New Orleans · New Orleans food tours
The Best New Orleans Food Tours for Grown-Ups
New Orleans is a city you eat your way through, and a good food tour is the fastest way to understand why: gumbo, po'boys, pralines and a Sazerac each come with a story. Here are the guided tours and classes we'd book, and a self-guided food day built from the dining rooms and bars we recommend across this site.
- Guided walk
- Doctor Gumbo's 3-hour Food History Tour, from $85
- 21+
- Doctor Gumbo's Cocktail History Tour, from $95
- Hands-on
- New Orleans School of Cooking, in the French Quarter since 1980
- Self-guided
- Beignets, a muffuletta, a Sazerac and dinner at Compère Lapin
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A guided food walk
Doctor Gumbo Tours runs small-group walks (up to 16 people) from 316 Chartres Street in the French Quarter. The 3-hour Food History Tour leaves daily at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and stops at up to five places, from classic restaurants to sandwich shops, candy stores and hot sauce bars, for gumbo, boudin, po'boys and pralines; it starts at $85. Grown-ups who'd rather drink their history can book the 3-hour Cocktail History Tour (21+, from $95) or the 4-hour food-and-cocktail combo (from $160).
Doctor Gumbo food and cocktail history tours
3rd Block Depot, 316 Chartres St, French Quarter
Small-group walking tours (up to 16) through the French Quarter. The 3-hour Food History Tour runs daily from 10 a.m. or 1 p.m. with tastings at up to five stops, from gumbo and boudin to po'boys and pralines (from $85). There is also a 3-hour Cocktail History Tour (21+, from $95) and a 4-hour food-and-cocktail combo (from $160).
Tip: Book the 10 a.m. food tour and skip breakfast; it doubles as lunch.
Cook it yourselves
At the New Orleans School of Cooking on St. Louis Street, teaching since 1980, you choose between a demonstration class, where the chefs cook classic Creole and Cajun dishes while you watch and then eat, and a hands-on class where you cut, season and cook the dinner yourselves. There are mixology classes too. Times and prices are on the school's booking calendar.
New Orleans School of Cooking
524 St. Louis St, French Quarter
A French Quarter cooking school running since 1980. Choose a demonstration class, where the chefs cook classic Creole and Cajun dishes while you watch and then eat, or a hands-on class where you cut, season and cook the dinner yourselves. Mixology classes too.
Tip: Check the online class calendar for times and prices before you plan the day around it.
Our self-guided food day
A day of eating in New Orleans
Every stop is a place we already recommend; pace yourselves.
Breakfast
Café Du Monde
French Market, Decatur St
Beignets and café au lait with chicory, early before the line builds.
The 1862 coffee stand for beignets and café au lait with chicory. Touristy, yes, and still worth it early in the morning or late in the evening when the line is short.
Lunch
Napoleon House
Chartres St, French Quarter
A warm muffuletta and a Pimm's Cup in the 1797 building.
A crumbling-beautiful 1797 building with classical music playing, famous for its Pimm's Cup and warm muffuletta. A good slow lunch between French Quarter walks.
Aperitif
The Sazerac Bar
The Roosevelt Hotel, CBD
A Sazerac or a Ramos Gin Fizz in the 1938 Art Deco bar.
An Art Deco bar from 1938 with walnut panelling and Paul Ninas murals, once Huey Long's hangout. Order a Sazerac or a Ramos Gin Fizz.
Dinner
Compère Lapin
Old No. 77 Hotel, Warehouse District
Nina Compton's Caribbean-meets-New Orleans cooking.
Chef Nina Compton's Caribbean-meets-New Orleans cooking in a brick-walled former coffee warehouse. A MICHELIN-recognised dinner that still feels relaxed.
Nightcap
Jewel of the South
1026 St. Louis St, French Quarter
A Brandy Crusta in an 1830s Creole cottage.
A tavern in an 1830s Creole cottage from bartender Chris Hannah, ranked #6 on North America's 50 Best Bars 2026. Classic New Orleans cocktails such as the Brandy Crusta, with a serious food menu to match.
The great Creole dining rooms
No tour replaces a long meal in one of the old dining rooms. Commander's Palace is the Garden District landmark for the weekend jazz brunch; Galatoire's is the French Quarter's mirrored, paddle-fanned institution, with a famously lively Friday lunch.
Commander's Palace
1403 Washington Ave, Garden District
The turquoise Victorian landmark of Creole fine dining. The weekend jazz brunch, with a trio strolling between tables, is the classic grown-up New Orleans meal.
Tip: Jazz brunch runs Saturday and Sunday; book well ahead.
Dress: Business attire; jackets preferred for men, no shorts ever
Galatoire's
209 Bourbon St, French Quarter
French Creole cooking in a mirrored, paddle-fanned dining room that has barely changed in a century. Friday lunch is a long, lively local ritual; dinner is calmer.
Tip: Upstairs rooms take reservations; the first-floor room is still first come, first served.
Dress: Gentlemen need jackets after 5 p.m. and all day Sunday (loaners available)
Our advice
- Book the morning food tour and skip breakfast: it doubles as lunch.
- Don't stack a food tour and a big Creole dinner on the same day; save Commander's or Galatoire's for the next.
- Cocktail tours are 21+; bring ID.
- Check current tour times, prices and class schedules before you go.
Everything here was checked in September 2026. Music line-ups, hours and prices change often in New Orleans, so confirm before you go and bring cash for the bands.
Questions people ask
What is the best food tour in New Orleans?
For a first visit, a small-group French Quarter walk such as Doctor Gumbo's 3-hour Food History Tour, with tastings at up to five places, from gumbo and boudin to po'boys and pralines. It starts at $85.
How much does a New Orleans food tour cost?
Doctor Gumbo's Food History Tour starts at $85, its 21+ Cocktail History Tour at $95, and the 4-hour combo at $160.
Is there a cooking class in New Orleans for couples?
Yes. The New Orleans School of Cooking in the French Quarter offers demonstration classes and hands-on classes where you cook a Creole or Cajun dinner yourselves.
Can you do a New Orleans food tour on your own?
Yes: beignets at Café Du Monde, a muffuletta at Napoleon House, a Sazerac at the Sazerac Bar and dinner at Compère Lapin make a very good self-guided day.