Jul 22, 2025 - Food and Drink
New Orleans craves late dinner
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Dinnertime comes later in New Orleans compared to the rest of the country, according to Resy data shared with Axios.
Why it matters: It might be healthier if we shifted that habit a bit.
By the numbers: Resy reservations in New Orleans last year were more likely to start later, the data show.
- New Orleans diners are less likely to book reservations between 5 and 7pm, but things leveled out with the national average between 7pm and 8pm.
- By 8pm, New Orleans gets busier than the national average.
That's good news for the local restaurants that are starting to reenergize the late-night dining scene, which took a post-Katrina beating.
- Junebug opened in the CBD last spring boasting about its late-night kitchen, and The Times-Picayune's Ian McNulty recently wrote about the trend, too.
Yes, but: Eating earlier in the day supports your body's natural clock — boosting metabolism and improving sleep, experts say.
- Eating the same amount but later "leads to an increase in cravings, changes in appetite hormones and fewer calories burnt across the waking hours," Frank Scheer, Harvard Medical School professor and Medical Chronobiology Program director, tells Axios.
The intrigue: Nationally, dinner times shifted earlier since the pre-pandemic years.
- Yep, even in New Orleans, where we apparently rule the Fourth Meal world.