Review: Antoine's Restaurant: New Orleans

French-Creole cuisine is served with a dash of glamour in America’s oldest family-run restaurant, opened by Antoine Alciatore in 1840. This fine-dining restaurant acts as a culinary red carpet unfurling into New Orleans and its own colorful history. The fourteen dining rooms within the restaurant are differentiated by decorative themes: The 1840 Room embraces a saloon atmosphere to fit the time period, and family photos of Alciatore relatives pepper the walls. Fellas, if you’re looking for the perfect the ultimate date room, then snag a reservation for the sole table located within The Tabasco Room (originally called The Last Room). This red-walled, one-tabled room offers maximum privacy and is rumored to be a popular place to propose. I yi!

When you approach the restaurant on Royal Street in the midst of the vibrant French Quarter, pause to peer into the tiny window to view the restaurant’s expansive wine cellar (can hold up to 25,000 bottles). Chef Michael Regua, who has been at Antoine’s for more than 30 years, worked his way up from prep cook to executive chef. The dedicated chef has prepared meals for many famous people, including Pope John Paul II, Nicholas Cage, Whoopie Goldberg, and President George W. Bush.

Begin your dinner with an order of “Ecrevisses Cardinal”—crawfish tails in a special white wine sauce—or alligator bisque before focusing your attention on the main course. From more traditional items like grilled pork tenderloin to “Crabes mous amandine”—grilled or fried soft-shelled crab with melted butter and toasted almonds—you and your guests will delight in cuisine that has been attracting a steady stream of customers and celebrities for 174 years. Or skip dinner and reserve a table at Sunday jazz brunch to tantalize all of your senses.