7 New Orleans restaurants opening in 2024 that we're excited about
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It can be hard to keep up with all the new restaurants appearing in New Orleans, and in 2024, there are already lots planned that we're excited about. Today, we're rounding up 7 that we're keeping a close eye on.
Why it matters: New Orleans is one of the hospitality capitals of the world, and our chefs are always changing the game with new concepts.
Worth noting: This list includes flavors from India to Thailand and Portugal, so it's safe to say New Orleans' new restaurants are going global.
Here are the new restaurants we're most excited about in 2024:
🍽️ Good Catch: The team that created Uptown Thai restaurant Pomelo expands downtown with a new place dedicated to Thai seafood and "classic Thai food."
- ETA: Opened this week.
🍽️ Wild South: When Ana Castro closed tasting restaurant Lengua Madre at the end of 2023, it left an open space in the LGD, which Coquette chef Michael Stoltzfus is filling. Expect a tasting menu-style place to "reimagine the food traditions of the region."
- ETA: February.
🍽️ Acamaya: Speaking of Castro, she'd already begun working on her next project, Acamaya. The new place won't be a tasting restaurant, she says, which means it'll be easier to pop in for a bite of something from one of New Orleans' best chefs.
- ETA: April.
🍽️ 34 Restaurant and Bar: Emeril Lagasse expands his collection of New Orleans restaurants with a new place inspired by his mother's Portuguese heritage. His son, E.J. Lagasse, is part of the team here, as he has been at the star chef's namesake restaurant since its reopening.
- Go deeper.
- ETA: Late spring.
🍽️ Etoile: New Orleans native chef Chris Dupont made his name in Birmingham, but now he returns home to take over the Magazine Street mansion that once housed Cavan.
- ETA: TBD.
🍽️ The Kingsway: The Vilkhu family has been offering beautiful Indian food at Saffron NOLA for years, and they're finally expanding with a new concept, also on Magazine Street.
- ETA: Winter, 2024, according to Eater New Orleans.
🍽️ Bon Ton Cafe: Just as one of New Orleans' longest-running restaurants was set to reopen last fall, a fire wreaked havoc on the nearly-complete renovation. But owner Jerry Greenbaum told NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune he's still set on getting doors.
- ETA: TBD.