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Closeup of a shrimp and rice in a dark broth in a spoon held above a bowl of seafood and sausage gumbo. — Seafood and andouille gumbo from Saint John.

Where to Find the Best Gumbo in New Orleans

We know mama makes it best, but in case she’s busy

by Beth D'Addono, Clair Lorell, and Eater Staff Updated Jan 17, 2025, 3:06pm CST

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Seafood and andouille gumbo from Saint John.

| Randy Schmidt/Saint John

by Beth D'Addono, Clair Lorell, and Eater Staff Updated Jan 17, 2025, 3:06pm CST

To most locals, gumbo is home cooking, the ultimate comfort food informed by grandmother’s kitchen and mama’s way of doing things. First, there’s a roux; and fortunately, New Orleanians are experts at coaxing that dark roux into a simmering bowl of savory goodness as full of cultural influences as the city itself.

Still, not every week allows for the delicate work of gumbo making, and everyone needs a go-to spot to pick up the staple. Swimming with seafood or rich with chicken and sausage, these gumbos are some of the best in town — arranged geographically, as always.

Is your favorite for gumbo in New Orleans missing from this list? Tell us at [email protected].

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Munch Factory

The Creole gumbo at this beloved Gentilly restaurant, back in its original neighborhood after a few years based in the LGD, is one of the best. The darkest, deepest, and silkiest roux is complemented by heaps of crab, shrimp, and oysters, topped with just the right amount of green onions.

6514 Congress Dr, New Orleans, LA 70126

Munch Factory gumbo.

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Peewee’s Crabcakes

Charles “PeeWee” Armstrong has been running his seafood operation for years now, in the form of home delivery, a pop-up at a CBD bar, and then expanding to a takeout shop in Central City and New Orleans East. There’s also PeeWee’s Crabcakes in Gentilly, a counter-service restaurant serving his signature crab cakes, seafood platters, and Creole specialties like the overflowing, affordable seafood gumbo — a big bowl stuffed with crab legs, shrimp and sausage is $10, a cup just $7.

4500 Old Gentilly Rd, New Orleans, LA 70126

Liuzza's by the Track

Liuzza’s bowl of magic is excellent — chef Roadrunner has perfected this roux-based specialty and makes 37 gallons of it — at least — every week. Rich with sausage and chicken, the secret is adding the shrimp freshly sauteed for each order. Best paired with another Liuzza’s specialty, its bloody mary. If you’re still hungry, get the barbecued shrimp in a pistolette, one of the best versions of this New Orleans-specific butter and Worcestershire-fueled dish.

1518 N Lopez St, New Orleans, LA 70119

Liuzza’s gumbo.

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Neyow's Creole Café

Chef and proprietor Tanya Dubuclet serves New Orleans homestyle cooking at Neyow’s Creole Cafe, something that isn’t as easy to find in restaurants as it used to be. Her file gumbo is a perfect place to start, prepared with shrimp, crabs, smoked sausage, ham, and seasoning and served over white rice. You’ll want a bowl, but get a cup so you can have some grilled oysters, red beans and rice, and fried fish too.

3340 Bienville St, New Orleans, LA 70119

Neyow’s

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Gabrielle Restaurant

All things duck tends to be the star at this Mid-City favorite for Cajun fine dining, but the dark quail gumbo is nearly as famous. The hospitable, family-run restaurant on Orleans Avenue serves a bowl that’s dark and thick, smoky and rich — regardless of what comes in it that day.

2441 Orleans Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119

Quail gumbo at Gabrielle.

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Li'l Dizzy's Cafe

Lil’ Dizzy’s Cafe has a history that reaches deep into the neighborhood, owned by the Baquet family whose New Orleans roots go back centuries. That Creole file gumbo you’re slurping is from a family recipe that the Baquets have been serving for decades, and thank goodness it’s still around.

1500 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116

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Dooky Chase’s

You can’t talk gumbo in this town without paying homage to Leah Chase’s recipe loaded with crab, shrimp, chicken, two kinds of sausage, ham, and veal brisket. Dooky Chase’s serves lunch Tuesday through Saturday and dinner on Friday and Saturday evenings.

