Reveillon Dinners in New Orleans: Menus and Traditions

Reveillon dinners in New Orleans are multi-course holiday meals that kitchens across the city offer in December, a revival of a Creole custom of feasting after Christmas Eve Mass. Choose a menu that matches your table, book early and expect gumbo, a roast and something sweet.

What are Reveillon dinners in New Orleans?

The word comes from the French for awakening, and the original Reveillon was a long Creole supper served after midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. In the late twentieth century, New Orleans kitchens revived the idea as a December special: a fixed menu of several courses, often with a cup of gumbo, a fish or poultry main and a dessert, served through the holidays.

Today the term covers many styles. Some kitchens stay close to Creole cooking, others borrow Italian, Southern or even Thai flavors, and some offer family-style tasting menus. The thread is the same: a longer, more festive meal than usual.

What is the Reveillon tradition and how did it change?

Creole families ended Christmas Eve with a late feast after church, with dishes such as rich stews, breads and sweets. Over time the custom faded from daily life, then returned as a restaurant event, and it is now one of the best-known parts of a New Orleans December. The tradition has always been about togetherness, which is why many menus are written for sharing.

It is also a good moment to eat somewhere you would not choose on a normal weeknight, because the set menu removes some of the guesswork.

Which kitchens serve a Reveillon dinner?

A local magazine's roundup and a local food blog's list both included these five. Menus change every year, so confirm this season's offer before you book.

• Tujague's in the French Quarter listed a menu that included a duck and andouille gumbo and shrimp and grits.
• Gris-Gris on Magazine Street offered Southern dishes, including a cup of gumbo, baked macaroni pie and a holiday plate with honey-baked ham.
• Saint John on St. Charles Avenue, a sister to Gris-Gris, listed turtle soup and almond-crusted flounder.
• The Bower on Magazine Street offered a menu with beef tartare and fritto misto.
• Osteria Lupo on Magazine Street offered a family-style Italian menu with truffle arancini, pizza and pasta.

None of these descriptions is a recommendation, and none of them gives a price. Read the current menu and the booking terms on each kitchen's own page.

What is a good New Orleans Christmas dinner out?

Match the place to the table. A quiet, historic dining room suits a couple or a multigenerational family, a lively Magazine Street kitchen suits a group of friends, and a family-style menu works when you want the table to pass plates. If someone is vegetarian or avoids shellfish, ask the kitchen early, because a fixed menu has less room for changes.

Christmas Eve and the days around it are the busiest of the season. Midweek dates in early December are easier to book, and some kitchens also serve into the first days of January.

What does a holiday dinner in the French Quarter look like?

The French Quarter is the traditional home of the Reveillon. Old Creole dining rooms keep to the format of a cup of soup, a fish or meat course and a dessert, in a room that has seen decades of holidays. Tujague's is one of the historic kitchens of the Quarter, and its December menu is one way to try the format in the neighborhood where it began.

For a walk before or after dinner, the French Quarter food guide maps the streets and the classic stops.

How do you plan a December Reveillon menu?

Start with the date, then the group, then the menu. Decide how many courses you want, pick a time you can keep, and read the menu for allergens. Arrive hungry, because courses add up, and agree who is driving before the wine.

A quick tip: share one of each course if two of you are choosing from different options, so you taste more of the menu.

How do you tag and remember a special dinner?

After the meal, rate each dish you ate, not only the place. In the Mosey app, tags such as Celebration, Date Night or Group Dining record why you chose the table, and a short note about the gumbo or the dessert reminds you next year. "Tag it Group Dining when a table of friends was looked after" is a useful habit.

A list called Holiday dinners keeps the best of each year together, and you can send its invite link to the people at the table so each of you can add a place and a line about the dish.

Where next in the city?

If you want to continue on Magazine Street, the Magazine Street guide lists more places to sit down, and the Creole versus Cajun guide explains the cooking behind the menus. For the sweet side of the season, see king cake season. The New Orleans hub lists every page for the city, and the US food guides cover the rest.

Take the Mosey app to your holiday table, rate every course by the dish and keep the evening on a list to repeat next year.