Bywater New Orleans Restaurants: Pizza, Po-Boys and Wine

Bywater New Orleans restaurants sit in a stretch of pastel shotgun houses downriver from the French Quarter, where streets are quiet in the morning and corner cafes fill with neighbors. Bywater joins the Marigny, the neighborhood next to it, in a walkable loop of cafes, bars and small restaurants.

The Quarter is built for visitors, while Bywater is built for residents. It is about a mile from the Quarter, so bike or take a rideshare at night.

What makes Bywater different from the French Quarter?

The Quarter is built for visitors. Bywater is built for residents, and visitors are welcome to join. The blocks are quieter, the buildings lower and the menus more varied. You will see people on porches and bicycles, and a lot of the restaurants are in converted corner stores or old houses.

Bywater starts on the other side of Press Street, a short walk or ride from the Marigny, and it runs toward the Industrial Canal. It is about a mile from Jackson Square, so you can walk, though a bike or a rideshare is a good alternative.

Which Bywater New Orleans restaurants come up most?

The Infatuation, the Culture Trip and local magazines all list a few repeat names. At the far end of the neighborhood, a wine shop has grown into a wine garden with live music and a kitchen. On Gallier Street, a restaurant serves Southern and Louisiana cooking, and an older magazine piece praised its shrimp po-boy. On Dauphine Street, a coffeehouse and breakfast spot focuses on locally sourced food.

On Piety Street, a pizzeria serves New York-style slices and whole pies. Restaurants in this neighborhood open and close often, so check that a place is still trading before you go.

Where do the Marigny restaurants fit in?

The Marigny, between the Quarter and the Bywater, is a mix of residential streets, music clubs and small dining rooms. The restaurants there tend to be more compact and more focused on late evening. Many guides group the two together, and it makes sense to visit both on the same day.

You could have breakfast in the Bywater, lunch in the Marigny and dinner on Frenchmen Street, with a stop at a bar between meals. The distances are short, and a bike makes the loop easy.

What is Frenchmen Street food like?

Frenchmen Street is best known for live music, with clubs lined along a few blocks and crowds on weekend nights. The food is secondary to the music, but the street has a mix of bars, small restaurants and late-night counters. A po-boy or a plate of red beans and rice before a show is a classic.

Hours depend on the music schedule, and many places stay open late. Expect crowds on Friday and Saturday, and book ahead if you want a table at a restaurant near the clubs. Quieter side streets have better value.

Where to go for Bywater brunch

Brunch is a weekend event in the neighborhood. Cafes and restaurants offer eggs, grits, biscuits, pancakes and Creole dishes, and the weather makes porch seating attractive for much of the year. The best-known rooms fill by mid-morning, so go early or come on a weekday.

For a broader view, the brunch in New Orleans guide covers the city's traditions, including jazz brunch and eggs Sardou. A coffee from a neighborhood house and a pastry is a perfectly good alternative if the line is long.

What about oysters and seafood nearby?

The neighborhood is not known for oyster bars, but the city is, and a drive to the French Quarter or Uptown puts you at a raw bar. See the best oysters in New Orleans guide for the main options. For something closer, look for po-boys with fried shrimp or catfish on French bread.

Seafood in New Orleans is seasonal, and the better restaurants will tell you what is best that week. Ask before you order.

What should you eat in Bywater first?

The neighborhood rewards small plates and shared tables. A slice or a pie from a pizza counter, a po-boy with fried shrimp, a bowl of red beans on a Monday and a breakfast plate with grits are all reasonable starts. Wine and cocktails are easy to find, and so is strong coffee.

If you cannot choose, ask the person at the counter what regulars order. In a neighborhood this small, they will know. And leave room for a snowball, the shaved-ice treat, if the weather is hot.

How to plan a Bywater evening

Start with a drink at a neighborhood bar, then dinner at a restaurant with a patio. Finish with a walk or a late slice. If music is part of the plan, check the schedule at the clubs. Weeknights are quieter and the service is often more relaxed.

Take a bike or a rideshare at night, because some streets are dark and uneven. Keep an eye on the weather. Summer storms come fast.

More New Orleans reading

For another part of the city, see the Magazine Street restaurants guide. The French Market guide covers a daytime stop in the Quarter, and spring brings crawfish boils across the city. The US guides page lists more cities.

Neighborhood meals deserve a record. With the Mosey app you can rate each dish you eat in Bywater, note the porch and the pour and build a New Orleans list that lasts.