A seafood specialty that now has become a must try dish in New Orleans is what Drago’s calls charbroiled oysters and other restaurants often call chargrilled oysters. What makes charbroiled oysters so special? Imagine an oyster that is cooked in its own shell over a grill’s fire, topped with some mixture of butter or margarine and garlic, seasoning and cheese, making the meat firmer but no less juicy than raw.
Everyone in town seems to be grilling their oysters but here is our recommendation for the best Charbroiled oysters in the city:
Acme Oyster House
724 Iberville St., New Orleans, 504.522.5973
3000 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, 504.309.4056
It’s common to find as many diners eating chargrilled oysters as raw inside Acme’s historic French Quarter location. Their oysters are Sizzling saturated in an herb butter sauce, topped with a special blend of cheese.
Basin Seafood
3222 Magazine St., New Orleans, 504.302.7391
Basin’s charbroiled oysters are classic in style, cooked with a blend of hard cheese, garlic and butter, and served with warm bread.
Bourbon House
144 Bourbon St., New Orleans, 504.522.0111
Bourbon House serves oysters on the half-shell in a variety of ways. A delicious one is charbroiled in Creole bordelaise butter.
Casamento’s
4330 Magazine St., New Orleans, 504.895.9761
The iconic 95-year-old oyster bar just started serving grilled oysters three years ago. “I figured I’d join the crowd,” said owner C.J. Gerdes, who installed a gas grill behind the restaurant. He had to hire another full-time oyster shucker to keep up with demand. The restaurant sells as many French fries topped with the grilled oysters’ garlic butter as it does plain.
Drago’s
3232 N. Arnoult Road, Metairie, 504.888.9254
2 Poydras St., New Orleans, 504.584.3911
The restaurant that turned charbroiled oysters into a local staple sells more than 3 million of them at its two restaurants annually. Their signature oysters are grilled in seasoned garlic butter with a blend of Parmesan and Romano cheese. Tip: If you can, hit the original location in Metairie instead of the more Vegas-y outpost downtown
Katie’s
3701 Iberville St., New Orleans, 504.488.6582
This Mid-City neighborhood favorite started serving grilled oysters in the classic style, with garlic butter and Parmesan, in 2010, after its post-Katrina re-opening. Owner Scot Craig later added the excellent oysters Slessinger, named after the University of New Orleans basketball coach. They represent the maximalist style, grilled with chopped shrimp, bacon, spinach and Provel cheese added to the garlic butter.
Mr. Ed’s Oyster Bar & Fish House
3117 21st St., Metairie, 504.833.6310
512 Bienville St., New Orleans, 504.309.4848
The regular charbroiled oysters are excellent, leaving behind plenty enough cheesy butter in the shells to sop up with toasted bread. The Southwest version adds jalapenos to the mix.
Neyow’s Creole Café
3340 Bienville St., New Orleans, 504.827.5474
You’ll see and smell the grilled oysters as soon as you walk through the door of this corner restaurant in Mid-city. The grill is out front, at the end of the bar, where chefs grill oysters over rising flames, with plenty of garlic butter, cheese and green herbs.
