Top, Best & Fun Rooftop Bars in New Orleans

"Commander's Palace has been around since the late 1800s, but under Ella Brennan’s leadership starting in the 1970s, the restaurant essentially redefined New Orleans cuisine and catapulted into stardom with the help of celeb chefs Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse. Today, the menu and service are top notch with James Beard Award-winning chef Tory McPhail leading the kitchen and Ti Martin and Lally Brennan running the show. Go for lunch and make sure to end the meal with the bread pudding soufflé and whiskey sauce."

"The Commander’s takeout menu changes daily and rotates classics like turtle soup, lacquered quail, and pecan pie as well as seasonal dishes like duck breast salad and wild Louisiana barbecue shrimp, available in family or individual sizes. Call to order, seven days a week between 11:30 a.m."

"Chef Tory McPhail was recently named James Beard's Best Chef South and his forward-looking take on Creole classics keeps this. institution, which has launched the careers of the likes of Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse, current...."

"Only available on Wednesdays and Thursdays, the fresh oysters in Parkway Tavern’s Po Boys are seasoned with garlic and cayenne pepper and then served in classic style on Leidenheimer’s bread. Like many of the best New Orleans Po Boy shops, Parkway Bakery & Tavern is located slightly off the beaten track. However, it’s worth the extra effort to travel to this Mid-City institution by cab/uber or streetcar (Canal St #48)."

"Parkway is known as a contender for most-loved po’boys in town — especially the always-overflowing shrimp. Pre-pandemic, the line to order wrapped around the entirety of the dining room, but with the addition of a huge outdoor dining area, parking lot pickup, and strict social distancing guidelines, Parkway has worked to establish a comfortable and safe setting for its loyal fans."

"This Mid-City po'boy purveyor has been a favorite for decades, featuring affordable drinks and some of the best po'boys around town. Proudly local and full of characters, the eatery was made extra-famous by a visit from then President Obama, and has been featured on a variety of TV shows. While waiting for your sandwich, peruse the memorabilia and pictures that adorn the walls."

"The family-owned restaurant with four locations around New Orleans spotlights house signature items like Chicken St. Charles, Eggs Cochon and Bananas Foster Pain Perdu. Prices start around the $9 range, topping out around $15. The spot doesn’t take reservations."

"Cheery cafe serving signature omelets, Southern brunch fare & cocktails in a relaxed atmosphere. Open for breakfast and lunchDress code: CasualPhone: +1 504-525-9355"

"The Ruby Slipper Café is a popular spot for breakfast, brunch, and lunch. Its focus is fresh food with a New Orleans twist. The restaurant uses local produce."

"Coquette mixes wine-bar ambience with friendly service and a bit of white linen; the result is a candlelit place where you don’t feel bad getting tipsy. Explore beyond the respectable wine menu, though – there’s... Tapas in Faubourg Marigny & Bywater"

"Located on the corner of St. Louis at Royal Street, the Rib Room has been the haunt of literary greats and the politically infamous for over 50 years. The Rib Room’s rotisserie remains a focal point of the menu of classic to contemporary dishes."

"Omni Royal Orleans Hotel, 621 St. Louis St., (504) 529-7045; www.ribroomneworleans.com. Pan-seared Gulf fish amandine is served with sauteed garlic kale and parsley potatoes. Reservations recommended."

"If you are still up around 4:30am this is where you’ll find the people that keep the French Quarter thriving stepping in for their post work drinks. The drinks are cheap and the locals are colorful, you may find anyone from your favorite bartender to your favorite “dancer” sidled up to the bar at The Alibi as sunrise approaches."

"Opened in 2015, this operation closed briefly in 2018 and reopened after being purchased by the Las Vegas-based HS Beverage. This Tchoupitoulas operation sources sweet potatoes from Avoyelles Parish for vodka, Louisiana molasses for rum, cold brew coffee from French Truck Coffee for the liqueur, and cayenne peppers grown in NOCCA’s Press Street Gardens. This is also the only local distillery that uses sweet potato as a grain source for vodka."

"The Crescent City’s eponymous distillery offers handcrafted spirits including vodka, bourbon, rum, gin and whiskey. The award-winning, silky-smooth Hierarchy Vodka is made in a mild style with an aroma of cereal with milk and a clean taste of fruit pastry, custard and minerals. Other spirits include NOLA Vodka and Pepper Vodka, Louisiana Tradition Whiskey, Louisiana Tradition Rye Whiskey and a special edition Mardi Gras NOLA Vodka."