2301 Orleans Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119

A bowl of reddish-brown gumbo with sausage, shrimp and crab on a yellow tablecloth.

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Bennachin

Trace gumbo to its West African roots at chef Fanta Tambajang’s Royal Street restaurant Bennachin. The nsouki lappa — a beef sausage and turkey gumbo — boasts smoky notes in its rich roux. Save room for a dessert of shakari (couscous in a yogurt sauce with shredded coconut, raisins, and tart pineapple).

1212 Royal Street, LA 70116

Inside Bennachin.

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Nice Guys Bar and Grill

Chef Darian “D Fresh” Williams simmers up some outstanding lighter-than-average gumbo at Nice Guys Bar & Grill on Earhart, but there’s more than sausage and chicken in the pot. The chef learned to make it from his grandfather, who put “the whole kitchen sink in it.” Smoked turkey, sausage, seafood, chicken, sometimes okra, and sometimes file goes into the family recipe.

7910 Earhart Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70125

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Stanley of New Orleans

A longtime locals favorite for breakfast and bloody marys, this creative French Quarter gem off Jackson Square is also one of the neighborhood’s best destinations for gumbo. Chef and owner Scott Boswell makes a bowl containing Gulf shrimp, oysters, chicken, and andouille, with the option to add potato salad.

547 St Ann St., New Orleans, LA 70116

Herbsaint

It’s good to remember that Donald Link earned his James Beard Award for Best Chef South at Herbsaint back in 2007. The lovely St. Charles Avenue restaurant is his flagship, and the gumbo recipe is all Link, a changing take on the traditional that is now his chicken, tasso, and andouille version of the dish. That andouille is so good — it’s made at Cochon Butcher and available for sale in the butcher case. A similarly delicious version of the gumbo is also available at Cochon, next door to Butcher, another Link staple.

701 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130

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Saint John

Chef Eric Cook casts even the most traditional Creole dishes in a new light, thanks to his elegant use of supreme ingredients and techniques practiced in kitchens like American Sector, Bourbon House, Tommy’s Cuisine, and Gris-Gris. At Saint John, the chef cooks food that brings back memories, and his familiar menu certainly does that most expertly. But Saint John’s new gumbo with shrimp, crab, okra, and andouille, smoky at its heart and silky on the tongue, sets a lofty standard that deserves a memory all its own.

715 Saint Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130

Seafood and andouille gumbo.

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Brigtsen's Restaurant

Frank Brigtsen’s personal approach to classic Louisiana dishes can be seen throughout the menu, in items like New Orleans barbecue shrimp with calas, catfish des allemands, and crab-crusted Gulf fish. His gumbo, a Cajun-style chicken and andouille, boasts a rich, dark roux peppered with file.

723 Dante St, New Orleans, LA 70118

Also featured in:

Heard Dat Kitchen

Chef Jeff Heard’s Central City restaurant has been serving quality interpretations of classic Creole dishes and original new creations for years, a neighborhood favorite for comforting food with a twist. Try Heard’s grilled cheese, potato salad, and file gumbo combo — it is one of the best in the city.

2520 Felicity St, New Orleans, LA 70113

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Cafe Reconcile

Café Reconcile’s chicken and sausage gumbo, built with a rich roux and studded with okra, comes served with a mound of pearlescent white rice. Try it with a slice of jalapeno cornbread on the side. Even better, your meal helps support Café Reconcile’s workforce development program for young New Orleanians.

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1631 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70113

The dining room at Cafe Reconcile.

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The High Hat Cafe

While catfish is the star at the casual neighborhood spot on Freret Street, High Hat’s gumbo is worth a shoutout. The chicken and andouille gumbo “Ya-Ya” is thick and dark, loaded up with the good stuff, all for a super-reasonable $8 cup. Try the sweet potato salad on the side.

4500 Freret St, New Orleans, LA 70115

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Casamento's

Casamento’s sets the gold standard for oysters in New Orleans, never shirking tradition for what’s on trend. Its Creole-style seafood gumbo is similar, the opposite of the dark and rich gumbos that have become so popular. Instead, it’s filled with tomatoes and okra, making it somewhat lighter.

