Where to Eat, Drink and Spot a Celebrity in New Orleans Ahead of Super Bowl 2025

With the help of two New Orleans-based food influencers, PEOPLE rounded up 18 of the most delicious, Instagram-worthy and star-studded eateries in the Big Easy

The Super Bowl is coming back to New Orleans.

And while fans will be flocking to the Big Easy to catch the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles face off in a rematch of the 2023 big game, they will also certainly be taking in part of what makes the city so famous — it's food!

"I love how it's really a melting pot of flavors and you really get to see that," New Orleans native and content creator Evelyn Bories (@evie_eats) says of the city's food scene. And while there are plenty of popular spots that are well worth the hype, creator Chasity Pugh (@letdatgirleat) says its also important to check out places off the beaten path.

"A lot of the places with the best food and hospitality and just everything are typically your hidden gems," says Pugh. "It's not your super swanky restaurants, it's your places that do pop-ups or your spots that are kind of holes in the wall."

Whether it's Cajun seafood with Filipino influences, an Italian sandwich shop or a bakery that has created a birthday cake for Taylor Swift, the city has something for every palate.

Ahead of the Feb. 9 game, PEOPLE chatted with Bories and Pugh about some of their favorite spots to eat — and spot celebrities — in the Crescent City.

Pêche

When it comes to seafood, a staple of New Orleans, Bories' pick is Pêche. Chef Nicole Cabrera Mills, who was named Food & Wine's best new chef in 2024, combines Cajun favorites with the flavors of her native Philippines.

Heard Dat Kitchen

Heard Dat Kitchen, located in the Uptown area of New Orleans is a "small little spot" known by locals, Pugh says, and is one of her favorites because its a little removed from the usual hustle and bustle.

"I feel like it gets a boom whenever we have something like Essence Fest, Super Bowl coming up, things like that, but I feel like because it's not in one of those 'downtown New Orleans' near-everything kind of areas, that's why maybe it doesn't get as much traffic," she explains.

Dakar

Though Bories has only dined at this James Beard award-winning Senegalese restaurant Dakar once, it was the first choice out of her mouth when asked for her favorite places to eat in the city.

"That one is one of the best meals," she said. "I've only been one time [and] that's still on top of mind for best restaurant."

Alma Cafe

Alma Cafe in the Bywater neighborhood of New Orleans was another pick from Bories. A James Beard Award finalist, this restaurant serves up modern Honduran cuisine from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day and from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays for dinner service.

Francolini's

For more of a grab-and-go meal, Bories says Francolini's sandwich shop has been her go-to lately: "I can't stop eating there, it's really bad, but it's so good."

Saint John

Not far from Pêche is Saint John, which is Bories' pick for more of a classic New Orleans meal — specifically the restaurant's turkey necks, she says.

"It comes off the bone, and they also have a really good mac and cheese pie... I say get a bunch and split," she adds.

Arnaud's

A quick search of good eats in New Orleans will likely lead to big name places like Commander's Palace (more on that later), Antoine's (that, too!) and Arnaud's, which for Bories, reigns supreme among the "big New Orleans restaurants" especially those in the French Quarter.

"They have a trout amandine, which I feel like I'm always getting — actually, I want that right now," she says with a laugh.

Tujague's

Another classic New Orleans spot is Tujague's on Decatur St., not far from the waterfront. Even as a born and raised New Orleanian, Pugh says its one of the most touristy restaurants still worth a trip to the French Quarter to eat at.

"It's one of those old New Orleans classic restaurants," she explains. "It's delicious there. They make really good cocktails, they have really good rich food and I feel like it's one of those stops when you're in New Orleans, you have to go there."

"People are very weary of French Quarter places being too gimmicky," she adds, "and I'm like, 'no, it's really good.'"

Antoine's

Growing up, Pugh would spend lots of time at Antoine's as she "always" had a family member working there.

"I had my uncle/godfather was serving there for quite some time and that kind of introduced me to a lot of, they would say, the fine New Orleans classic cuisine," she says.

Saba

Bories shared that another celebrity favorite in town is Saba — in fact, Taylor Swift was spotted dining there back in 2022. At the time, PEOPLE reported that she dined on tzatziki, hummus with Brussels sprouts, charred cabbage, kofta and salad, per a source.

Bywater Bakery

And speaking of Swift, Bywater Bakery cooked up her "Lavender haze surprise" birthday cake back in 2022. The cake was two-tiers made up of a chai chocolate cake with chocolate ganache and caramel on bottom and a vanilla butter cake with banana mascarpone cream on top.

Café Du Monde

It's impossible to think of food in New Orleans and not think of the delicious, powdered sugar-covered beignets at Café Du Monde.

For Grammy-winning musician and New Orleans native Trombone Shorty, the iconic cafe is "absolutely" worth the hype.

"If the line is too long, we just get in the car and go to City Park and go into that Café du Monde," he tells PEOPLE of the location just a few miles from the main shop by the water.

Commander's Palace

Another classic haunt loved by Shorty, aka Troy Andrews, is Commander's Palace, where Mick Jagger was also spotted in 2024 ahead of Jazz Fest (the Rolling Stones were billed as one of the festival's headliners).

One of the restaurant's chefs, Meg Bickford, told Nola.com that the rocker was "so incredibly courteous and kind" and even gifted her tickets to the show.

Hungry Eyes

Bories spotted Gordon Ramsay in this 80s-themed restaurant on the famous Magazine St., which opened in 2023. The celebrity chef was recently in the Big Easy filming Kitchen Nightmares though Bories clarifies that he was simply dining on yummy food when she spotted him — not filming an episode of his show.

The Chandelier Bar at the Four Seasons Hotel

Pugh says not only does the Chandelier Bar inside the Four Seasons Hotel feel "very star-studded" but "you would probably see celebrities as well."

"I also love it there," she adds.

Morrow Steak

In the summer of 2024, Megan the Stallion and Glorilla had a "private dinner" at Morrow Steak, one of Larry Morrow's restaurants. The two were in town as part of the Hot Girl Summer Tour.

Neyow's

Pugh calls Neyow's a "very classic NOLA" restaurant with "great chargrilled oysters, seafood pasta and classics like red beans, fried chicken, gumbo."

Que Pasta Nola

And because Super Bowl weekend will bring hoards of tourists, Pugh noted that her favorite "hidden gem" is a pop-up called Que Pasta Nola, which is located inside the Siberia music venue in the Marigny area of the city.