Best Breakfast and Brunch Places in Garden District

"1403 Washington Ave., (504) 899-8221; www.commanderspalace.com. Duck fat-seared bluefin tuna is served with Meyer lemon grilled greens and sweet potato boulangere with miso-lemon grass veal bone jus and foie gras ganache. Reservations recommended."

"Breakfast service done well is a cheerful, life-affirming start to the day, and Willa Jean does it with aplomb. Coffees (New Orleans is a great coffee city) are topped, even water is delivered with gusto. There's a range of decadence happening across the main food menu."

"Willa Jean, a charming bakery and café in the CBD, is the brainchild of award-winning pastry chef and proprietor Kelly Fields. Her celebrated baked goods feature on breakfast, lunc..."

"With an elegant approach to classic Southern food, Willa Jean takes that same “elegant fusion” approach to their breakfast food, which includes a griddled banana bread, an artichok..."

"What you're getting: Chicken St. Charles Though the Ruby Slipper has multiple locations around town, it’s best to hit up the Mid City original for a morning meal of fried chicken. Served over a biscuit and topped with poached eggs, the Chicken St. Charles is brought together by a creamy pork tasso sauce. And if that alone doesn’t do it for you, pair it with one of the six other eggs Benedict variations on the menu for just $15."

"This place is popular, so much so that there is a wait as soon as it opens - I think it opens at 7 AM."

"Situated in a corner of the Ace Hotel – which is so beyond hip that each room comes stocked with a record player and full vinyl collection, as well as an epic minibar that will cause cocktail enthusiasts to high five themselves with excitement – its lunch and dinner menu from chefs Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman favors Italian standards with an emphasis on housemade pastas. In the morning, there are the usual suspects that kids  love: a short stack of buttermilk ricotta pancakes dusted with confectioners sugar, housemade yogurt sporting granola and honey, and a towering fried chicken biscuit. Best bites for tykes: Cacio e pepe, gemelli with “maw maw’s gravy,” and meatballs sitting on a field of melted parmesan."

"Pastry chef Breanne Kostyk, formerly of Northshore eatery Oxlot 9, turns out incredible seasonal desserts from fruity tarts to crostatas, with a slew of inspired cheese platings and an affogato to boot at this chic Warehouse District osteria."

"A well-known Sunday brunch spot, Katie’s is a corner restaurant that opened in 1984 in the Mid City neighbourhood of New Orleans. Favourite brunch menu items include lemon ricotta pancakes and veal grillades and grits, and diners can sip on bottomless sangria, mimosas, or bloody Marys. Katie’s closed briefly following Hurricane Katrina, but reopened in 2010 and is now better than ever."

"Covid-19 review: I recently had lunch at my neighborhood Katie's with a new friend to network and get to know each other!. And I'm surprised I h..."

" American male) was so friendly, personable, and attentive to all of our needs. My parents were blown away. Thanks again for the experience!"

"A gas station turned late night diner, The Trolley Stop is open 24 hours Thursday-Saturday on St. Charles Avenue, with breakfast all day, sandwiches, burgers, beer and wine, and usually some strange characters dining within. Try the daily specials, or dare we suggest Pigs in a Blanket."

"Set in a quaint corner bungalow on Dauphine Street, Horn's Eatery and Catering is a friendly neighborhood café with lovely sidewalk seating, and they serve hearty Southern fare in a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Packed with regulars and newcomers alike, the restaurant is a bustling breakfast spot with a menu of classic and traditional food such as fluffy three-egg omelets with different fillings, egg scrambles, grits and étouffée, carrot waffles, and waffle couchons. Signature dishes include the Jewish Coonass with two potato latkes, two eggs, and freshly grilled spinach topped with crawfish étouffée and a homemade biscuit, and the Havana Omelet with seasoned black beans, salsa, and cheddar cheese."

"Greasy spoon meets wood panelling at the Marigny's 24 hour breakfast and fried foods mecca founded in 1981 and seemingly (perfectly) never updated, except for new table cloths. Not the cheapest on the list, but affordable still. The biscuits and gravy will only set you back $3.95, but most dishes you're aiming toward $10, give or take."

"This five-acre sculpture garden is a park within City Park, and acts as an open-air annex to the wonderful New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA). 90 sculptures—mostly modern and abstract—are set among magnolias and live oaks, framed by bridges and reflecting pools, with world-renowned artists Henry Moore, Antoine Bourdelle, and Ossip Zadkine represented. The lake-set Virlane Tower by Kenneth Snelson is a favorite, as is the familiar Love, Red Blue sign by Robert Indiana, but it’s best to come without a map."

"The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden is technically a part of the New Orleans Museum of Art, but it’s one of those places to visit that deserves its very own part of this listing since many come by just to visit the garden on its own. Right near the main NOMA building, an 11-acre expanse of garden stretches out, decorated with over 90 different sculptures. The gardens first opened in 2003 and have grown in size ever since it made its home in the rear of the Louisiana museum."

"The NOMA Sculpture Garden is another great part of City Park. It is a a free portion of the NOMA Museum and, as with everything in City Park, is surprisingly large, with a ton of sculptures placed among beautiful trees and small ponds. There are plenty of fun statues that make for great Instagram shots."

"If you like arts and culture, you might enjoy a trip to the New Orleans Museum of Arts aka NOMA. Here you’ll find art work from famous artists like Picasso, Joan Miro, Georgia O’ Keffe, and also some local Louisiana artists. The art exhibition are divided into arts from different regions of the world. NOMA has a nice cafe, a cute garden to enjoy a picnic and a lake behind to kayak."

"1313 Hickory Ave., Harahan, (504) 737-0033; www.hickorycafe.com. A focaccia burger is an 8-ounce beef patty topped with pepper Jack cheese, bacon, spinach, roasted red pepper and basil mayonnaise on focaccia."

"2008 Clearview Parkway, Metairie, (504) 889-2837; www.eatatbens.com. A Big Ben is a two-patty cheeseburger topped with bacon, chili-cheese fries and house sauce."

"Red’s Chinese is a favorite spot where New Orleans’s residents want to indulge in a spread of Chinese flavors. It is a modern joint with a playful design that, coincidentally, creates an inviting and inspiring atmosphere for all kinds of diners. A visit here will bring you face to face with dishes such as crawfish rangoons, kabocha squash soup, General Lee’s chicken, and kung pao pastrami among other inventive and delicious dishes."

"This little green sliver in the Lower 9th Ward map is a developing green infrastructure project that both holds excess water and provides a natural breath of fresh air in the midst of the city. The 1.5-acre park is peppered with ponds, native tupelo and bald cypress trees and attractive landscaping. Wetland birds and an alligator have taken up residence, perhaps awaiting the time the park expands into a planned 42-acre natural reserve."

"The Mississippi River is a very prominent part of New Orleans, so you have to get a picture along its banks. My favorite spot is just south of Jackson Square where you can get a nice shot of the Crescent City Connection Bridge in the background. This shot below was late in the day we arrived after a long flight."

"This park pays tribute to one of the Big Easy’s most esteemed legends, Louis Armstrong. The park is all about art, jazz, and music, featuring different events throughout the year at the historic Congo Square. It’s only a block from the jazz-inspired Hotel St. Pierre; so grab your food and find a peaceful spot among the trees, or spread out a blanket along the banks of the lagoon."

"There aren’t a ton of green spaces in downtown New Orleans, so Louis Armstrong Park, just outside the French Quarter, is a welcome option. Given its proximity to the city’s culture, the park has also become a hub for festivals and seasonal events. It’s a well-designed, landscaped spot that packs a lot into 32 acres."