Best New Orleans Restaurants For Holiday Meals

The Grand Dame of Uptown Restaurants, Commander's Palace is a great place for a Sunday Jazz Brunch. It's open for Thanksgiving, but not for Christmas. This is the Garden District restaurant. The food is consistently good, as is the ambiance. But, what makes Commander's Palace stand out is the service. That's excellent.

In the Omni Hotel, the Rib Room is a local holiday favorite. The rib room has large windows that look out onto Royal Street, and the people watching alone is worth your time spent here. While the Rib Room specializes in Prime Rib, it also has some great seafood dishes.

A French Quarter gem usually opens only for dinner has daytime holiday meals. Muriel's in right on Jackson Square in the heart of the French Quarter in a wonderful old, historic building that is reputedly haunted. The food here is consistently good and the atmosphere is festive. It's great for a holiday meal.

Arnaud's, one of the premier restaurants in the French Quarter of New Orleans serves a Table D'Hote fixed menu usually for about $45 to $50 per person. This is a legendary New Orleans restaurant in an old mansion with many rooms, each decorated differently. It's elegant and very 19th century in atmosphere, featuring exquisite food.

Breakfast at Brennan's is a must for any New Orleans visitor. On holidays, the wonderful brunches are even better. This is a standard for Tourists in New Orleans. It has a beautiful hidden courtyard that is exactly what you would picture in a fine dining restaurant in the French Quarter.

Broussard's has one of the best patios in the French Quarter. So, besides the ambiance equals the wonderful Creole food. Broussard's usually has a special menu for holidays that runs about $40 to $45 per person. Broussard's is lesser known than some of the other iconic French Quarter Restaurants but just as good.

Bayona is set in a 200-year-old Creole cottage in the French Quarter. But the food is decidedly international. The best holiday meal at Bayona is their special New Year's Eve dinner. It's Closed Christmas day, but open Christmas Eve. Susan Spicer, one of New Orleans' premier chefs presides over Bayona and her creative genius with food will impress.

A Chef John Besh restaurant, Luke is a casual brasserie, more like a small French country bistro. If you're in the mood for great food in a more casual setting, Luke's may be the place for you.

A romantic Brennan's restaurant in mid-city across from City Park. The setting here is what sets Ralph's apart. It's off the beaten path and more contemporary than the French Quarter restaurants. But the food is great and the view of the large stand of live oak trees dripping with moss is beautiful.

Galatoire's on Bourbon Street is as "New Orleans Creole" as you can get. All of New Orleans celebrates birthdays, anniversaries, divorces, weddings, whatever at Galatoire's. Business deals are done, politics is discussed, and Creole traditions are kept sacred. If you want to experience the most traditional Creole restaurant in New Orleans, Galatoire's is for you.