RFK Rankings · New Orleans
Best Wine List Restaurants in New Orleans 2026
Restaurant cellars & sommelier programs · New Orleans · 6 lists ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 18, 2026 · Updated June 20, 2026 · Reviewed by Fredrik Filipsson, Editor-in-Chief · How we rank · Corrections
New Orleans keeps three of the South's deepest restaurant cellars, and they sit within a few blocks of one another. The city holds more Wine Spectator Grand Awards than anywhere in the region, a legacy of the grand Creole houses that have poured Bordeaux and Burgundy for a century. The best tables split into two camps: the historic French Quarter and Garden District rooms with cellars built over decades, and a newer destination tasting menu rewriting the rules uptown. Here is who each table suits, what to expect walking in, and how to book it. Six, ranked on cellar depth, French and California breadth and value rather than labels alone.
1.Commander's Palace
Book it for the landmark New Orleans wine occasion: a Grand Award cellar poured behind turtle soup and bread pudding souffle.
Commander's Palace has anchored the corner of Washington and Coliseum in the Garden District since 1893, the turquoise Victorian where Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse both cooked. Chef Meg Bickford, the first woman to lead the kitchen, runs a haute Creole menu built on turtle soup, pecan-crusted Gulf fish and a bread pudding souffle finished tableside. Wine Spectator has held it at the Grand Award level, the magazine's top tier, for a cellar deep in Bordeaux, Burgundy and California. The 25-cent martini lunch keeps it unstuffy. This is the table when the wine and the occasion are one. Book the Garden Room and ask the sommelier to open the cellar's older Bordeaux.
Book on the Commander's Palace site; request the Garden Room and a cellar Bordeaux.
2.Emeril's
Reserve the tasting menu when wine leads the night: E.J. Lagasse's two-star room keeps a Grand Award cellar since 1999.
Emeril's flagship reopened in the Warehouse District in 2023 after a full renovation, and E.J. Lagasse, Emeril's son, has turned it into the most decorated tasting-menu room in the city. In late 2025 he became the youngest chef to lead a two-Michelin-star restaurant, a month after a three-star New York Times review. The six-course menu reworks his father's classics, from barbecue shrimp to banana cream pie, and the cellar has carried Wine Spectator's Grand Award since 1999. Pairings are built course by course. This is the destination wine dinner in New Orleans. Book weeks ahead and take the full pairing flight.
Book on Resy; reserve early and take the wine pairing with the tasting menu.
3.Brennan's
Go for a Burgundy-and-Bordeaux celebration in the French Quarter, where a rebuilt Grand Award cellar backs the original Bananas Foster.
Brennan's has poured on Royal Street since 1946, the pink French Quarter landmark where Bananas Foster was invented. Hurricane Katrina destroyed its famous cellar, but a 2014 restoration under the Ralph Brennan group rebuilt it, and Wine Spectator has returned it to the Grand Award, with strength in Burgundy, Bordeaux and California. The kitchen runs turtle soup, eggs Hussarde and a tableside Bananas Foster that still draws a crowd. Breakfast at Brennan's is the ritual, but dinner is when the cellar shows. This is the table for a French Quarter celebration with a serious bottle. Reserve a courtyard table and ask for the older Burgundy.
Book on the Brennan's site; ask the sommelier to walk the Burgundy and Bordeaux.
4.Restaurant August
Choose it for a modern Creole wine dinner: Corey Thomas cooks behind a Best of Award of Excellence list in the CBD.
Restaurant August occupies a restored 19th-century French-Creole building on Tchoupitoulas Street in the Central Business District, the room that made John Besh's name and turned 25 this year. Executive chef Corey Thomas, who came up through Commander's Palace and Shaya, cooks a refined Creole-French menu with dishes like gnocchi with blue crab and Gulf fish. Wine Spectator holds it at the Best of Award of Excellence level for a list deep in France and California. The room is the most formal-feeling of the city's wine destinations without tipping into stiff. This is the table for a quiet, grown-up wine dinner. Book the main dining room and let the floor pair by the glass.
Book on the August site; ask for a by-the-glass pairing across the menu.
5.Galatoire's
Take a Friday lunch table for old-line Bourbon Street ritual, souffle potatoes and an Award of Excellence wine list.
Galatoire's has run at 209 Bourbon Street since 1905, the bentwood-chaired downstairs room where the Friday lunch can stretch into the evening. In 2026 Nicole Theriot became the first woman to lead the kitchen in its 120-year history, cooking the unchanging canon: shrimp remoulade, oysters Rockefeller, souffle potatoes and crabmeat Yvonne. The wine list carries Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence, French-leaning to suit the food. There are no reservations for the downstairs room, which is the point. This is the table for the most New Orleans of wine lunches. Come Friday, dress up, and order Champagne to start the long afternoon.
