The Northernmost Caribbean City
Over the decades, Jamaican, Haitian, and Trinidadian influences have continued to trickle throughout New Orleans' culture and cuisine.
New Orleans culture wouldn't be the same without the Caribbean. The Big Easy is also known as the Northernmost Caribbean City and was built largely by enslaved Black people from Africa and the Caribbean islands in the 1700s.
Local restaurants and food stands serve everything from Jamaican street food to award-winning, chef-made Haitian dishes. The Caribbean-to-Creole connection can be tasted through the seafood, spices, bold flavors, and marinated meats the cultures share.
Whether you're from the islands or have always wanted to get a taste of them, walking into some of these places feels like stepping into a portal that opens into a lush getaway with lots of sand, sun, and reggae music. Savor spicy jerk chicken, melt-off-the-bone oxtail, fresh saltfish, fried plantains, and homestyle rice and peas at these New Orleans eateries.
14 Parishes Jamaican Restaurant
Multiple Locations
You can't have a Jamaican brunch without ackee and saltfish. Recognized as Jamaica's national dish, it is typically made with salted codfish, ackee (Jamaica's national fruit), onions, bell peppers, Scotch bonnet peppers, tomato, garlic, and seasoning. This dish, along with jerk chicken and waffles, oxtails and grits, and jerk steak and eggs, is served for brunch at 14 Parishes Jamaican Restaurant.
Lunch and dinner are just as impressive. The husband and wife-owned restaurant serves Caribbean classics including rice and peas, plantains, curry chicken, red snapper, beef stew, and curry chana with potatoes. Catch the happy hour specials on the second floor at Hummingbird Lounge, a moody cocktail lounge with a balcony and tropical drinks, at 14 Parishes' Oak Street location.
Fritai
1535 Basin St.
There is so much to love about Fritai. From the expertly handcrafted cocktails to the thoughtfully curated Haitian dishes, this restaurant is an elevated tribute to Haitian street food by Chef Charly Pierre. This Tremé restaurant was voted a James Beard Award Semi-Finalist in 2022 and 2023. Its refreshingly unique menu bursts with flavor and traditional Caribbean cuisine. Start with a fruity cocktail and a fritay platter, which comes with akra (root vegetable fritters), plantains, griyo (also known as griot, which is baked/fried pork), Vaucresson's Creole Cafe & Deli sausage, and pikliz (pickled cabbage). Choose between the crab mac and cheese or the Fritai sandwich to really take your tastebuds on a pleasant adventure.
Jamaican Jerk House
4017 St. Claude Ave.
Are you craving some Jamaican comfort food? Let Jamaican Jerk House make you feel at home with stacked to-go plates full of jerk shrimp, ribs, jerk chicken pasta, jerk salmon, mac and cheese, cabbage, and rice and peas. Owner and Chef Richard Rose was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica. His culture is reflected in the yellow and green colors of the restaurant, the authentic marinade and jerk flavor, the generous serving sizes, and authentic Jamaican beverages. There is a dish for everyone at this bustling St. Claude spot. The menu includes children's meals, vegan offerings, desserts, and smoothies.
Queen Trini Lisa
4200 D'Hemecourt St.
Trinidadian doubles are addictive, especially from this authentic Trinidad and Tobago restaurant in Mid-City. Doubles are typically made with curry chickpeas sandwiched between turmeric flatbread and chutney. The cooling cucumber garnish paired with the heat from the curried chickpeas blends together for a homey, filling, and flavorful masterpiece. Also on the menu is fried fish, a vegan plate, Caribbean-style spinach, fish and chips, and hibiscus tea. Whether you are a carnivore or vegan, no one will miss out on flavor at Queen Trini Lisa. The vegan plate includes tasty rice and peas, island stir fry cabbage, and fried plantain.
Love Orleans
1532 Dumaine St.
Name a place where you can order Caribbean food, bags of seafood, and birria tacos—Love Orleans. This curbside restaurant serves traditional Caribbean dishes such as oxtail, deep-fried goat, red snapper, griot, marinated chicken, and jerk chicken. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Love Orleans switches it up and serves birria taco plates with rice and Mexican-style street corn. It wouldn't be a New Orleans restaurant without seafood. Love Orleans also sells seafood bags with crab, shrimp, turkey necks, sausage, corn, potatoes, and spicy butter sauce. Check their Instagram for daily updates on the menu.
Boswell's Jamaican Grill
3521 Tulane Ave.
Take a quick trip to the islands for lunch or dinner at Boswell's authentic island grill. Freshly baked Jamaican patties, jerk shrimp salad, curried goat, and jerk chicken po-boys are just a few of the menu highlights from this Jamaican restaurant in Mid-City. In addition to jerk and curried meats, visitors can enjoy salads, po-boys, roti plates, vegetarian dishes, and seafood and meat or veggie patties. Tasty sides include callaloo (leafy green vegetables) medley, rice and peas, fried plantains, macaroni and cheese, French fries, and steamed vegetables.
Caribbean Pot LA
Outside of Jockey's Pub, Whiskey & Sticks, and My Riddim Club
There's nothing like hot and fresh Caribbean food after a sweaty night of Dutty Wining on the dancefloor. This food stand stays open late and pops up around New Orleans with Caribbean street food. Caribbean Pot LA serves jerk and curry chicken, oxtail, and fried catfish. Sides include rice and peas, callaloo rice, mac and cheese, cabbage, and plantains. Satisfy your late-night cravings with bake and saltfish (a classic Caribbean meal with salted cod fish and fluffy biscuits) or creamy seafood pasta with spaghetti noodles. Check the food stand's Instagram for updates on the location and menu.