"NOLA Distillery is the place to go for some of the best alcoholic beverages you can find in New Orleans. Featuring wonderfully handcrafted alcoholic spirits such as vodka, bourbon, rum, gin, whiskey and tequila; this distillery offers informative and tasteful tours, letting you learn about the process that goes behind the creation of your favourite drinks. Tasting opportunities are offered here as well."

"If you want a Po Boy, we recommend checking out Killer Po-Boys, if you want a fancy dining experience where you dress up and have another Commander’s Palace like experience head on over to Galatoire’s on Bourbon St., if you want some great gumbo head on over to the Gumbo Shop, or if you want some of the best oysters in town to check out Acme Oyster House for their famed seafood. We had a hard time choosing our last meal because all of the food we ate was so good."

"This New Orleans favorite has taken the Best Gumbo title in the Best of New Orleans poll every year since 1999. Order their award-winning seafood, okra and chicken-andouille gumbo, or other Creole dishes, like po-boys and bread pudding. Customers can sit inside in the large dining area with high ceilings and beautifully painted walls, or outdoors in the courtyard surrounded by greenery."

"Pralines are also another dessert that New Orleans is known for. They come in a bunch of flavors, but vanilla and chocolate are the basics. Pralines are a sugary confection with nuts on top that melt in your mouth."

"On my first visit to Shake Therapy, it was comically but aptly described to me as “Subway — but for milkshakes”. This quaint little dessert shop creates detailed works of ice cream art while offering the addition of nearly every sweet and sugarcoated topping known to man. Can’t make up your mind?"

"Shake Therapy makes custom shakes so you can add as many toppings as your heart desires (and as your stomach will take). Cookies, Fruit :oops, Pop-Tarts, mini pies, donuts, sprinkles, chocolate drizzles, gummy bears, cereal, popcorn balls, Nutella...the list is endless."

"Located at the corner of St. Claude and St. Roch avenues, across from the bright orange Healing Center that includes the New Orleans Food Co-Op, the St. Roch Market first opened in 1875 as just one of the city's many public markets. Restored in 2012 with $3.7 million in public funds, the market now includes 13 vendors including two that offer gluten free baked goods. The Market is an easy walk or bike ride from the French Quarter, and it's just across the street from the Marigny."

"First raised in 1875, this old market hall on St. Claude Avenue came through a post-Katrina renovation between 2012-15, reopening as a modern, chef-centric food hall. In this bright and airy space are 11 dining options around an acclaimed craft cocktail bar, The Mayhaw. T2 Streetfood does Vietnamese classics like banh mi, pho and bao buns, while Torshi is all about eastern Mediterranean flavours, from falafel to gyros, tabouli and baklava."

"This late-19th-century city-owned seafood market, which was by and large abandoned after Hurricane Katrina, was reborn as an upscale food hall several years ago. The dilapidated structure was spruced up and the navelike interior painted an..."

"Immaculate Conception church, locally known as Jesuit church, is a Roman Catholic church in the Central Business District of New Orleans. The original church was built on this site in 1857. Immaculate Conception church was built and designed in the Neo-Venetian Gothic style of Gothic Revival architecture, with Moorish Revival and Byzantine Revival elements."

"Jung’s is a popular spot Chinese-American fare, with a few Korean and Thai dishes thrown into the mix. A fixture in New Orleans for close to four decades, Jung’s keeps prices low even for specialty items on their Chinese menu, which offers the likes of boiled fish in hot sauce, spicy pan-fried chicken, and fiery ma po tofu. For the more conservative of palate go-tos include shrimp with lobster sauce and pork fried rice."

"Jung’s Golden Dragon a restaurant of Chinese take out masters. On the rare occasion that I actually eat in the restaurant, I’m normally one of the only, if not the only person in there. But that is miles from saying they aren’t busy, and light years away from saying they aren’t good."

"3009 Magazine St., (504) 891-8280; www.jungsgoldendragonii.com. The Happy Family includes beef, chicken, shrimp and pork cooked with vegetables in brown sauce served with fried noodles."