Walk in for the downstairs room or book upstairs; start with Champagne.
6.Arnaud's
Reserve the main room for a French Quarter classic, where a deep historic cellar pairs with shrimp Arnaud and souffle potatoes.
Arnaud's has filled a block of Bienville Street in the French Quarter since 1918, a warren of tiled dining rooms behind the famous front windows. Its cellar is one of the deepest in the city, a five-figure bottle collection that has long drawn Wine Spectator recognition, strong in Bordeaux, Champagne and dessert wines. The kitchen holds the line on shrimp Arnaud in remoulade, souffle potatoes and pompano. The adjoining French 75 bar is one of the great cocktail rooms in America. This is the table for a classic Creole dinner with an old-world bottle. Reserve the main room and finish with a glass in French 75.
Book on the Arnaud's site; reserve the main room and end at the French 75 bar.
Avoid for a wine night
A daiquiri street, not a cellar
Bourbon Street's frozen-drink stands and the daiquiri shops off Canal are a New Orleans rite, but none keep a list worth a wine dinner. Have the to-go cup for the walk, then sit down at Galatoire's or Arnaud's when the bottle matters.
Beignets, not bottles
Cafe du Monde and the other Decatur Street cafes are essential, but they pour chicory coffee, not wine. Keep them for the morning after and book Commander's or Emeril's for the wine-led evening.
How to drink well in New Orleans
New Orleans splits cleanly for a wine night. The three Grand Award rooms, Commander's Palace, Emeril's and Brennan's, are the deep cellars, and at all three the move is to book well ahead and let the sommelier open something older than the by-the-glass list. Commander's takes reservations and fills its Friday and weekend tables first; Emeril's tasting menu sells out weeks out; Brennan's courtyard is the prize in spring. Expect a top-end spend once the bottle is on the table.
The French Quarter classics run on ritual as much as cellar depth. Galatoire's keeps its downstairs room walk-in only, so arrive early on a Friday and plan to stay; Arnaud's takes bookings and rewards a request for the older Bordeaux. Restaurant August is the quietest of the group and the easiest midweek reservation. Across all of them, Champagne to start and a French bottle with the Creole food is the local instinct, and naming a budget lets the floor find the right older vintage.
Frequently asked
Which New Orleans restaurant has the best wine list?
Three New Orleans rooms hold Wine Spectator's Grand Award, the magazine's top tier: Commander's Palace in the Garden District, Emeril's in the Warehouse District and Brennan's on Royal Street. Commander's is the all-round pick for haute Creole food and a deep cellar, Emeril's is the destination tasting menu under E.J. Lagasse, and Brennan's rebuilt its historic cellar after Katrina. Book any of them well ahead and ask the sommelier to open something from the reserve list.
Where can I drink a serious old Bordeaux in New Orleans?
Commander's Palace, Brennan's and Arnaud's all keep deep Bordeaux holdings. Commander's and Brennan's carry Grand Award cellars strong in Bordeaux and Burgundy, while Arnaud's in the French Quarter holds one of the largest bottle collections in the city, with older vintages and dessert wines. Call ahead and tell the sommelier what you want to drink so the bottle can be pulled and stood up before you arrive.
How much should I budget for wine in New Orleans?
At the Grand Award rooms a serious bottle runs well into the hundreds, and the tasting-menu pairing at Emeril's sits at the top end. The value lies in the by-the-glass and half-bottle programs at Commander's and August, and in starting with Champagne rather than chasing a trophy red. Set a budget with the sommelier and let them find a French bottle inside it; the older vintages reward the spend more than the marquee labels.
Do I need a reservation for these New Orleans wine restaurants?
Yes for most. Commander's Palace, Emeril's, Brennan's, Restaurant August and Arnaud's all run on reservations, and Emeril's tasting menu and the weekend Commander's tables go weeks ahead. Galatoire's is the exception: its downstairs room is walk-in only, so arrive early for the Friday lunch and expect a wait. Book the others a week or more out in festival season and for any courtyard or special table.
Which New Orleans wine restaurant is best for a celebration?
Commander's Palace is the classic celebration table, with its turquoise Garden District room, tableside bread pudding souffle and a Grand Award cellar. For a modern destination dinner, Emeril's six-course tasting menu under E.J. Lagasse is the city's most decorated room. Brennan's pink French Quarter courtyard suits a long, festive lunch. Reserve ahead, name the occasion when you book, and start with Champagne.
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