Sep 15, 2026 - Food and Drink

Avegno Lounge is an Uptown gem

Chelsea Brasted

Martini glass with an olive sits on a white marble table beside a frosted glass of water; a brown menu rests nearby, with blurred restaurant patrons in the background. — Avegno has a customizable martini menu, plus other cocktails and an extensive wine list. Photo: Chelsea Brasted/Axios

Maybe it's age, or maybe it's parenting, but at a certain point in the last several years, I started loving it when I'd get to a restaurant long enough before meeting friends to have a drink alone.

Why it matters: A recent meetup at Avegno Lounge offered just such an opportunity, and with a perfect martini to boot.

The big picture: The Avegno Lounge is a sister space to Uptown neighborhood restaurant Gautreau's.

The two businesses share a kitchen and a perspective, which is to say the short menu of mostly French small bites also offers surprise flavors of chef Rob Mistry's Indian heritage, as The Times-Picayune's Ian McNulty has reported.
But while Gautreau's is a true full-service restaurant, if you're just in the mood for a glass of wine or an impromptu meetup with friends, Avegno is the place to go.

What I ordered: A dirty vodka martini and cheese straws, which were flavored with curry and so crunchy as to be nearly (but not quite!) brittle.

Both provided the lovely mental transition I needed to end a work day before catching up with a friend.

If you go: Avegno is open Tuesday through Saturday and doesn't take reservations. View the menu here.

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Avegno Lounge is an Uptown gem

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