Herbsaint

Herbsaint opened in 2000 on St Charles Avenue and is the flagship of the Link Restaurant Group, founded by the chef Donald Link, who won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: South in 2007. Today Tyler Spreen leads the kitchen as chef de cuisine.

The cooking is contemporary and seasonal, combining French and Southern traditions with rustic Italian influences, and it relies on local farmers and fishermen. Two dishes the restaurant itself calls classics are the dark roux gumbo and the duck confit with dirty rice and citrus gastrique, and either is a good place to start. The rest of the menu changes with the seasons, so check the current menus on the website.

Herbsaint has been on the Times-Picayune's list of the ten best New Orleans restaurants since 2003, has been named among Eater's best restaurants in America, and carries a 2025 Michelin Bib Gourmand. Even so, it remains a relaxed bistro rather than a formal dining room, which makes it a useful choice when you want excellent food without the ceremony of the old Creole houses.

Opening hours are 11.30am to 10pm, Monday to Friday, covering lunch and dinner, and 5pm to 10pm on Saturday. The restaurant is closed on Sunday. Reservations are taken through Resy, and walk-ins can sit at the bar and, in good weather, on the patio. A semi-private room seats up to 34 guests and can be booked from Monday to Saturday.

Because it is open for lunch on weekdays, Herbsaint is also a sensible option for a business meal or for travellers who want a proper sit-down lunch between museum visits. Saturday is dinner only, and on Sunday the restaurant is closed, so plan weekend meals elsewhere. The bar is a good choice for solo diners, and booking ahead is wise for Friday and Saturday evenings, when the dining room is at its busiest. Arriving by streetcar is easy, as the line runs along St Charles Avenue.

The restaurant suits couples, business lunches and anyone staying in the Central Business District or Warehouse District. The St Charles streetcar runs past the door, so it is easy to reach from Canal Street or the Garden District, and it is in the same part of the city as The National WWII Museum, so lunch here combines well with a morning at the museum.