Tag: new orleans restaurants

A French Quarter Favorite Makes OpenTable’s Top 100 List-GW Fins

Louisiana has long been recognized for its rich culinary traditions, refined dining culture, and bold coastal flavors, with New Orleans consistently leading the way. In 2025, that reputation was further reinforced when GW Fins earned national recognition as one of OpenTable’s Top 100 Restaurants according to this article from The Daily Advertise. The honor placed the French Quarter seafood destination among the most sought-after dining experiences in the United States, based on diner demand and verified guest reviews.

OpenTable’s annual Top 100 list was determined through insights collected directly from diners who booked and reviewed meals through the platform. As one of the country’s leading restaurant reservation and discovery services, OpenTable evaluated thousands of establishments using metrics tied to consistency, guest satisfaction, and overall dining experience. The inclusion of GW Fins reflected not only its popularity but also its continued ability to deliver high-quality seafood cuisine in a competitive national landscape.

Located in a stylishly updated warehouse space in the French Quarter, GW Fins built its reputation on a creative and constantly evolving menu centered on fresh seafood. The restaurant became widely regarded as a seafood authority in New Orleans, offering dishes that balanced classic Gulf Coast influences with modern culinary refinement. According to OpenTable, menu standouts included traditional barbecue shrimp alongside more elevated offerings such as lobster dumplings, allowing diners to experience both familiarity and innovation in a single meal.

Seasonality played a defining role in the GW Fins dining experience. Prior to the restaurant’s national recognition, the culinary team described its approach as one where seasonal seafood met precise technique. Each dish was prepared to enhance the natural flavor and texture of the day’s freshest catch, rather than overshadow it. This philosophy guided everything from ingredient selection to final presentation, ensuring that seafood remained the focal point of every plate.

Executive Chef Michael Nelson and Chef/Owner Tenney Flynn were central to maintaining that standard. According to OpenTable, the leadership team ensured exceptional quality by sourcing seafood from both local waters and international fisheries, flying in select products when necessary to meet exacting standards. Their commitment to freshness was reflected in the restaurant’s practice of printing its menu daily, a detail that underscored the constantly shifting nature of the offerings and the reliance on what was available at peak quality.

In addition to its culinary focus, GW Fins cultivated an atmosphere that aligned with its fine dining identity while remaining approachable. The restaurant maintained a dress code intended to preserve a polished dining environment without requiring formal attire. Coats and ties were not necessary, but guests were expected to wear slacks, dress jeans, or dress shorts, with collared shirts required for gentlemen. Athletic wear, t-shirts, cut-off shorts, and baseball caps were not permitted, a standard consistent with many high-end restaurants throughout downtown New Orleans.

The OpenTable recognition highlighted GW Fins’ role in shaping New Orleans’ contemporary dining scene and reaffirmed the city’s influence on American cuisine. By combining meticulous sourcing, seasonal creativity, and a refined yet welcoming atmosphere, the restaurant continued to attract diners seeking a standout seafood experience rooted in both tradition and innovation.

The national acknowledgment also underscored the broader strength of New Orleans’ culinary ecosystem, where tradition and innovation frequently operated side by side. In a city known for its historic foodways and competitive restaurant scene, continued recognition required more than reputation alone. Together, these factors solidified GW Fins’ standing as a place where craftsmanship, quality, and coastal flavor consistently converged.

For more Louisiana-related articles, click here.

Commander’s Palace Plans to Reopen its Doors

One famous New Orleans’ restaurant closed their doors earlier this year in March, but they kept their kitchen actively busy, and this month Commander’s Palace reopens its picturesque dining rooms, according to a nola.com profile.

Friday, September 11 marks the resumption of full restaurant services with the kitchen and staff beginning with only dinner and weekend brunch, planning of course to expand in the future. This return to normal is much-appreciated by the local community, where the dining rooms are a favorite location known for its quality service and cuisine.

As expected, Commander’s Palace plans to reopen its doors with the all-too-familiar social distancing safety measures such as spacing increases between tables, required masks, among a plethora of other things, though the restaurant management is also using this reopening strategy as an opportunity to expand its reach and menu.

When doors reopen in mid September, Commander’s Palace will also reincorporate pecan-crusted fish and bread pudding souffle to their offering, since the time away from serving customers table-side has allowed the experienced chefs to experiment with their dishes and introduce new methods of cooking and preparation to the time-tested menu items.

In a similar theme of innovation, the time in which the restaurant closed their dining rooms allowed for management to open up new lines of business and offer a plethora of services to the community as they expanded their food takeout program, collaborated with a national shipping service to serve and send out complete dishes and dinner bundles to Commander’s fans from all over, and the restaurant held weekly virtual wine and cheese parties, drawing hundreds of online attendees.

These new services provided by Commander’s Palace are housed next door to the traditional restaurant in an adjacent building that was previously used as restaurant offices. Now, the cottage found on Washington Avenue has been renamed to Le Petit Bleu, and it serves the community as a walk-up takeout restaurant shop and a home base for other ventures.

Just because the management was forced to close its doors doesn’t mean that work slowed down, it just diversified into other areas. For instance Ti Martin, who runs Commander’s Palace with her cousin, Lally Brennan, gathered all managers of the business to take a hard look at their staff policies, procedures, and program through the lens of not only the new safety restrictions but also influenced by the ongoing national conversation of racial equality and inclusion. Martin reported to Nola.com that she is proud of the steps her company has taken in the past, including but not limited to diversity training and staff recruiting efforts. Though steps were taken, Martin was vocal about the need for work yet to be done not just by the restaurant’s staff and management but also by the industry at large.

Opening the Commander’s Palace doors doesn’t only mean that the refined and praised services are expanding, as the management has expanded their benefits package to add additional sick leave. In addition, the wonders are seeking out more minority-owned businesses as purveyors and they’ve revamped an internal program designed to familiarize staff members on how to advance upward within the company, called “Pathways to Success.”

When interviewed about her restaurant’s plan to reopen by nola.com, Martin stated, “this starts with our people. There’s a faint hint of hope that fall is approaching and things will get better. So we’re giving this the college try. We’re trying for our team, for our city, and we’re trying to survive like anyone else in the business.” Many New Orleans visitors and locals have shown support for the oft-praised restaurant during its time of closing, but the community at large is excited to see the new direction the management takes upon reopening.

For more Louisiana related articles, click here.