Best Breakfast & Brunch in New Orleans

New Orleans doesn’t just eat breakfast — it celebrates it. Beignets buried in powdered sugar, bananas set on fire tableside, jazz bands playing during brunch, and Bloody Marys that could double as a meal.

The Icons

Café Du Monde (French Quarter) — Open since 1862. Three items: beignets (fried dough covered in a mountain of powdered sugar), café au lait, and orange juice. Open 24 hours. Sit at the open-air tables overlooking Jackson Square. Powdered sugar will coat everything within a 3-foot radius. Don’t wear black.

Brennan’s (French Quarter) — Where bananas Foster was invented in 1951. The prix fixe breakfast includes turtle soup, eggs Hussarde or eggs Sardou, and the famous flaming banana dessert prepared tableside. Elegant, celebratory, and worth the splurge.

Café Beignet (multiple French Quarter locations) — Less crowded than Café Du Monde with the same beignets-and-café-au-lait formula. The Royal Street location has a courtyard with live jazz.

Brunch Destinations

Commander’s Palace (Garden District) — The 25-cent martini lunch is legendary, but brunch is equally impressive. Creole dishes, live jazz, and a dining room that’s been hosting celebrations since 1893.

Atchafalaya (Irish Channel) — Neighborhood brunch with a porch, Bloody Marys, and a jazz trio. The shrimp and grits and the biscuits and gravy are excellent. Sunday brunch is the quintessential New Orleans morning experience.

Elizabeth’s (Bywater) — “Real food done real good.” Praline bacon (bacon coated in praline glaze) is the signature. The brunch menu is creative and Southern.

Ruby Slipper Café (multiple locations) — Eggs Benedict with cochon de lait (slow-roasted pork), bananas Foster pain perdu (French toast), and strong chicory coffee. Multiple locations, all good.

Quick & Local

Willa Jean (Warehouse District) — Southern baking and breakfast. The biscuits, the cornbread with salted honey butter, and the cookie skillet are famous. Kelly Fields (the pastry chef) won a James Beard Award.

Bearcat Café (Mid-City) — Health-conscious breakfast with grain bowls, smoothies, and avocado toast alongside Southern staples. A welcome balance to the city’s otherwise indulgent breakfast scene.

Morning Call (City Park) — Café Du Monde’s rival since 1870 (yes, there’s a beignet rivalry). Located in City Park — combine beignets with a walk through the park’s ancient live oaks and the New Orleans Museum of Art.

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