Aguasanta is serving up bold flavors across a surprising menu of dishes melding inspiration from around the globe and artful cocktails in a stylish, modern Oak Street space. It’s from Luis Nava, who opened popular Mexican restaurant La Tia Cantina in Metairie a few years back, in partnership with Leo Vasquez and Ulysses Campos. The raw bar menu mixes Mexican, Italian, and Japanese flavors with dishes like octopus carpaccio, pineapple aguachile, and salmon tartare, with the rest of the menu bringing in similarly surprising influences: There’s brisket bao, crab arancini, bruschetta, birria-style lamb, Cantonese fried rice, and more. It’s open for dinner Monday through Saturday.

The Southern meat and three gets a Turkey and the Wolf twist at Hot Stuff, Mason Hereford and team’s new Uptown lunch restaurant. The steam table centerpiece and cafeteria-style service are traditional, if not the funky, eclectic setting and updated recipes: There’s a hamburger steak au poivre drenched in a creamy black peppercorn sauce, marinated cucumbers in chili crisp, vegan black-eyed peas, miso green beans, and pickle cheese (like pimento cheese, but made with pickles). Mains change daily, and might also include smoked pork ribs, fried chicken, pot roast, red beans and rice, fried catfish, and more. Don’t miss the glazed Mountain Dew cakes zested with lemon and lime — they sell out early.

After cooking in Panama City, Paris, and New York, Adolfo Garcia III has returned to his native New Orleans and opened Chi Chi’s Chicken and Beer, an impossibly cool Freret Street shop serving a chaotic mashup of Korean fried chicken and Japanese sushi sandos. The menu focuses on four main categories: Korean chicken wings, fried chicken sandwiches, onigirazu (sushi sandwiches), and kakigōri (Japanese shaved ice), served alongside simple sides, three-liter towers of beer, and soju in a bustling, compact space adorned with a playful cartoon aesthetic.

The beautiful Lagniappe Bakehouse is the culmination of Kaitlin Guerin’s years-long practice of perfecting her viennoiserie, something she approached with the same artistry as her lifelong dedication to dance. The result is the most exquisite selection of baked goods in New Orleans, served out of a quaint Central City space bustling with excited customers. There are cornmeal muffins, pain au chocolate, seasonal Danishes, cardamom buns, gateau Breton, focaccia sandwiches, and more — all of which sell out quickly.

Larry Morrow channels cities like Miami, Los Angeles, and Dubai with his newest venture, the vibey Morrow Steak, which opened in June in the CBD. It’s gorgeous, much like his French Quarter hotspot, Sun Chong, a showstopper meant to uproot New Orleans’s norms for destination dining. The menu centers on tomahawk ribeyes and wagyu served by the ounce but also brings in Morrow’s signature Asian American twists, this time dabbling in sushi for the first time. There’s also red snapper, turducken potstickers with ponzu sauce, and vegan kung pao cauliflower, making it much more than just another steakhouse.

The newest Emeril Lagasse restaurant is a loving tribute to Lagasse’s Portuguese heritage, his late mother Hilda, and his hometown of Fall River, Massachusetts. The result is a hip downtown space serving a mix of modern Portuguese tapas and the comfort food Lagasse was raised on: small plates of bacalhau à brás (salt cod with potatoes and eggs) and sardine toast; entrees of cataplana (fish stew) and beef espetada; and large, shareable rice dishes made with lobster, duck, rabbit, and more. Late-night, hospitality industry-friendly hours; a jamón bar; a Portuguese-dominated wine list; and cocktails celebrating Spanish aperitivo culture make this one of the city’s most exciting new restaurants.

After sunsetting the tasting menu at his Magazine Street restaurant Coquette, chef Michael Stoltzfus has launched a new one at Wild South, a 40-seat tasting menu restaurant in the former Lengua Madre space. The menu changes organically, playing on traditional Louisiana foodways, reflecting the region’s seasons, and tapping into the bounty of its waters: Think steamed oysters with swordfish bacon and leeks; sourdough fried Lion’s Mane mushrooms; and shrimp and strawberries with caviar. Make a reservation in advance.

The French Quarter’s newest absinthe bar is a choose-your-own dining and drinking adventure, facilitated by chef Cristina Quackenbush’s lifelong dedication to Southeast Asian cuisine and decades-long practice of witchcraft. Order drinks and food according to your state of being — or the state you’d like to be in — like sticky lemongrass barbecue pork ribs for spiritual enlightenment or chicken adobo arancini served with purple sticky rice for abundance, paired with a Zodiaquiri developed according to the season or an absinthe cocktail made with ginger, turmeric, and lime for a digestive spiritual bath. Tatlo offers a meaningful ritual of nourishment and connection, one that’s equally delicious and exciting.

New Orleans has joined the ranks of cities around the world boasting a location of Nobu, the 30-year-old chain that set the standard for an entire genre: upscale Japanese lounge. Located in the Caesars Casino downtown, the massive special occasion restaurant offers a chance to try chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s game-changing sashimi, nigiri, tempura, kushiyaki (grilled meat skewers), and sushi tacos. The vast menu also includes wagyu dumplings, crispy okra, lobster salad, gambas al ajillo, Australian lamb chops, and four dishes in particular that have become famed staples of Japanese fine-dining: miso black cod, yellowtail jalapeno sashimi, rock shrimp tempura, and spicy tuna crispy rice.

Acamaya is Bywater’s newest special occasion dining destination that doubles as a welcoming neighborhood restaurant. It’s from Ana Castro, the James Beard Award-nominated former chef of Lengua Madre, and her sister Lydia Castro. It’s celebratory in all ways, from the upbeat, glowy interior to a menu of Mexican mariscos that is at times exciting and at times comforting, paying tribute to Mexico City throughout. Try the hamachi tostada, bass ceviche, crap sope, shrimp aguachile, octopus with walnut salsa negra, and the chochoyotes, but whatever you do, don’t skip the arroz negro. It’s a funky, earthy dish with mussels, squid, and huitlacoche, a fungus grown among corn crops known also as “corn smut,” and it is a powerhouse.

Origen is a brunchy new restaurant on St, Claude Avenue in Bywater, a pretty, light-filled bistro drawing on former Mucho Más chef Julio Machado’s Venezuelan heritage. Machado and team are serving up fresh ceviche, cachapas, chupe (a hangover-curing chicken noodle soup), a warm salad of grilled peppers and zucchinis toasted with olive oil and cilantro, and spit-roasted carne en vara. Origen offers two menus daily: all-day and brunch, as well as happy hour specials on beer and wine.