New Orleans's only two-Michelin-star tasting room, run by Emeril's son E.J. Lagasse — book Resy a month out for a milestone dinner worth the trip.
The Reservation Problem at Emeril's
"E.J. is here every service — you will see him work the pass," the captain said when I called to confirm, and that sentence is the whole story of the new Emeril's, ranked #26 in New Orleans. Emeril Lagasse opened the room at 800 Tchoupitoulas Street in 1990 as a loud, exuberant flagship. His son, E.J. Lagasse, quietly turned it into a seated tasting menu and was handed two Michelin stars in the first edition of the Michelin Guide to the American South — the only two-star in the city, awarded to the youngest chef ever to hold the level.
The result is that a room New Orleanians took for granted for thirty years is suddenly a destination table, and the seats are finite.
How to Book Emeril's
Emeril's takes reservations through Resy, on the app and at resy.com, with tables released on a rolling window roughly a month ahead. Set a Resy notify alert for your date, because the prime Friday and Saturday seatings clear within hours of opening. Tuesday through Thursday is the gettable stretch; a solo seat or a two-top mid-week is far easier than a weekend four-top.
If the calendar is bare, the cancellation refresh is real here — tables reappear in the 24 to 48 hours before service as plans change, so check at odd hours. For a special date that will not flex, a New Orleans hotel concierge or a booking concierge can sometimes reach held inventory the public window does not show.
What You Eat
The format is a single seasonal tasting at $155 per person, with a $140 vegetarian version and a $100 wine pairing; a shorter three-course option runs $95. The dishes that carry the room are the Gulf crab custard, the andouille-crusted drum and, to close, the banana cream pie that survived the reinvention because nobody would let E.J. cut it. This is Creole cooking rebuilt as fine dining without losing the city in it.
The Smart Play
Book a Tuesday or Wednesday a month out, set a notify alert for anything tighter, and treat the cancellation window as your second chance. Emeril's is a destination table now, and it deserves the planning. If it is full, Commander's Palace and Galatoire's are the grand New Orleans institutions to fall back on — both worth the New Orleans reservation fight.
Not for a casual gumbo-and-po'boy night out. Emeril's is now a $155 seated chef's tasting in a hushed room, not the boisterous 1990 flagship that many regulars still picture.
View Emeril's on Restaurants for Kings →
Related Reading
- Our full profile: Emeril's, ranked #26 in New Orleans.
- The wider city: New Orleans dining guide and the hardest restaurant reservations in New Orleans.
- Strategy: how to get impossible restaurant reservations.
- By tier: how far ahead to book each Michelin tier.
- The occasion: best restaurants to impress clients.
- Nearby tables: Commander's Palace and Galatoire's.
- More how-to-book guides: how to book Commander's Palace and how to book Bludorn in Houston.
Frequently Asked Questions
How hard is it to book Emeril's?
Hard, and harder since the two stars. Emeril's releases tables on Resy roughly a month ahead, and the prime Friday and Saturday seatings clear within hours of opening. Midweek is gettable, and a solo seat or a two-top is far easier than a weekend four-top. Set a Resy notify alert for your date and watch the 24-to-48-hour cancellation window, when seats reliably reappear as plans change.
How far in advance should I book Emeril's?
Aim for about a month, the moment your date enters the Resy window. For a weekend or a larger party, be online the instant tables drop, because the best seatings go in hours. If you missed the release, do not give up: cancellations surface in the day or two before service, so a notify alert plus a few odd-hour checks is the most reliable route to a last-minute table.
What is the dress code at Emeril's?
Cocktail attire. The reinvented Emeril's is a two-Michelin-star tasting room, so collared shirts, blazers, tailored dresses and smart separates are the register. There is no formal jacket requirement, but shorts, gym wear and beachwear do not suit the room. New Orleans runs warm, so a light blazer rather than a heavy suit is the sensible call for the dining room's air-conditioned, hushed evening service.
How much does dinner at Emeril's cost?
The seasonal tasting menu is $155 per person, with a $140 vegetarian version and an optional $100 wine pairing; a shorter three-course menu runs $95. Add tax, service and any supplements, and a full tasting with pairing lands around $300 a head. It is a fixed-menu room rather than an a la carte one, so the tasting price is the honest baseline to budget from before drinks.
What should I order at Emeril's?
The menu is a set tasting, so the kitchen chooses, but the dishes that define it are the Gulf crab custard, the andouille-crusted drum and the banana cream pie that closes the meal. The crab custard is the signal dish, the one that tells you whether the kitchen is on form. If you drink, the $100 pairing is well-judged; otherwise ask the sommelier for a single Louisiana-friendly white to run through.