4 January 2024
Mexican mariscos and a margarita from Lengua Madre. | Randy Schmidt/Eater NOLA
New Orleans diners can look forward to Mexican mariscos, East Asian and French fusion fine-dining, American South tasting menus, and more
It’s a new year in the Crescent City, and as always, Eater New Orleans is kicking things off with a look at the most exciting restaurants and bars expected to open, the places that we’re most looking forward to trying in 2024. So far, we’re tracking the progress of a Mexican mariscos restaurant from the talented chef behind Lengua Madre, an East Asian and French fusion restaurant from the family who opened Saffron, and a Venezuelan spot specializing in arepas, among others.
Below are eight of the most anticipated restaurants for 2024 so far, arranged chronologically based on projected opening.
Smoke & Honey
Where: 3301 Bienville Street, Mid-City
When: Winter 2024
There’s a new casual restaurant underway for the Bienville Street space formerly home to Piece of Meat, the popular butcher-turned-steakhouse that closed in summer 2023. Smoke & Honey, from Vassiliki Ellwood Yiagazis, began as a pop-up during the pandemic and combines Greek and Jewish influences for dishes like matzo ball soup, gyros, grape leaves, spanakopita, and a specialty sandwich called the lambeaux (lamb, whipped feta, and garlic onion jam on John Gendusa Bakery po’ boy bread). The counter-service spot with grab-and-go options will open with breakfast and lunch as soon as late January, with plans to add dinner down the road.
The Kingsway
Where: 4201 Magazine Street, Uptown
When: Winter 2024
Saffron has stunned as a destination for fine-dining Indian cuisine since the beloved Vilkhu family opened it in 2017. Now, the family is getting closer to opening their second restaurant, called The Kingsway, early this year. Renovations are nearing completion at the former location of Vietnamese restaurant Magasin, just across the street from Saffron. Though The Kingsway will have a similarly upscale, stylish atmosphere, the food will differ, blending East Asian and French flavors to create a modern approach to New American cuisine.
Rice Vice Sake
Where: 143 Delaronde Street, Algiers Point
When: Winter 2024
A popular Nashville sake bar is headed to New Orleans, set for the Algiers Point address next to the newly-opened Nighthawk Napoletana. Rice Vice Sake is from Bryon Stithem, the creator of Proper Sake Co., who is partnering with New Orleans resident Bryson Aust (also a partner in Nighthawk and Barracuda Taco Stand) to serve his Nashville-brewed sake. There will be 10 to 15 sakes on tap, including some from other brewers. The 20-seat bar is expected to open in early 2024.
Acamaya
Where: 3060 Dauphine Street, Bywater
When: Spring 2024
The end of one exciting culinary chapter marks the beginning of another: Ana Castro, the James Beard-nominated chef behind acclaimed LGD tasting restaurant Lengua Madre, closed that restaurant at the end of 2023. Next, she is now branching out on her own for Acamaya, opening in New Orleans’s Bywater neighborhood sometime this spring. This more casual follow-up to Lengua Madre will focus on Mexican mariscos, the catch-all term for dishes like aguachiles, ceviches, fish soups, shrimp cocktails, and tostadas.
La Cocinita
Where: 4920 Prytania Street, Uptown
When: Spring 2024
After 12 years running one of New Orleans’s favorite food trucks and catering businesses for arepas, tacos, and “burri-tacos,” Benoit and Rachel Angulo are opening a restaurant in Uptown this year. La Cocinita will add a local restaurant weekend brunch with breakfast empanadas, breakfast arepas, breakfast tacos, and breakfast bowls, in addition to expanding its menu of arepas (including vegan options). The counter-service restaurant will have a full bar serving South American wines, beer, mimosas, margaritas, mojitos, and a handful of other tropical cocktails.
As-Yet Named Restaurant from Michael Stoltzfus
Where: 1245 Constance Street, LGD
When: Spring 2024
With the closing of Lengua Madre at the end of 2023, a new, but very different, tasting menu restaurant is slotted to open in its former LGD space. The chef and owner of Garden District favorite Coquette, Michael Stoltzfus (who also owned Lengua Madre), will bring Coquette-style tasting menus to the quaint corner restaurant early this year. It’s in part to find a home for Coquette’s popular prix fixe option, which Stoltzfus did away with earlier in 2023 after revamping that restaurant’s menu offerings. Expect modern, upscale takes on food from the American South, with an emphasis on seasonal produce, Gulf seafood, and regionally sourced meat.
Étoile
Where: 3607 Magazine Street, Uptown
When: Sometime in 2024
Étoile, from acclaimed Birmingham, Alabama chef Chris Dupont, is finally getting closer to opening. After leading farm-to-table dining in Birmingham with Cafe Dupont for nearly 30 years, Dupont is opening his “last” restaurant in his hometown of New Orleans. It’s taking shape in the Magazine Street mansion formerly home to Cavan, and recently began hiring, a good sign for its forthcoming debut. Dupont is known for utilizing French techniques and regional, seasonal products from the American South; Étoile should serve a similarly modern take on Southern cuisine.
ShaSha Lounge: Social Aid and Pleasure Club
Where: TBD
When: Sometime in 2024
This forthcoming cocktail club and lounge is an ambitious NFT-based project led by acclaimed chef Nina Compton and her business and life partner, Larry Miller. It would be the couple’s third New Orleans restaurant, though this one brings in a slew of other big names as backers — celebrity chefs like Stephanie Izard, Marc Forgione, Michelle Bernstein, Rodney Scott, and Tiffani Faison. Memberships will be sold as NFTs, with members “unlocking” access to the club and special events. A limited amount of memberships opened up back in July, when ShaSha Lounge announced its charity partner, United Way Southeast Louisiana (UWSELA).