4330 Magazine St (at Napoleon Ave.), New Orleans, LA 70115

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Munch Factory

6514 Congress Dr, New Orleans, LA 70126

The Creole gumbo at this beloved Gentilly restaurant, back in its original neighborhood after a few years based in the LGD, is one of the best. The darkest, deepest, and silkiest roux is complemented by heaps of crab, shrimp, and oysters, topped with just the right amount of green onions.

6514 Congress Dr, New Orleans, LA 70126

Visit Website

Munch Factory gumbo.

Peewee’s Crabcakes

4500 Old Gentilly Rd, New Orleans, LA 70126

Charles “PeeWee” Armstrong has been running his seafood operation for years now, in the form of home delivery, a pop-up at a CBD bar, and then expanding to a takeout shop in Central City and New Orleans East. There’s also PeeWee’s Crabcakes in Gentilly, a counter-service restaurant serving his signature crab cakes, seafood platters, and Creole specialties like the overflowing, affordable seafood gumbo — a big bowl stuffed with crab legs, shrimp and sausage is $10, a cup just $7.

Open in Google Maps

4500 Old Gentilly Rd, New Orleans, LA 70126

Visit Website

Liuzza's by the Track

1518 N Lopez St, New Orleans, LA 70119

Liuzza’s bowl of magic is excellent — chef Roadrunner has perfected this roux-based specialty and makes 37 gallons of it — at least — every week. Rich with sausage and chicken, the secret is adding the shrimp freshly sauteed for each order. Best paired with another Liuzza’s specialty, its bloody mary. If you’re still hungry, get the barbecued shrimp in a pistolette, one of the best versions of this New Orleans-specific butter and Worcestershire-fueled dish.

1518 N Lopez St, New Orleans, LA 70119

Visit Website

Liuzza’s gumbo.

Neyow's Creole Café

3340 Bienville St, New Orleans, LA 70119

Chef and proprietor Tanya Dubuclet serves New Orleans homestyle cooking at Neyow’s Creole Cafe, something that isn’t as easy to find in restaurants as it used to be. Her file gumbo is a perfect place to start, prepared with shrimp, crabs, smoked sausage, ham, and seasoning and served over white rice. You’ll want a bowl, but get a cup so you can have some grilled oysters, red beans and rice, and fried fish too.

3340 Bienville St, New Orleans, LA 70119

Visit Website

Neyow’s

Gabrielle Restaurant

2441 Orleans Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119

All things duck tends to be the star at this Mid-City favorite for Cajun fine dining, but the dark quail gumbo is nearly as famous. The hospitable, family-run restaurant on Orleans Avenue serves a bowl that’s dark and thick, smoky and rich — regardless of what comes in it that day.

2441 Orleans Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119

Visit Website

Quail gumbo at Gabrielle.

Li'l Dizzy's Cafe

1500 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116

Lil’ Dizzy’s Cafe has a history that reaches deep into the neighborhood, owned by the Baquet family whose New Orleans roots go back centuries. That Creole file gumbo you’re slurping is from a family recipe that the Baquets have been serving for decades, and thank goodness it’s still around.

1500 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116

Visit Website

Dooky Chase’s

2301 Orleans Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119

You can’t talk gumbo in this town without paying homage to Leah Chase’s recipe loaded with crab, shrimp, chicken, two kinds of sausage, ham, and veal brisket. Dooky Chase’s serves lunch Tuesday through Saturday and dinner on Friday and Saturday evenings.

2301 Orleans Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119

Visit Website

A bowl of reddish-brown gumbo with sausage, shrimp and crab on a yellow tablecloth.

Bennachin

1212 Royal Street, LA 70116

Trace gumbo to its West African roots at chef Fanta Tambajang’s Royal Street restaurant Bennachin. The nsouki lappa — a beef sausage and turkey gumbo — boasts smoky notes in its rich roux. Save room for a dessert of shakari (couscous in a yogurt sauce with shredded coconut, raisins, and tart pineapple).

Open in Google Maps

1212 Royal Street, LA 70116

Inside Bennachin.

