The 10 Best Big Easy Cafés
New Orleans has plenty of cafés to choose from, whether you're looking for a morning cup of coffee, a full brunch, or a sweet treat. Across the city and surrounding area, cafés serve everything from classic café au lait and beignets to afternoon tea and Southern breakfast favorites. Here are 10 cafés around New Orleans worth checking out.
1. The Vintage
3121 Magazine St., (504) 324-7144
The Vintage combines a café, restaurant, and wine bar into one Magazine Street spot. The menu includes coffee and espresso drinks alongside traditional beignets, beignet bites, pastries, breakfast options, sandwiches, and small plates. For something different, guests can try the Fancy Beignet Flight or pair their beignets with one of the café's locally roasted coffees.
2. Bearcat Cafe
Multiple Locations
Bearcat Cafe offers breakfast, lunch, and coffee from both its Uptown location on Jena Street and its location on Carondelet in the Central Business District. Its menu is divided between "Good Cat" options for lighter meals and "Bad Cat" dishes for guests looking for something heartier, with vegan, vegetarian, paleo, and gluten-free choices also available. Guests can pair breakfast dishes such as pancakes, biscuits, and shrimp and grits with coffee, tea, and other café drinks.
3. Prince Tea House
3012 N. Arnoult Rd., Metairie, (504) 330-0360
Prince Tea House brings an afternoon tea experience to the New Orleans area with a large selection of teas, desserts, and light bites. Its teas are imported from France, while its desserts are made in-house and include signature Mille Crêpe cakes. Guests can also order afternoon tea with finger sandwiches, scones, assorted desserts, and loose-leaf tea.
4. Café Du Monde
Multiple Locations
Few cafés are as closely connected to New Orleans as Café Du Monde, whose iconic French Market coffee stand is located right across from Jackson Square. The café is best known for its powdered sugar-covered beignets and coffee with chicory, which can also be ordered as a café au lait with hot milk. Café Du Monde now has several locations, but the Decatur Street stand remains its signature French Quarter destination.
5. Dough Nguyener's Cafe
2424 Tulane Ave. Ste 1A, (504) 302-7451
Dough Nguyener's Cafe combines Vietnamese flavors with coffee, pastries, and a full food menu at its Mid-City café, as does its original bakery and restaurant located in Old Gretna. The drink menu includes iced and frozen Vietnamese coffee along with pandan, ube, and matcha cold foam Vietnamese coffees. Guests can also order phở, bánh mìs, hot honey chicken sliders, and other dishes, with house-made baked goods available for something sweet.
6. Café Degas
3127 Esplanade Ave., (504) 945-5635
Café Degas is a French bistro located along Esplanade Avenue that has been serving New Orleans since 1986. The restaurant serves lunch, brunch, and dinner, with dishes such as French onion soup, escargots, steak frites, and other French favorites. Its partially covered dining room and neighborhood setting give guests a different café experience from the city's more traditional coffee shops.
7. Who Dat Coffee Cafe
2401 Burgundy St., (504) 872-0360
Located in the Marigny, Who Dat Coffee Cafe combines a neighborhood coffee shop with a full breakfast and lunch menu. Along with coffee, lattes, cappuccinos, chai, and café au lait, the café serves breakfast dishes such as Da Cajun Scramble, French toast, omelets, and its signature Not Yo Mama's Corn Cakes. Its colorful corner location and casual atmosphere make it a neighborhood option for both coffee and a full meal.
8. Willa Jean
611 O'Keefe Ave., (504) 509-7334
Willa Jean is a bakery and café in downtown New Orleans serving Southern-inspired breakfast, brunch, pastries, and coffee. Its menu includes pastries, sandwiches, salads, and larger breakfast and lunch dishes, with ingredients sourced locally when possible. The café is open daily from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., making it an option for everything from a morning pastry and coffee to a full brunch.
9. Petite Clouet Café
3100 Royal St.
Petite Clouet Café is a neighborhood coffee shop located at the corner of Royal and Clouet streets in the Bywater. The café serves coffee and espresso drinks along with pastries, desserts, sandwiches, salads, and other light food options. Guests can grab a latte and pastry or sit outside and enjoy the quieter neighborhood setting.
10. Kitchen Table Cafe
7005 St. Claude Ave., Arabi, (504) 301-2285
facebook.com/kitchentablearabi
Just outside New Orleans in Arabi, Kitchen Table Cafe serves a mix of casual Louisiana and American dishes in a neighborhood setting. Its menu includes items such as New Orleans-style BBQ shrimp, fried boudin balls, salads, sandwiches, and banana bread pudding. The café also hosts live music and offers both indoor and outdoor seating for guests looking for a meal just outside the city.
