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The Guide · Restaurants in Treme

Best Restaurants in Treme (2026)

Eleven restaurants across New Orleans. Compare neighborhoods, price tiers and what to order, then read the full reviews.

Remy Boudreaux
By Remy Boudreaux Neighborhoods Editor · Updated October 2026 · How the score is built
Best Restaurants in Treme (2026)
THE NEW ORLEANS DINING GUIDES 11 restaurants
Compare all 11 restaurantsNeighborhood · price · score · first order
In the same order as the guide. Scores are out of 10; dollar symbols show the listed price tier.
RestaurantNeighborhoodPriceScoreWhat to order
01 Li'l Dizzy's CafeNew Orleans$$8.6Fried chicken
02 Buffa's Bar & RestaurantNew Orleans$$4.8
03 Nonno's Cajun Cuisine & PastriesNew Orleans$$5.7
04 Bertha's Place Bar & RestaurantNew Orleans$$$4.9
05 Pulcinella!New Orleans5.7
06 Pagoda CaféNew Orleans$5.7
07 McHardy's Chicken & Fixin'New Orleans$5.1
08 J's Creole Wings ClaiborneNew Orleans$$5.4
09 The Green Room KukhnyaNew Orleans$$6.1
10 Lost Coyote RestaurantNew Orleans5.0
11 THE HALF SHELL ON THE BAYOUNew Orleans$$4.1

11 restaurants · In guide order

1 Li'l Dizzy's Cafe Yelp

Li'l Dizzy's Cafe

Cajun/Creole · New Orleans · $$ · № 11 on the List
Insider Score8.6

Li'l Dizzy's is the Treme room that locals point to when someone asks where New Orleans actually eats. The fried chicken and red beans and rice are the draw, and the shrimp étouffée holds up alongside both. Lines form, especially for brunch, because the room earns them. The front-of-house is engaged and attentive in a way that bigger, splashier spots rarely manage. Come hungry, come early, and expect to wait a few minutes before sitting down.

What to orderFried chickenRed beans and riceCrawfish etouffee Call Directions
Full review & visiting detailsRead the full review & visiting details

The Treme Soul Table That Holds the Canon

Fried chicken

The fried chicken at this Treme soul-food table is the reason the neighborhood comes through on a weekday.

Red beans and rice

Monday red beans here carry the wash-day tradition straight, cooked down with smoked sausage the way a Creole household does it.

Crawfish etouffee

The crawfish étouffée runs rich and properly buttery, the kind of Creole preparation that keeps the holy trinity honest.

Li'l Dizzy's Cafe sits in the Treme, the neighborhood that has carried New Orleans Creole soul food longer than most dining rooms in this city have held a lease, and the kitchen earns that address. The room runs as a lunch institution, moderately priced and plainly focused on the kind of cooking that does not need embellishment: fried chicken, red beans and rice on Monday and well beyond, and crawfish étouffée that anchors the Creole side of the menu. The fried chicken is the anchor. It draws the crowds that form a line at the door, and the line moves because the room turns with purpose.

Service is a genuine part of the proposition here. The front-of-the-house operates with warmth and engagement that is not performative, and the staff guides unfamiliar guests through the menu with the ease of people who know the dishes well. For a lunch room running at this price point and this volume, that consistency is not guaranteed, and it registers across the record. The crowd skews local and family-oriented, which is the honest measure of a Treme soul-food room. Li'l Dizzy's is not trying to translate the neighborhood for tourists. It is feeding the city.

Service is a genuine part of the proposition here. The front-of-the-house operates with warmth and engagement that is not performative, and the staff guides unfamiliar guests through the menu with the ease of people who know the dishes well. For a lunch room running at this price point and this volume, that consistency is not guaranteed, and it registers across the record. The crowd skews local and family-oriented, which is the honest measure of a Treme soul-food room.

Map showing Li'l Dizzy's Cafe© OpenStreetMap
HoursMon - Sat: 11:00 AM - 3:00 PMSun: Closed
Address1500 Esplanade Ave
New Orleans, LA, 70116
Insider tip

Arrive early to beat the line, which forms before the lunch rush and moves steadily once the room opens. The fried chicken and red beans together is the order that defines the visit.

