Restaurant August

Restaurant August is one of New Orleans’ most celebrated and architecturally magnificent fine dining establishments, occupying a beautifully restored 19th-century building in the Central Business District. The restaurant was founded by James Beard Award-winning Chef John Besh and has maintained a position of considerable prestige in the city’s fine dining landscape over many years. The kitchen presents a sophisticated and seasonally grounded interpretation of contemporary Creole cuisine, combining the classical French culinary framework that underpins Louisiana’s gastronomic heritage with the distinctive Gulf coast ingredients — fresh seafood, local game, regional vegetables and herbs — that give New Orleans food its unmistakable character. The menu draws on premium seasonal produce and demonstrates a technical command of the Creole tradition that balances respect for the classical canon with a genuine creative ambition. The dining room is one of the most striking in the city, with soaring ceilings, ornate chandeliers, exposed brick, and the grandeur of a Louisiana mercantile building that has been meticulously preserved and sensitively modernized. The wine program is extensive and expertly assembled, and service is attentive, formal, and deeply knowledgeable. Restaurant August attracts a discerning clientele of visiting gastronomes, local celebrations, and business entertaining occasions where the combination of extraordinary setting and accomplished Creole cuisine creates an evening of genuine distinction and cultural depth. A meal here remains one of the definitive expressions of New Orleans fine dining.