, the family recipes are preserved for future generations. Thankfully, the world-class Bolognese lasagna isn’t going anywhere.

Best Old-School French Joint: Chez Jacqueline, Breaux Bridge

Although she’s in the heart of Cajun country, Jacqueline Salser is not Cajun. She’s a native of Saint-Germain-en-laye, 20 miles outside of Paris. The classically trained chef landed in Breaux Bridge in 1989 after divorcing her second husband, a Texan. She ran a Chinese restaurant for 5 years before opening Chez Jacqueline. In a cluttered, eclectic space full of mementos, Salser feeds guests the likes of coquille Saint-Jacques, escargot swimming in garlic parsley butter, and sauteed local shrimp with peaches.

Patrons at the bar of Wild Child Wine Shop in Lafayettte, Louisiana — Wild Child Wine Shop

Best Bloody Mary Dive Bar: Frank’s Lounge, Des Allemands

To say Frank’s makes a good bloody mary is like saying Mardi Gras is one hell of a party. A swell south Louisiana pit stop on Route 90 since 1977, Frank’s is the quintessential dark dive bar with a great jukebox, a pool table, potent cocktails, and a bloody mary fully dressed. Get the large. (985) 758-2713

Best Hip Wine Store: Wild Child Wine Shop, Lafayette

Katie and Denny Culbert are travelers who love good wine, and they opened Wild Child Wine Shop to channel that wanderlust on their home turf. A repository of natural, small-batch wines, tinned fish, local art and home goods, and homemade sourdough bread and pizza—a skill Denny honed during the pandemic—this world-class boutique ups Lafayette’s downtown game big time.

Best Brewery/Cajun Food Combo: Broken Wheel Brewery, Marksville

This year marks a decade of Jonathan Knoll and Chris Pahl brewing craft beer at Broken Wheel Brewery in Avoyelles Parish. The first craft brewery in central Louisiana is known for its crisp pilsners and IPAs, all named for local sites and lore. Chef Trent Bonnette serves outstanding Cajun-influenced cuisine, like the andouille-crusted redfish, shrimp and grits, and an irresistible burger. There’s a large outdoor pet-friendly patio and beer garden, too.

Barbeque ribs from Hogs for the Cause in New Orleans, Louisiana — Hogs for the Cause

Best Small-Town Food Festival: Cochon De Lait Festival, Mansura

First held during Mansura’s centennial in 1960, this swine-centric festival transforms the rural town into one big party celebrating the pig. The festival, which got so big and rowdy that it took a break between 1972 and 1987, draws tens of thousands to town to feast on all things pork. Of course, there’s live music, a queen, a parade, carnival rides, and unintentionally hilarious contests. From beer-drinking smackdowns to hog calling and the greasy pig-catching debacle, this festival is real deal Louisiana.

Best Big Town Food Festival: Hogs for the Cause, New Orleans

Since 2009, the smell of pit barbecue fills the air the first weekend in April as Hogs for the Cause barbecue teams slow roast some of the tastiest pork ever. The party goes on all weekend, with thousands of fans congregating at the Lakefront Arena to nibble on creative swine and listen to live music from the likes of Deltaphonic and New Breed Brass Band. The competition is fierce. More than 90 teams with names like Hog Addiction and Mr. Pigglesworth vie to win categories including whole hog, ribs, and best of sauce, raising more than $11 million to date to fight pediatric brain cancer.