2 Buffa's Bar & Restaurant Yelp

Buffa's Bar & Restaurant

Burger · New Orleans · $$
Insider Score4.8

Buffa's sits at the Marigny edge of the Quarter and keeps a late-night door open when most kitchens have gone dark. The burger and fries are the order after midnight, not a destination meal but a reliable one. Sunday brunch brings a live band that takes requests and a bartender working the room solo. The food is straightforward and the bar knowledge runs deep. It is the kind of corner bar that earns its regulars through consistency and a room that stays honest about what it is.

Call Directions Scored from the full review record 1001 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116 · (504) 949-0038
3 Nonno's Cajun Cuisine & Pastries Yelp

Nonno's Cajun Cuisine & Pastries

American · New Orleans · $$
Insider Score5.7

Nonno's occupies a corner spot in the neighborhood and serves the kind of plate that makes a short detour make sense. The seafood egg rolls stand out as a signature, and the shrimp and grits draw consistent praise from the room. Rockefeller oysters round out a menu that leans toward Creole comfort with a few creative moves. Service is friendly and the kitchen stays clean. It is a casual dinner stop that delivers more than the corner-joint format might suggest.

Call Directions Scored from the full review record 2517 Bayou Rd, New Orleans, LA 70119 · (504) 354-1364
4 Bertha's Place Bar & Restaurant Yelp

Bertha's Place Bar & Restaurant

Gastropub · New Orleans · $$$
Insider Score4.9

Bertha's Place runs on energy. A DJ, strong drinks, and a crowd that comes ready to celebrate make this a group-night anchor in Treme rather than a quiet dinner stop. The bar program is the point, and the bartenders keep pace with a room that fills fast. Locals recommend it for birthday parties and special occasions. The crowd skews 35-plus and the vibe reflects that. Anyone looking for a lively, drinks-forward night in the neighborhood lands here.

Call Directions Scored from the full review record 1355 St Bernard Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116 · (504) 593-9777
5 Pulcinella! Yelp

Pulcinella!

Italian · New Orleans
Insider Score5.7

Pulcinella runs a Southern Italian program in a room that handles reservations and large-party seatings without losing momentum. The pasta al pomodoro and eggplant parmigiana are the anchors, and the tiramisu closes the meal cleanly. The wine list draws specific praise alongside the food. Groups report that the kitchen stays consistent even at volume, and that tables are ready when booked. It is a reliable special-occasion room for the neighborhood, without the French Quarter price premium.

Call Directions Scored from the full review record 1300 St Bernard Ave First Floor, New Orleans, LA 70116 · (504) 221-1560
6 Pagoda Café Yelp

Pagoda Café

Brunch · New Orleans · $
Insider Score5.7

Pagoda Café is a low-price breakfast and lunch counter that locals have been pointing toward for years. The BLT earns its reputation on bread and an honest stack of bacon, no excess. The grit bowl with bacon is the morning anchor, and the bacon taco moves well at lunch. Counter service, fast turnaround, and a staff that stays on top of the room. It is the kind of walk-in-friendly neighborhood spot that makes a quick meal worth stopping for rather than just settling for.

Call Directions Scored from the full review record 1430 N Dorgenois St, New Orleans, LA 70119, United States · (504) 644-4178
7 McHardy's Chicken & Fixin' Yelp

McHardy's Chicken & Fixin'

Fried Chicken · New Orleans · $
Insider Score5.1

McHardy's is a fried chicken counter that has held its place alongside Willie Mae's in the New Orleans fried-chicken conversation for good reason. The everyday order is fresh and hot, and the kitchen handles large catering volume without dropping the ball. A 150-piece catering order gets the same attentive handling as a walk-in. The wings can be inconsistent depending on the batch, but the bone-in pieces are the move. Cash-only, counter-service, and no pretense about what the room is here to do.

Call Directions Scored from the full review record 1458 N Broad St, New Orleans, LA 70119 · (504) 949-0000
8 J's Creole Wings Claiborne Yelp

J's Creole Wings Claiborne

Wings · New Orleans · $$
Insider Score5.4

J's Creole Wings on Claiborne is a quick-service counter built around two things: the Island Jerk and the Creole Rub. Both cook through to the bone and hold up well on delivery, which matters for a room that does strong Door Dash volume alongside walk-ins. The lemonade is the drink order. Regulars rank the wings among the better options in the city. The kitchen moves fast and the staff stays helpful. It is a counter-service stop that punches above its footprint.

