A Local's Guide To New Orleans' Best Beignets

Originally established in 1862 in the New Orleans French Market, Cafe Du Monde is the OG of beignet restaurants in New Orleans. The original open-air location, open 24 hours a day except December 24–26, is a must-see landmark while you’re wandering through the French Quarter. With a total of eight locations, you can also find Cafe Du Monde at Esplanade Mall, Riverwalk Mall, Lakeside Mall, Oakwood Mall, Mandeville, Covington and 4600 Veterans Boulevard. Each one offers coffee and chicory, sweet and sticky beignets, white and chocolate milk and freshly squeezed orange juice.

While beignet snobs will tell you there’s nowhere in the city to get the tasty treats besides Cafe Du Monde, we’re here to tell you they’re wrong. You can also find a plate of hot fried beignets with powdered sugar at Morning Call in City Park. So if your next visit to the Crescent City includes a trip to Storyland, Carousel Gardens or NOMA, make sure to make a detour for some café au lait and beignets at Morning Call. It’s totally worth it.

Chocolate lovers rejoice, because Luca Eats has given us the gift of Oreo beignets. Paired with locally roasted French Truck coffee, these delicious desserts are hard to beat. To try the 2016 winner for best sweet beignet at the Beignet Fest for yourself, head to Cohn Street from 7 a.m.–2:30 p.m. every day of the week. You won’t be disappointed with the warm, powdery goodness that awaits you.

A New Orleans tradition, Café Beignet has three locations in the heart of the French Quarter: Bourbon Street, Royal Street and Decatur Street. Featuring a menu with Southern favorites, Café Beignet serves some of the most delicious beignets in the city. After you visit, you’ll be able to say, “Beignet…done that!”

Who says beignets have to be sweet? Certainly not Katie’s, a very popular brunch spot in Mid-City for locals and tourists alike. On your next visit to New Orleans, make sure you get the crawfish beignet appetizer. Does it get much better than dough filled with Louisiana crawfish, crabmeat, shrimp, jalapeno peppers, onions, cheddar and mozzarella topped with a jalapeno aioli? We didn’t think so. Get to this Mid-City hot spot to see what all the hype is about. If you’re an out-of-towner looking for a place to stay in New Orleans, we’ve got you covered with the best budget hotels and hostels in Mid-City.

Any eatery in the Commander’s family of restaurants is bound to be delicious. With a name meaning South of Bourbon, SoBou is a super-chic eatery in the heart of the French Quarter. Specializing in tasty small plates and cocktails that are out of this world, ordering the sweet potato beignets with foie gras fondue and chicory coffee ganache is the best way to start your meal and your introduction to beignets.

This restaurant’s roots are steeped in nostalgia with a French name that pays homage to the small shop originally located in this quaint cottage on the corner of Magazine and General Pershing. Opened in March 2004, Le Petite Grocery is known for their made-from-scratch Louisiana fare. And for a good reason. Another stop on our list of savory beignets you have to try in New Orleans are the blue crab beignets with malt vinegar aioli. This is one appetizer that will have you totally forgetting about the main course.