America's Oldest Family-Owned Restaurant Offers French-Creole Flair In A New Orleans District

Home to jazz, booze, delicacies, and Louisiana's most famed street, New Orleans is one of America's most interesting cities. Its culture is a melting pot of French, Spanish, Creole, Anglo-American, and many other traditions, causing The Big Easy to be a cultural destination like no other. Historic homes and restaurants line the heart of New Orleans' iconic French Quarter, and among the best of them is Antoine's, the nation's oldest family-run restaurant and a pillar of the city's heritage.

Antoine Alciatore established the restaurant in 1840 along St. Louis Street, one block from its current location. Antoine was just 18 years old but the city's milieu of aristocratic excess was fertile ground for the young chef's ambitions. By 1868, the booming restaurant outgrew its premises and moved to a bigger location right down the street, where it remains to this day. Antoine and his wife, Julie Freysz, had created a landmark of New Orleans' world renowned culinary heritage.

The Alciatore family has nurtured Antoine's through the Civil War, two World Wars, Prohibition, Great Depression, and Hurricane Katrina. Today, the restaurant remains an institution, beloved for its impeccable service, signature seafood dishes, and an atmosphere steeped in history and character. A legacy establishment among legacy establishments, Antoine's is an unmissable event of any New Orleans adventure.

Antoine's has borne several iconic delicacies, including Eggs Sardou, which tops poached eggs with creamed spinach and buttery artichoke hearts, and Oysters Rockefeller, Antoine's signature dish that consists of half-shell oysters baked or broiled with butter, bread crumbs, parsley, and other herbs. Antoine's son, Jules, invented the appetizer in 1899 and the first person to try it proclaimed, "This is as rich as Rockefeller!" The winning recipe bolstered the restaurant's legacy and remains a closely guarded secret over a century later.

Antoine's has lunch, brunch, and dinner menus, with seafood playing a central role on all of them. In addition to Oysters Rockefeller, Eggs Sardou, and Pommes de Terre Souffles — a simple fried potato dish that Antoine's helped popularize — diners can expect a robust offering of veal, filet steak, roast chicken, salads, and local favorites such as gumbo and creole crab cakes. The dessert menu finishes meals with crème brûlée, bread pudding, bourbon pecan pie, and Mardi Gras meringue glacé, a highly localized dish consisting of king cake ice cream with a meringue shell, dark chocolate sauce, and toasted almonds.

The drinks menu is extensive, too. Dozens of red, white, rose, and sparkling wines are available and prices range from around $15 per glass to over $2,000 per bottle. New Orleans is well known for its cocktail culture and there are six classic varieties at Antoine's, namely the whiskey-based Sazerac, the city's oldest cocktail, with a history dating back to the 1840s.

There's nowhere in America quite like New Orleans. After landing at Louis Armstrong International, you'll find a city that hums with a chaotic energy, its streets alive with the sound of jazz and the buzz of revelers. The French Quarter, with its worn-down charm, offers a glimpse of a city stuck in a golden age — balconies draped in ironwork, narrow alleys leading to hidden courtyards, and the ever-present hum of life. The vulgarity of Bourbon Street may be off-putting to some — it's effectively a cooler version of Las Vegas — but you can make a friend over a single drink in the French Quarter, such is the warmth and openness of New Orleans' people. 

New Orleans also has a longstanding relationship with the macabre. The dark and fascinating Museum of Death hosts a collection of sinister exhibits and so does the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum — a cultural gem perfect for dark history enthusiasts. These attractions compliment New Orleans historic cemeteries, famous for their elaborate marble chambers entombing curious figures such as the voodoo queen Marie Laveau and Civil War general P.G.T. Beauregard.

Beyond the nightlife and morbidity lies the mighty Mississippi River, where buskers jam along its humid banks. Visitors flock here to stop by Café du Monde, the legendary cafe famous for beignets and chicory coffee. With an enormous 42,000 Google reviews, the landmark is very much a tourist attraction — but it's the real deal. The coffee is unique and full bodied and the beignets are hot, fresh, and caked in powdered sugar.