Crossing the pond . . . After almost five years in business, a Mid-City smash burger joint has branched out across the lake. Banks Street’s Bub’s Burgers has opened a third location (or does the grab-n-go spot opened last year on Freret Street only count as half a location?) in Mandeville recently, launching inside the space formerly known as Chopped, a Cuban market and eatery on LA-22. Northshore residents can now feast on Bub’s signature menu items such as the Peanut Bubber, Rodeo Adobo and (my favorite) the Royale with cheese. Don’t sleep on those crispy, hot fries and be sure to feed your four-footed companions one of their Puppy Patties topped with a crunchy milk bone.
3847 LA-22, Mandeville, bubsnola.com
Jazz on Bourbon . . . Grammy Award-winner Irvin Mayfield and restaurateur Danny Conwill have launched Mayfield’s 208 Bourbon St., a new music venue above Felix’s Restaurant & Oyster Bar. The space — an extension of Felix’s — hosts musicians such as Kermit Ruffins, Cyril Neville, Gerald French, and the Trumpet Mafia performing for music-lovers of all ages while enjoying a musician-curated feast. Foodstuffs will include Ruffins’ own recipe for red beans and rice, plus other “chef-driven dishes inspired by the artists themselves” such as Mayfield’s preferred version of gumbo ya-ya and Glenn David Andrews’ favorite stuffed redfish.
208 Bourbon St., @mayfields208
Makin’ groceries . . . Zahran Bazzar, who developed Big Easy Fresh Markets, has hopped back in the cart with plans for the century-old French Quarter market Matassa’s. According to NOLA.com, Bazzar has purchased the historic business and the entire building in which it’s housed, with intentions of continuing the tradition, but expanding the market’s offerings. Since Louis Matassa — grandson of the corner grocery store’s founder — sold the building in 2017, the market has remained open, but hanging in limbo. It’ll be interesting to see Bazzar’s plans come to fruition.
1001 Dauphine St., facebook.com/matassasmarket504
Twice as nice . . . CBD mezcal bar and restaurant Espíritu recently launched their second location in Mid-City. Taking over the S. Cortez Street building – a spot that started life as the first Ruby Slipper – Espíritu part deux retains a lot of the decor left behind from the building’s most recent occupant Rosella. Diners can enjoy the tin-tiled, wrap-around bar and coral-painted walls while feasting on Mexican cuisine created by the same Chef Oscar Gonzales who helms the kitchen on Capdeville Street downtown. Ceviches, tacos and tortas (Mexican-style sandwiches) available on Espíritu’s CBD menu are also available in Mid-City with the addition of fajitas and enchiladas, and of course the incredible mezcal selection curated by co-owner Haley Saucier.
139 S. Cortez St., espiritunola.com
Snackin’ poolside . . . Opened late last year, Sunnies is a funky little shack giving big pool vibes. This bar, restaurant and cool pool concept is a collab from NOLA Capital Partners’ Barret Cooper and Geoff Lewis, and developer Zach Kupperman. Clad in bright, bold colors and “retro-chic” attire, Sunnies is more than a 35-foot pool behind a two-story arts and crafts house on Freret Street, it’s a restaurant with ahi crudo, lobster and shrimp rolls, and Everything Bagel-crusted salmon from Chef Mike Oozoonian and “Holy Water”- ie. French herbal liqueurs and sparkling wine. In less than a month you’ll be wanting to kick it out by the pool again and Sunnies is the new “it” place to be.
4917 Freret St., sunniesnola.com
Super supremo . . . A one-stop shop for pizza and soft-serve ice cream has landed in the suburbs, bringing the already famous Il Supremo Pizza and Super Witch Ice Cream Co. together as nature intended. Located just off Metairie Road on Pink Street, Il Supremo is a new retro pizza and pasta joint fetishized into being by co-founder Nick Hufft of Hufft Marchand Hospitality — the group behind Junior’s on Harrison and Curbside Burgers in Baton Rouge. Super Witch Ice Cream owner Briggs Barrios, who’s been slinging Philadelphia-style pints from a pick-up counter in Harahan since 2023, has jumped into the super date-night mix with a soft serve outpost next to Il Supremo. Pizza and ice cream anyone?
619 Pink St., @superwitchsoftserve, @ilsupremopizza
Sweet paradise . . . A Texas-based Yemeni coffee house chain has made its way to the Westbank with the opening of Port Coffee Co. Recently launched on Manhattan Boulevard in the Fountain Park Center, this chic, uber-modern Middle-Eastern-style cafe offers spiced lattes, fruity “refreshers” and enough gorgeous cakes and pastries to shake a stick at. Think of a heady afternoon spent sipping creamy Biscoff lattes and sharing a plate of matcha cruffins, a slice of chocolate hazelnut cake or munching your own “finger” of walnut baklava.
1901 Manhattan Blvd., @portcoffeeco.nola
Mixin’ it up . . . In a confluence of international cuisines and styles, Mediterranean restaurant Kira opened on Tchoupitoulas Street. The space which formerly housed Mister Oso, and before that Barcadia, has been completely transformed into a luxe, uber-modern lounge with dramatic lighting and decor. Magicked into being by Billy Blatty and Andrew Duncan (the mister behind Oso and Jolie on Julia St) and executive chef Josh Adamo, Kira’s menu is a wild mix of Greek cuisine and high-end steakhouse with dishes all dabbling in Japanese flavors and presentations. Start with a tuna tartare in a matcha salsa served with sushi rice, followed by a Tomahawk steak with harissa and a side of ube with miso butter.
601 Tchoupitoulas St., kiranola.com
As long as there’s cake . . . A new cafe opened up on Chartres Street, less than two blocks from Jackson Square. Dubbed Antoinette’s, the atmosphere is like descending into a fantastic jewel box with hot pink ladyfinger chairs and marble-topped brass tables. The cafe serves an array of specialty coffee drinks and teas, and lots of sweet dainties to nibble while the rebellion rages outside, from handcrafted bon-bons to a hazelnut chocolate dome cake.
834 Chartres St., antoinettesnola.com
*Article originally published in the March 2026 issue of Where Y’at Magazine