Nice Guys Bar and Grill

7910 Earhart Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70125

Chef Darian “D Fresh” Williams simmers up some outstanding lighter-than-average gumbo at Nice Guys Bar & Grill on Earhart, but there’s more than sausage and chicken in the pot. The chef learned to make it from his grandfather, who put “the whole kitchen sink in it.” Smoked turkey, sausage, seafood, chicken, sometimes okra, and sometimes file goes into the family recipe.

7910 Earhart Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70125

Visit Website

Stanley of New Orleans

547 St Ann St., New Orleans, LA 70116

A longtime locals favorite for breakfast and bloody marys, this creative French Quarter gem off Jackson Square is also one of the neighborhood’s best destinations for gumbo. Chef and owner Scott Boswell makes a bowl containing Gulf shrimp, oysters, chicken, and andouille, with the option to add potato salad.

Open in Google Maps

547 St Ann St., New Orleans, LA 70116

Visit Website

Herbsaint

701 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130

It’s good to remember that Donald Link earned his James Beard Award for Best Chef South at Herbsaint back in 2007. The lovely St. Charles Avenue restaurant is his flagship, and the gumbo recipe is all Link, a changing take on the traditional that is now his chicken, tasso, and andouille version of the dish. That andouille is so good — it’s made at Cochon Butcher and available for sale in the butcher case. A similarly delicious version of the gumbo is also available at Cochon, next door to Butcher, another Link staple.

701 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Saint John

715 Saint Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130

Chef Eric Cook casts even the most traditional Creole dishes in a new light, thanks to his elegant use of supreme ingredients and techniques practiced in kitchens like American Sector, Bourbon House, Tommy’s Cuisine, and Gris-Gris. At Saint John, the chef cooks food that brings back memories, and his familiar menu certainly does that most expertly. But Saint John’s new gumbo with shrimp, crab, okra, and andouille, smoky at its heart and silky on the tongue, sets a lofty standard that deserves a memory all its own.

715 Saint Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130

Visit Website

Seafood and andouille gumbo.

Brigtsen's Restaurant

723 Dante St, New Orleans, LA 70118

Frank Brigtsen’s personal approach to classic Louisiana dishes can be seen throughout the menu, in items like New Orleans barbecue shrimp with calas, catfish des allemands, and crab-crusted Gulf fish. His gumbo, a Cajun-style chicken and andouille, boasts a rich, dark roux peppered with file.

723 Dante St, New Orleans, LA 70118

Visit Website

Heard Dat Kitchen

2520 Felicity St, New Orleans, LA 70113

Chef Jeff Heard’s Central City restaurant has been serving quality interpretations of classic Creole dishes and original new creations for years, a neighborhood favorite for comforting food with a twist. Try Heard’s grilled cheese, potato salad, and file gumbo combo — it is one of the best in the city.

2520 Felicity St, New Orleans, LA 70113

Visit Website

Cafe Reconcile

1631 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70113

Café Reconcile’s chicken and sausage gumbo, built with a rich roux and studded with okra, comes served with a mound of pearlescent white rice. Try it with a slice of jalapeno cornbread on the side. Even better, your meal helps support Café Reconcile’s workforce development program for young New Orleanians.

1631 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70113

The dining room at Cafe Reconcile.

Related Maps

The High Hat Cafe

4500 Freret St, New Orleans, LA 70115

While catfish is the star at the casual neighborhood spot on Freret Street, High Hat’s gumbo is worth a shoutout. The chicken and andouille gumbo “Ya-Ya” is thick and dark, loaded up with the good stuff, all for a super-reasonable $8 cup. Try the sweet potato salad on the side.

4500 Freret St, New Orleans, LA 70115

Visit Website

Casamento's

4330 Magazine St (at Napoleon Ave.), New Orleans, LA 70115

Casamento’s sets the gold standard for oysters in New Orleans, never shirking tradition for what’s on trend. Its Creole-style seafood gumbo is similar, the opposite of the dark and rich gumbos that have become so popular. Instead, it’s filled with tomatoes and okra, making it somewhat lighter.

4330 Magazine St (at Napoleon Ave.), New Orleans, LA 70115

Related Maps