Tujague's

Restaurant Overview

In a city full of celebrity chefs, it’s too easy to go home without experiencing the restaurants that originally earned New Orleans its reputation as one of the truly great food cities of the world. Considering that nearly 60 percent of restaurants close their doors within three years of opening, you owe it to yourself to discover why Tujague’s, New Orleans’ second-oldest restaurant, endures.

In 1856, French Market butcher Guillaume Tujague and his wife Marie Abadie, recently of Bordeaux, France, opened Tujague’s Restaurant at 811 Decatur. There they served fine Creole cuisine right on through the Civil War years. Sometime before Guilliaume died in 1912, they sold their restaurant to a Philibert Guichet, the owner credited with creating the famous grasshopper cocktail.

In the old days, one of Tujague’s stiffest competitors was Begue’s, a few doors up Decatur. Begue’s was owned by the legendary Madame Begue who is credited with inventing brunch. (They say she began the practice of serving a large mid-morning meal to accommodate hungry dock workers.) After Madame Begue died, the new owner of Tujague’s joined forces with Begue’s employee Jean-Dominic Castet to buy out her restaurant as well. The two establishments become the new Tujague’s. Then in 2021, the restaurant moved down the block to its current location at 429 Decatur. While the new three-story location retains the old-world charm, it also features more room for private parties, a balcony overlooking the French Quarter, and an inviting courtyard on its first floor.

While you can still order the dishes that put this historic restaurant on the map (such as their famous brisket), the current chef will tempt you with some new creations as well. And Madam Beque would be proud to know that Tujague’s brunch remains one of the most popular in the city.