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After our visit at New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) at the enormous City Park, both of which I will write about in future posts, we were ready for our big meal of the day – lunch.

We drove back to the hotel from NOMA, gave the keys to our valet at the Embassy Suites hotel, and set out on foot for the Kingfish restaurant. It is on Conti Street, just like Oceana, yesterday’s lunch. On the way we came to the lavish Caesar’s Casino, which extends from one street to the next. It is connected to their very posh hotel. We walked in the door on the corner and walked all the way through to the other end, exiting onto the street on the next block.

Here are my thoughts I wrote in my journal at the time:

We decided that we could probably walk to Kingfish just as fast as walking to the Julia Riverfront stop and waiting for the next trolley. On the way we stopped and entered the grand Caesar’s Casino. It was huge and different from our early experiences in Las Vegas. It lacked the musical notes of the slot machines of old. We didn’t stop to try our hand at a slot machine; just walked to the other end and exited on the same street we were on and continued on.

Not long after the walk through Caesars, we came to 337 Chartres St. The Kingfish is in a typical New Orleans style building in the French Quarter.

We were seated by the hostess in a narrow room with tables on each side.

There was only one couple seated on the other side. Our server for the day was an older slim black lady with graying hair. She was obviously a veteran server, and used to formal dining. We perused the menu. It wasn’t very extensive but the dishes it offered sounded wonderful.

We started with one of the Happy Hour $10 Plates which runs Monday through Friday from 2 PM to 5 PM. Our server recommended the Louisiana Crawfish Bread – Crawfish Tails, Cheddar & Parmesan, Artichoke Hearts, Roasted Garlic, Local Seasonings, Crusty Brioche. For bread, that’s quite a description. And it lived up to its hype.

While sampling the bread we went ahead and ordered our main meals. My wife opted for the Grilled Shrimp Caesar Salad with chicken, and I, remembering some of my favorite childhood foods, ordered the Red Beans and Rice with Fried Chicken. Rice and beans are almost an everyday fare in Brazil, and I still love eating it.

For those interested, here’s the description of each dish from their menu:

Grilled Shrimp Caesar – Grated Parmigiana, Croutons, Romaine, Caesar Dressing 21 Add Chicken $3

Red Beans & Rice With Southern Fried Chicken – Fig & Pepper Jelly Glazed Fried Chicken, Andouille Sausage, White Rice 22

(Two of the dishes we saw on almost every New Orleans menu were fried green tomatoes, and red beans and rice. My kind of place.)

Everything about this restaurant was nice. It is intimate and staffed by very experienced servers. The art of etiquette is not forgotten here. Refreshing. And if you enjoy cocktails, this would be a good place to visit. As it says in the signage of the restaurant, Kingfish – Kitchen and Cocktails.

Have you been here? Does it sound like a place you’d visit? Let us know in the comments below. Thanks.

New Orleans Index

New Orleans Part 1 – Hotels
New Orleans Part 2 – Restaurants 
New Orleans Part 3 – St. John Restaurant
New Orleans Part 4 – Lula Restaurant Distillery
New Orleans Part 5 – Oceana Grill 
New Orleans Part 6 – Kingfish | Kitchen and Cocktails
New Orleans Part 7 – Ristorante Gianna