New Orleans ate breakfast on the street long before brunch had a name: calas sold by Black women in the Quarter, beignets on Decatur since 1862, grits in every Seventh Ward kitchen. Nineteen breakfast tables worth setting an alarm for.
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Chef Dook Chase, fourth generation of the Dooky Chase family, runs this room in the old Warwick Hotel. Fish and grits, corn biscuits and Creole plates his grandmother Leah would sign off on. Black artists on every wall, cocktails at the bar by nine.
Pip’s Tip Leah Chase's grandson, fish and grits
The Henry family's Seventh Ward bakery, open at six. The buttermilk drop is a glazed, cakey doughnut ball that made Dwight Henry famous before Hollywood did. Grab a dozen, then sit down for shrimp and grits or a Southern plate.
Pip’s Tip Get the drops warm, add grits
Jessica and Alonzo Knox built this coffeehouse on old Storyville ground, a block from St. Louis Cemetery No. 1. Crawfish quiche from his Louisiana side, sweet potato pie from her Mississippi side. The BBQ crawfish grits are the order. Jazz on the speakers.
Pip’s Tip BBQ crawfish grits on Storyville ground
Right across from the Canal streetcar, easy to reach from downtown. The grits come loaded with queso and shredded cheese, the Hollygrove chicken biscuit gets a honey-Tabasco marinade, and catfish rides alongside eggs. Weekends run late for the crew who slept in.
Pip’s Tip Cheesiest grits on the Canal line
Loretta Harrison has been making pralines in this city for decades, and her praline beignets are the move. Hot dough, sweet filling, powdered sugar everywhere. This is the Rampart cafe; her French Market stall on N. Peters runs daily if you're in the Quarter.
Pip’s Tip Praline-stuffed beignets, straight from the fryer
Kaitlin Guerin started baking from a walk-up window at home during 2020. The Central City storefront landed on The New York Times list of America's best bakeries. Laminated croissants, sausage lattice, cornbread muffins in corn husks with honey butter. Show up early.
Pip’s Tip Laminated croissants off Oretha Castle Haley
A corner café at St. Roch and Marais that opened in 2025 and calls itself a sanctuary. Veggie quiche, almond croissants, sweet potato pie and a signature blue matcha. Laptops by day, vinyl DJ sets and networking nights when the sun goes down.
Pip’s Tip Quiche, matcha, and vinyl on the corner
Calas are rice fritters that enslaved and free Black women once sold on Quarter streets to buy freedom. Brandan Pellerin brought them back: gluten-free, fried in coconut oil, dusted in sugar, with lemon or pistachio curd. Three for five dollars, chicory coffee alongside.
Pip’s Tip The city's original breakfast fritter, revived
Kevin Davis Sr. and Chachera Brantley pour lattes, teas and specialty drinks across Gentilly Boulevard from the Fair Grounds. Pastries in the case, a calm room inside, and a quick stop before a morning at the track or a walk through Esplanade Ridge.
Pip’s Tip Fair Grounds coffee stop before post time
The green-and-white awning on Decatur since 1862. Three beignets under a snowdrift of powdered sugar and a chicory café au lait, and that's the whole menu. Go at opening before the line wraps the block. Wear dark clothes at your own risk.
Pip’s Tip Café au lait, three beignets, no shortcuts
The pink building on Royal where breakfast in New Orleans became an occasion. Eggs Hussarde, turtle soup, and Bananas Foster lit tableside, the dish this house invented. Smart casual dress code, courtyard seating, reservations open sixty days out and go fast.
Pip’s Tip Bananas Foster flambéed at your table
A cafeteria line at Poydras and Tchoupitoulas serving since 1938. Breakfast runs all day: black ham, grits, biscuits, debris soaking into everything. Order at the counter, find a seat under the Marine Corps photos, and let somebody bring the plate to you.
Pip’s Tip Black ham biscuit since 1938
A corner spot in the Bywater running on the motto "Real Food Done Real Good" for over twenty years. Chef Bryon Peck cures the bacon that made The New York Times take notice. Creole breakfast plates, house coffee, and the levee a short walk away.
Pip’s Tip Get the bacon; the Times did
A bakery, bar and dining room on O'Keefe that opens at seven every day. Big buttermilk biscuits, pastries out of the oven, Southern breakfast plates. Monday through Thursday, Golden Hour from seven to nine takes half off select muffins and morning cocktails.
Pip’s Tip Biscuits and half-off Golden Hour
Scratch breakfast since 2015, a short walk from the convention center hotels. Under the Sea omelet with crab, shrimp and brie, crab cake Benedict, BBQ shrimp and grits. A second location on Gravier Street in the CBD handles the overflow.
Pip’s Tip Crab cake Benedict near the convention center
Chef Scott Boswell and his wife Tanya run this corner on Jackson Square with the cathedral in the window. Crab cake Benedict, Bananas Foster French toast, filet gumbo, and house-made ice cream if the morning runs long. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
Pip’s Tip Breakfast all day facing St. Louis Cathedral
The oldest organic juice bar in the city, pouring since 2001 on lower Magazine. Breakfast and lunch all day with a Latin accent. No reservations, first come first seated, and an ATM on site. Get a fresh juice while you wait.
Pip’s Tip Oldest organic juice bar in town
A worker-owned café under a pagoda roof at Bayou Road and Kerlerec. Breakfast tacos, banana Nutella bread, local coffee and a long outdoor counter for sitting and watching the block. Pair it with a walk down Bayou Road's Black-owned shops.
Pip’s Tip Breakfast tacos under a pagoda roof
A family-run kitchen inside a converted shotgun house in Mid-City. Scratch biscuits, BBQ shrimp and grits, beignet bites with vanilla sauce, and breakfast tacos. Bring your own bottle for the table. A second location on Maple Street serves Uptown.
Pip’s Tip BYOB biscuits in a Mid-City shotgun
Dook Chase, Leah Chase's grandson, brings four generations of Creole cooking to breakfast in the old Warwick Hotel. Fish and grits, corn biscuits, and Black art on every wall make it the morning table to bring the family to.
Members pull up first for grits, calas and coffee at a Black-owned table before the city gets going.
Breakfast is one chapter of Pip's Lifestyle, find the lounges, whiskey bars, rooftops and jazz clubs below.
