Here we come a-waffling . . . New Orleans-born entrepreneur Jelani Hankins has launched only coffee, a pink pick-up window next to Habana Outpost on the corner of Esplanade Avenue and Rampart Street. Serving specialty coffee drinks pulled from beans they imported from Brazil and Ethiopia and roasted “in-house,” the new French Quarter coffee window is part of the Nur Coffee family, a top-rated specialty coffee concept in Salzburg, Austria and Berlin, Germany. Quality brews aside, only coffee’s biggest pull is the “Waffolino,” the crazed concept of serving frothy cappuccinos in chocolate-lined waffle cones. A coffee catastrophe waiting to happen? You be the judge!
1040 Esplanade Ave., only-coffee.us
How romantic! . . . NOLA-based restaurant group Latter Hospitality recently launched Charles & Julia, a cocktail bar and rooftop terrace inside the Hotel Perle. Inspired by the fictional romance of a young couple who meet on a streetcar (or possibly because the hotel lies on the corner of St. Charles Avenue and Julia Street), Charles & Julia are two spaces joined in spirits as one. “When Hotel Perle approached us in 2025 and asked us to helm the food & beverage program for the hotel, we immediately saw an opportunity to create something that felt deeply personal to New Orleans,” says Mark Latter, founder and CEO of Latter Hospitality.
Downstairs, guests enter the wine and cocktail lounge with a seasonally driven menu of shareable small plates developed by Chef Marcus Woodham and executed by Chef de Cuisine Ubolratana “Aum” Wipop. Upstairs features a terrace with the atmosphere of a “European garden escape floating above the city.”
757 St. Charles Ave., @charlesandjulianola
Silver Seafood Jubilee . . . All congratulations to GW Fins, the French Quarter’s answer to excellent seafood, celebrating their 25th anniversary this year! Owner Gary Wollerman opened his award-winning restaurant in 2001 and over the years has cultivated a fin-forward, fine dining establishment to rave about. Through developing years-long ties with local fishermen and Executive Chef Michael Nelson’s sustainable practices and expert technique, GW Fins has evolved into a seafood dining destination, one that locals and visitors alike hope will stick around for another 25 years.
808 Bienville St., gwfins.com
All in the family . . . Matt Nguyen and Malachi Dupre, owners of downtown restaurant Kenji Omakase, have opened Kenji Kazoku (second son and family?), a new concept in Metairie. Teaming up with new partners Logan and Paris Jean, the Metairie Road restaurant is designed to be more approachable featuring a cozier, yet no less elegant everyday menu featuring dishes such as Texas wagyu and crispy rice, toro toast, and grilled octopus served atop a corn puree. Not to shy away from a good thing, Kenju Kazoku also offers their spectacular dry-aged Japanese fish once a week omakase-style.
2929 Metairie Rd., @kenjikazoku
Best bank bamboozle . . . East bank diners’ hopes were dashed when Chicken’s Kitchen’s owner Marlon “Chicken” Williams dumped plans to lease a space in the CBD to buy his own expansive digs in Harvey. In an offer that seemed almost too good to be true, Williams scored a large, built-in space formerly known as the old Tunnel Club on Peters Road and now offers customers a lot more space to dine-in and feast on fried chicken and catfish, braised oxtails, lasagna, and roasted Cornish game hens with heaps of sides, everything from white beans and smothered okra to candied yams and his five star mac ‘n’ cheese.
921 Peters Rd. Harvey, @chickenskitchen2
Vamos a desayunar! . . . What’s better than a dinner at James Beard award finalist Ana Castro’s Acamaya Restaurant? Breakfast at James Beard award finalist Ana Castro’s new Bywater spot Casimiro! Okay, it might not be better, but it sure is equally fantastic with dishes like breakfast burritos and chilaquiles made with their spectacular house-made tortillas. Located on the corner of Louisa and Dauphine streets, a space which recently housed Alma Cafe, Casimiro is also the perfect spot to score a sweet summertime agüita de horchata or boozy, tomato-based micheladas and munch on warm tamales while watching the world walk by.
800 Louisa St., @casamironola
Twofer . . . Chef Kamil el Jaouhari and Wasim Jamhour have launched not one, but two restaurants inside the building which was the longtime home to Schiro’s Cafe in the Marigny. Located on the corner of Royal and St. Roch streets, the space now sports Habibi Lebanese Grill & Wine Bar AND Royal Woodfired Pizza. It’s two for the price of one where guests can either inhale plates of grilled halloumi with gyro shawarma pita sandwiches or a classic pepperoni pie and a Caesar salad.
2483 Royal St., habibilebanesegrill.com, royalswoodfire.com
A dab will do ya . . . COMING SOON! Crew, a New York-based restaurant group led by Alex and Miles Pincus, has come to the Big Easy and launched Holywater, a new French Quarter restaurant on Conti Street. Briefly home to Salon by Sucre, the historic, three-store building has been undergoing extensive renovations over the past year. Thankfully, beloved local chef Alex Harrell — formerly of Angeline, Elysian Bar and the Gloriette — was tapped to lead the kitchen. Holywater’s menu features lots of seafood specialties from charbroiled lobster frites and fruit de mer tower to a ton of oysters sourced from all of our country’s coasts.
622 Conti St., @holywater.nola
*Article originally appeared in the June 2026 issue of Where Y’at Magazine
