Our Story

Plates exists to explore the origin story of Creole food. Creole spots are everywhere in New Orleans — we didn't want to open another one. We wanted a restaurant that pulls Creole cuisine apart and shows you the cultures inside it: Spanish, French, Italian, Vietnamese, Mediterranean, German, Cajun, and African, all on a menu built for sharing.

We opened in 2023 in the historic Cotton Mill on Annunciation Street, and we're the only restaurant in New Orleans that has made family-style and small-plate dining its whole language. As our regulars put it: you don't have to commit to anything — come in, grab a couple of plates, and see where the night takes you.

The food is the thesis

You can taste the idea in a single dish. Our best-selling Garlic Shrimp starts as classic Spanish garlic-shrimp tapas, then absorbs the city — French black-garlic soubise, Vietnamese chili crunch, Spanish pimentón. That's Creole's origin story on one plate.

The Viet-Cajun Butter Roasted Oysters are our answer to New Orleans chargrilled oysters, roasted in a cast-iron escargot pan with a Viet-Cajun crawfish butter and Italian panna gratta. And the Wild Mushroom Toast is personal: it's inspired by a dish at Mimi's in the Marigny, the since-closed spot where our chef first fell in love with tapas.

The crew

Plates is led by chef Farrell Harrison and Brian Weisnicht, who between them have spent two decades running respected New Orleans kitchens. The restaurant is part of a small family that also includes Le Moyne Bistro and Maria's Oyster Bar — different rooms, same obsession with Louisiana ingredients and honest technique.

The room

The space is a refined, industrial dining room with 150 seats, high ceilings, exposed brick, and a signature wall of vintage plates that gives the restaurant its name. It's equally at home for a two-top date night along the windows and a 100-person celebration in the Annunciation Room. Food & Wine has featured Plates among the things to do in New Orleans.

Whether you're here for weekend brunch with bottomless mimosas, a daily 4–6 p.m. happy hour, or a long dinner exploring the menu one plate at a time, the invitation is the same: come see where the night takes you.

FAQ

What kind of food is Plates? Shareable "New Orleans tapas" — small plates that trace the origin story of Creole cuisine through Spanish, French, Italian, Vietnamese, Mediterranean, German, Cajun, and African influences, with Gulf seafood and Louisiana roots.

Who owns Plates? Chefs Farrell Harrison and Brian Weisnicht, who have spent two decades in New Orleans kitchens. Plates is part of a family that also includes Le Moyne Bistro and Maria's Oyster Bar.

When did Plates open? 2023, in the historic Cotton Mill at 1051 Annunciation Street in the Warehouse District.

What's the signature dish? The Garlic Shrimp — Spanish tapas rebuilt with French, Vietnamese, and Spanish flavors — is the best single introduction to the concept.

Is Plates good for groups as well as couples? Both. The room seats 150 and hosts everything from window-table date nights to private events up to 100 guests and buyouts to 250.anyone but themselves.

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