The Kingsway Tuna Courtesy of Randy Schmidt

Written by Beth D'Addono, Image courtesy of Randy Schmidt

The Ultimate Louisiana Dining Guide 2026

By: The Local Palate

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Cef Hardette Harris is passionate about the food, culture, and history of North Louisiana. Although Creole and Cajun cuisine get the most love in the state, north of I-10 there’s a different cultural gumbo drawn from Native American, African, German, and English influences. Harris thinks of this as Southern with a Louisiana twist. The chef, who was born and raised in rural Minden outside of Shreveport, created an official North Louisiana meal that includes Natchitoches meat pies, fried catfish, purple hull peas, and hot water cornbread. The James Beard-nominated chef serves this and more at her 40-seat café, Us Up North.

Hardette Harris’s Recommendations:

Breakfast: Shreveport Biscuit Company

What Kanya Michelle is doing with those biscuits is amazing. They’re so tall and crisp-crusted, dense and airy at the same time. I love all the biscuit sandwiches. She works with local farms. So good

Lunch: Walking By Faith Kitchen

They are the epitome of soul food and local favorites. My favorite thing is everything. But right now, I’m loving the cornbread dressing and hamburger steaks

Dinner: Orlandeaux’s Café

I usually drink beer, but this small wine shop can steer me to what I More Cajun and Creole goodness at Damien Chapman’s place. I can’t eat seafood, but everybody goes here for the stuffed shrimp. I’m crazy about their smothered chicken livers with sauteed onions.

Drinks: Zuzul Coastal Cuisine

Love this coastal Mexican restaurant for dinner, but the vibe is also great for stopping and having a cocktail. Paul Loggins is the bartender and he can make some drinks. My go-to is not just a dirty martini—I like mine filthy dirty.

Best Beverage Pro: Chassidy Walker

Fritai, New Orleans

Chassidy Walker creates brilliant rum cocktails as beverage manager at Fritai, chef Charly Pierre’s award-winning Haitian restaurant in Tremé, the oldest Black neighborhood in America. It’s a career path she fell into after years as a server in her early 20s. A turning point for her was applying and being accepted into Turning Tables, a 12-week bar training and mentoring program for BIPOC students. An adventurous eater and drinker, she found her palate at Fritai, along with a passion for combining flavors that evoke Caribbean food- and drink-ways.

Chassidy Walker’s Current Favorites:

LOUISIANA PRODUCT

I use Herbsaint, which has been made in New Orleans since 1934.

BEVERAGE TREND

I’m crazy about the dirty martini trend! It’s fun and creative—so many umami flavors and ways to go with garnishes. I love it because it shows the versatility of martinis.

DRINK SOMEWHERE ELSE

I really love mezcal and learning about the traditions behind its production. [She goes to Espíritu Mezcaleria & Cocina for their selection.] I’d love to try pulque from Mexico—it’s made from the fermented sap of the maguey plant and has a milky, slightly sour taste.

The Best of Louisiana

Best New Restaurant: Café Malou, New Orleans

Prepare to be completely charmed by local restaurateur Mani Dawes’ Uptown Café Malou. Dawes, who co-owns tapas bar Tia Pol in New York, created the stylish breakfast and lunch gem ingeniously connected to Octavia Books, a wonderful excuse to eat and browse. From the perfect breakfast sandwich to hearty plates of baked grits a la carbonara and the open-faced baked crab sandwich, the cuisine is comfort, but better.

Five Mile Eatery Co Op Burger — Five Mile Eatery

Best Culinary Hotel: The Windsor Court, New Orleans

With its posh British theme and masterpiece art collection, The Windsor Court is the only Louisiana hotel to win four stars from Forbes and AAA four-diamond accolades. Its landmark Grill Room is stellar, with new chef de cuisine RicTerrio “Ricky” Anderson at the helm. Anderson is focused on modern Southern cuisine, both innovative and relatable. Start with his sous vide lamb chops and devour the menu from there.

Best Reason to Line Up for Fried Chicken: Chicken’s Kitchen, Harvey

Chicken’s Kitchen serves some of the best fried chicken around: crackling crusted, juicy on the inside, soulfully seasoned. Chef Marlon “Chicken” Chukumerije’s fried chicken and warm hospitality earned him James Beard Best Chef: South semifinalist status in 2024. The restaurant’s original location in Gretna will close in April, but fret not, the chef plans to reopen in a new nearby location (to be announced) in May.

Best Bottle Shop with Benefits: Bin Q Liquor, Baton Rouge

Bin Q owner Ben Jones uses his curated list of unique finds, small producers, and natural wines to sell spirits with a story. But it gets better at this Baton Rouge bottle shop, thanks to teeny tiny Bin Q Bar in the back, where raconteur bartender Alan Walter presides over Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons of sipping mind-bending libations infused generously with brio.

Best Brewery Eats: Crying Eagle Brewery, Lake Charles

It’s been a decade since Eric Avery founded Crying Eagle Brewery in downtown Lake Charles, a community- facing brewpub now with a second lakefront location. Chef Lyle Broussard, who came up in Bayou Teche, has raised Crying Eagle’s menu to lofty heights. CIA trained, the chef spent more than 18 years in casino kitchens. He reimagines pub fare with dishes both simple and succulent: blue crab nachos, real deal gumbo, and parmesan-crusted okra, all best enjoyed with a beer.

Best New Pan-Asian Tasting Menu: The Kingsway, New Orleans

For chef Ashwin Vilkhu, his first solo venture, The Kingsway, is the ultimate family meal, a concept inspired by a childhood of favorite dishes from his father, chef Arvinder Vilkhu. Just across the street from the family’s Saffron Restaurant, The Kingsway offers a four-course, $92 tasting menu with choices like yellowfin tuna with five-year chili sauce and scallion lamb—bold flavors at the crossroads of Asian cuisine. Brings friends, eat everything.

Most Sustainable Kitchen: Five Mile Eatery, Lafayette

Founded by executive chef Kelsey Leger and her partner, Sarah Trotter, the female-owned, pride-proud business opened in 2022. Besides drilling deep into 100-percent local and organic sourcing, the breakfast and lunch café is serious about sustainability, its menu a love letter to the farmers and makers that have become the chef’s friends. To this team, green translates to composting, recycling, and partnering with like-minded grassroots initiatives like Backyard Sapphire and Worm Lady Recycles—extra work but so worth it.

Where Hospitality Meets Modern Creole: Atchafalaya, New Orleans

At Atchafalaya, where a restaurant has lived in the Irish Channel neighborhood since the 1920s, chef Chris Lynch channels umami in plates of elegant modern Creole cuisine, and the kitchen consistently turns out what might be the best andouille-studded shrimp and grits in town. Then there’s the attentive service, which is familiar with the emphasis on family. And the final piece lies with proprietors Tony Tocco and Rachael Jaffe, who radiate a deep commitment to welcoming guests. No wonder the restaurant earned a MICHELIN recommendation, an overdue affirmation to a level of excellence regulars have known about for years.