Story

Louisiana Roots. Global Palate.

Plates is the Warehouse District shareable restaurant where every culture that built New Orleans gets its own plate on the table instead of being smoothed into one safe entree. Chef Farrell Harrison spent 2 decades cooking through some of the most respected kitchens in the city, August, Josephine Estelle, the Caribbean Room, and helped open 12 restaurants for other people before he and co-owner Brian Weisnicht built one of their own inside the Cotton Mill building on Annunciation Street.

The menu starts with Gulf seafood sourced directly from local fishermen and produce from Louisiana farmers, then rotates with the season. Spanish, French, Vietnamese, Cajun, and West African traditions each get their own plate, and the shareable format means a table of 2 orders like a table of 6.

The room seats 150 with high ceilings, original wood from the converted textile mill, and mismatched vintage china that Harrison and Weisnicht sourced to match the feel of a table you have been eating at for generations. Private events and group dining handle 10 to 250 guests, with a dedicated events team for corporate dinners, rehearsal dinners, full buyouts, and holiday parties. Steps from the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and the National WWII Museum. Dog-friendly patio seating available. Walk-ins welcome at the bar.

Harrison and Weisnicht now run 2 sister restaurants from the same foundation, Maria's Oyster & Wine Bar and Le Moyne, but Plates is where it started: the first restaurant from two people who waited until they had nothing left to prove to anyone but themselves.