The Best Brunch Spots in New Orleans for a Bachelorette Group

Why Brunch Is the Move in New Orleans

New Orleans treats brunch like a real meal. There is jazz, there are 25 cent martinis, and nobody blinks when your group rolls in at noon wearing matching pajamas.

Saturday and Sunday brunch books up two to four weeks out for the popular spots. If your bach weekend lands on a major event weekend, push that to six weeks. Book it the same day you book the house.

The Best Brunch Spots

Commander''s Palace

Best for: the classic NOLA brunch experience | Price: $50 to $75 per person

The blue and white Garden District landmark is the brunch most NOLA locals will tell you to do once in your life. Jazz trio wandering between tables, a jacket-recommended room, and the famous 25 cent martinis at lunch.

Order this: Turtle soup ($14), Eggs Sardou ($22), and as many 25 cent martinis as the table can responsibly handle.

The Country Club

Best for: drag brunch and a pool day rolled into one | Price: $40 to $60 per person plus pool fee

A Bywater mansion with a back patio, a pool, and one of the best drag brunches in the city on Saturdays and Sundays. Bottomless mimosas, sharp performers, and you can buy a pool pass after to spend the afternoon there.

Order this: Crab cake Benedict ($28), bottomless mimosas ($20), and the pool day add-on ($20 per person).

Atchafalaya

Best for: the build-your-own bloody mary bar | Price: $30 to $50 per person

An Uptown spot with a full bloody mary bar on weekends. You build the bloody, they handle the food. The shrimp and grits and the boudin Benedict are both in serious rotation in any best-of-NOLA-brunch list.

Order this: Boudin Benedict ($19), the build-your-own bloody mary ($12), and a side of cheese grits.

Willa Jean

Best for: a faster brunch with the best biscuits in town | Price: $25 to $40 per person

Kelly Fields'' bakery and restaurant in the CBD. Lighter, brighter, and the biscuits are absurd. Good first morning of the trip if your group landed late the night before and needs carbs over cocktails.

Order this: Fried chicken biscuit ($18), the big biscuit with whipped butter ($12), and a Bloody Maria.

The Ruby Slipper Cafe

Best for: walk-in friendly with multiple locations | Price: $20 to $35 per person

A NOLA mini-chain with locations in the French Quarter, CBD, and Mid-City. Eggs Cochon (slow-cooked pork on a biscuit with poached eggs) and the BBQ shrimp and grits are the move.

Order this: Eggs Cochon ($17), BBQ shrimp and grits ($19), Bayou Bloody Mary.

Tableau

Best for: a French Quarter brunch with a balcony | Price: $40 to $60 per person

A Dickie Brennan restaurant on Jackson Square with a wraparound balcony and a Sunday jazz brunch. The balcony tables are tiny so request the main dining room for big groups.

Order this: Crabmeat Cheesecake appetizer ($17), Pain Perdu ($16), Sunday jazz brunch prix fixe ($45).

Brennan''s

Best for: a special occasion brunch that earns the photos | Price: $55 to $90 per person

The pink palace on Royal Street. Bananas Foster was invented here in 1951 and they still flambe it tableside, which is the photo every bride is going to want.

Order this: Eggs Hussarde ($26), Bananas Foster tableside ($16), and the brunch cocktail flight.

Planning Tips

• Book Commander''s Palace, Brennan''s, and The Country Club at least three weeks out. The other spots can usually be locked in one to two weeks ahead.
• Ask if the restaurant has a "bachelorette package" when you book. Several of these spots will throw in a free dessert, a flute of champagne for the bride, or a reserved table sign.
• If the bride is sensitive to surprises, skip places that announce bachelorettes over the mic. Atchafalaya and Willa Jean are quieter on that front.
• Build your brunch into the front of the day, not the back. NOLA brunch goes long. Plan 2.5 to 3 hours and put nothing else on the schedule until 3 pm.
• Tip 22 to 25 percent on big bach groups. Most places auto-add 20 percent gratuity at six or more.