Reveillon Tradition Continues
Réveillon is a New Orleans tradition dating back to the mid-1800s. Back then, Creole families celebrated Réveillon twice during the holidays, Christmas Eve and again on New Year’s Eve. Now it’s celebrated on a nightly basis with rich, indulgent and very delicious multi-course meals, from Dec. 1 to New Year’s Eve at premier restaurants throughout the city.
Traditionally, the Christmas Eve meal celebrated the Christian faith. When families returned from St. Louis Cathedral, they broke their daylong fast with a large, extravagant meal that included egg dishes, sweetbreads and Creole dishes like daube glace, which is a jellied stew made with seasoned beef and veal stock molded and served cold as hors d’oeuvres with crackers. The meal typically ended with a cake filled with fruit confection, drizzled with wine or rum and topped with whipped cream.
While Christmas was spent only with the family, New Year’s Eve was celebrated in a large group that also included friends and other loved ones. This fun-filled meal featured delicious treats like eggnog, fancy pastries, meringues, sugar sculptures, and crystallized fruits. Afterward, families would return home and enjoy a light meal before an evening of dancing and singing.
Today, restaurants in New Orleans serve both traditional menus inspired by the Creole tradition and contemporary menus using modern-day ingredients and techniques not available when the tradition started.
Here are our favorite New Orleans restaurants participating this year. Click on the name of the restaurant to start the reservation process.
Commander's Palace – A six-course feast awaits in the Garden District in one of the most beloved restaurants in the South. We promise this will be the best Gingerbread Tiramisu Charlotte you've ever tasted! View menu. $135.
Court of Two Sisters – Few restaurants in the French Quarter are as well known as this one. For Reveillon, they’re serving a fabulous four-course meal that incudes Turtle Soup au Sherry. Yum. View menu. $50.
The Pelican Club – Nestled in the quiet Exchange Alley, this French Quarter restaurant features a contemporary Réveillon menu with some fabulous choices and Spiced Bourbon Egg Nog for lagniappe. View menu. $64.
3rd Block Depot Kitchen + Bar – Celebrate the season with a four-course celebration at this inventive restaurant in the French Quarter. They had us at Pumpkin Spiced Beignets. View menu. $90.
Tujague’s – The second oldest restaurant in New Orleans blends traditions of the old with the new with a four-course Reveillon guaranteed to get you in the spirit of Christmas. View menu. $64.
Pictured: Reveillon at Tujague's
Read: Santa's Must Do List in New Orleans
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