Dooky Chase's Restaurant

Dooky Chase's Restaurant at 2301 Orleans Avenue in the Treme neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana, is one of the most historically significant restaurants in the United States. The Chase family began serving sandwiches here in 1941, and the business grew into a full Creole dining room under Leah Chase, who became known as the Queen of Creole Cuisine and led the kitchen for decades until her death in 2019. During the civil rights era the restaurant was one of the few places where Black and white activists, lawyers and organizers could meet and eat together, and it remains closely tied to that history. The walls hold an important collection of African American art, much of it gathered by the family. The menu is Creole soul food at its most traditional. Fried chicken is a local benchmark, and shrimp Clemenceau, stuffed shrimp and a lunch buffet of stewed and smothered dishes fill out the rest of the offer. The restaurant is particularly known for gumbo z'herbes, a meatless green gumbo with many leafy greens that Leah Chase prepared each Holy Thursday and which became emblematic of her cooking. The restaurant was flooded after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and reopened in 2007 after an extensive community-supported rebuild. The dining rooms are comfortable and unhurried, with white tablecloths in the main room and a relaxed, family-run feel. Dress is casual to smart casual, and the noise level is moderate. Lunch is served as a buffet on days the restaurant is open, and dinner service is offered on select days, so hours should be confirmed before visiting. Reservations are advised for groups and for Holy Thursday, which draws large crowds. Expect to pay roughly US$25-50 per person. Visitors can combine a meal with a walk through Treme, home to Congo Square and the Backstreet Cultural Museum.