Four Under-the-Radar Restaurants to Try in New Orleans Right Now

Caribbean plates in St. Roch, Japanese diaspora cuisine in Mid-City, dumplings in Harvey, and more

This is Eater New Orleans’s periodic compilation spotlighting under-the-radar restaurants, bars, and bakeries opening across New Orleans. For Eater’s guide to the hottest new restaurants in New Orleans this month, see here, and if we’ve missed something, send us an email.

Bodega

633 Annunciation Street, Uptown

After years of working diligently on an Uptown space while offering holiday catering spreads and nourishing home-delivered meals, Jaryd Kase opened Bodega in mid-December. Kase’s food is pure comfort — the kind of food you seek when you want something that feels homemade without having to make it yourself. It’s currently offering a lunch menu of large sandwiches (seared tuna BLT, roasted eggplant, chimichurri steak, and more, all served on Bellegarde bread) and salads (the Eliza’s favorite is dreamy), as well as grab-and-go prepared food available by the pound geared towards dinner. There’s a retail area of curated products, and plans to roll out a breakfast menu soon.

Legend Dumplings

1831 Manhattan Blvd #A, Harvey

Harvey is lucky to have this delightful dumpling shop, a transportive space that’s as festive as it is futuristic. Romantic lanterns, a central sword display, and gorgeous wood tables set the stage for a menu of affordable, colorful dumplings — think chargrilled oyster, Cajun shrimp, crawfish, and beef quesadilla, as well as more traditional options. There’s also soup dumplings, ramen, and a refreshingly thoughtful kids menu.

Mr. Joes Island Grill Seafood & BBQ

2315 St. Claude Avenue, St. Roch

Look for the massive smoker on wheels out front at Mr. Joe’s, a brightly-colored storefront on St. Claude Avenue — though you may smell the sweet aroma of slow-cooked meat first. Mr. Joe’s is a Carribbean dream, a delightful addition to the corridor in the address that was once home to Kebab. It started as a food truck parked off Frenchmen Street, gaining a following for jerk chicken, ribs, curried goat, oxtails and more. Now that the brick-and-mortar is open, its orange-and-blue facade beckons for heaping portions, vivid flavors, and friendly service.

Nikkei Izakaya

600 N Broad Street, Treme

Nikkei is a Creole izakaya from the Honns, the chefs and owners behind Carmo, along with chef Wataru Saeki, who led the raw bar at Carmo for 10 years. It’s tucked away within the Broadside’s compound, a lovely sliver of a space that offers a relaxing atmosphere for drinks and dinner. The food is inspired by the cuisine of Japanese immigrants — Nikkei is the word for the descendants of Japanese immigrants living around the world. The menu is a mix of traditional Japanese dishes like chashu pork, karaage, bukkake udon, and Okinawa somen champul, as well as Japanese diaspora dishes like kakiage and pastel de feira.