Call Directions Scored from the full review record 1700 N Claiborne Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116 · (504) 309-9444
9 The Green Room Kukhnya Yelp

The Green Room Kukhnya

American · New Orleans · $$
Insider Score6.1

The Green Room Kukhnya holds a genuinely singular place in New Orleans dining: the city's only Slavic food destination, running a short, focused menu out of a small room. Blini and borscht sit alongside a burger that regulars treat as the sleeper pick on the menu. The kitchen started as a pop-up before finding a permanent address. The menu is short enough that most tables order across it, and the staff knows the dishes well. Nowhere else in the metro offers this particular corner of the table.

Call Directions Scored from the full review record 1300 St Bernard Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116 · (504) 766-1613
10 Lost Coyote Restaurant Yelp

Lost Coyote Restaurant

American · New Orleans
Insider Score5.0

Lost Coyote runs brunch in a room that occasionally features a burlesque show alongside the food, which sets the tone for what kind of place it is. A heated pool and a house dog named Rosalita are part of the experience that regulars mention alongside the kitchen. The server who greeted one table turned out to also be the host, and he knew the menu thoroughly. The food draws praise, and the room has a personality that goes beyond the plate. It is a Treme room that earns its reputation on atmosphere as much as cooking.

Call Directions Scored from the full review record 1614 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116 · (504) 381-4829
11 THE HALF SHELL ON THE BAYOU Yelp

THE HALF SHELL ON THE BAYOU

American · New Orleans · $$
Insider Score4.1

The Half Shell sits on Bayou Road, the oldest street in New Orleans, and serves a gumbo that draws the kind of loyalty usually reserved for family recipes. The fried seafood and catfish round out a menu built for the neighborhood rather than the tourist circuit. The room is casual, family-friendly, and Black-owned. Regulars are emphatic about the gumbo. Service has drawn some mixed notes, but the kitchen's core plates, particularly the seafood, keep the room busy on Bayou Road.

Call Directions Scored from the full review record 2517 Bayou Rd, New Orleans, LA 70119 · (504) 558-4403
What to know before choosing a restaurant

Best Restaurants in Treme: 1. Li'l Dizzy's Cafe · 2. Buffa's Bar & Restaurant · 3. Nonno's Cajun Cuisine & Pastries · 4. Bertha's Place Bar & Restaurant · 5. Pulcinella!. Addresses, prices and what to order.

The top picks: Li'l Dizzy's Cafe, Buffa's Bar & Restaurant, and Nonno's Cajun Cuisine & Pastries, with all 11 rooms ranked below.

Visitors who stay in the Quarter miss the meal. Treme is where the city's cooking history actually lives, from the fried chicken counters and soul-food rooms that fed generations to the corner spots turning out Creole plates on a Tuesday afternoon. This guide covers eleven rooms across the neighborhood, ranked by Insider Score.

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Frequently asked

What is the best restaurant in Treme near me?
Li'l Dizzy's Cafe earns the top Insider Score in this guide for its fried chicken, red beans and rice, and a front-of-house that treats the neighborhood the way a corner room should. Every restaurant listed here is ranked by Insider Score, and no restaurant pays to be included.
Where can I get good fried chicken in Treme?
Two counters hold the fried chicken conversation in this neighborhood: Li'l Dizzy's for the full brunch-and-soul-food experience, and McHardy's Chicken and Fixin' for a straight counter-service fried-chicken order. McHardy's also handles large catering volume reliably.
Are there any late-night spots in Treme?
Buffa's Bar and Restaurant keeps a late-night kitchen open and serves a solid burger and fries after midnight. Bertha's Place runs later as a bar and DJ room rather than a kitchen stop. Neither charges a cover, and both are walk-in-friendly.
How does Top of New Orleans rank the restaurants in this guide?
Every restaurant in this guide is ranked by Insider Score, a data-driven rating built from the review record. No restaurant pays to be listed or to move up in the rankings. The goal is to surface the rooms that the neighborhood actually uses, not the ones with the biggest marketing budget.
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The data first, then the verdict

We start with the review record, not a press release. Every room here is a real kitchen with a strong rating across a meaningful number of reviews, ranked on our 10-point Insider Score. We weight consistency over time and the rooms locals return to, not the ones tourists pass through once. The list updates as the data does. How we work →

About the writer
Remy Boudreaux
Neighborhoods Editor

Remy Boudreaux covers New Orleans's neighborhoods for Top of New Orleans: Marigny, Bywater, Mid-City, and Treme, the dive bars and breweries, the gastropubs, and the independents that anchor a corner.

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