The Gumbo Shop in New Orleans

I’m sure The Gumbo Shop is not a hidden gem per say, but it certainly feels like one. The Gumbo Shop came highly recommended to me as a favorite among New Orleans locals. It is located in the French Quarter — tucked away behind a wrought iron gate and down a short narrow alley, so it feels hidden. Eating far back in the garden patio makes one feel like the dining is especially concealed.

Looking up at the staircases while sitting in the courtyard, you might feel as if you’ve wandered into Stanley and Stella’s place in Elysian Fields. (That’s more than enough of a reason that The Gumbo Shop is one of my top ten favorite places to eat in New Orleans). You also wouldn’t be wrong if you felt that you were in some tropical paradise, perhaps Cuba.

Adding to that island swept vibe are The Gumbo Shop’s infamous daiquiris.

With no exaggeration, I tell you that here you can find the most perfect daiquiri that you will ever have in your life. Our party of four felt that the daiquiris we enjoyed here far surpassed any we’ve had in the Caribbean. The banana daiquiri was my choice. It was strong, bold flavored, and perfectly sweetened.

The Gumbo Shop is fortunate enough to have one of the most charismatic, kind, patient, and entertaining waiters on the planet. I feel like such a terrible human because I cannot remember his name. But I hope he knows that having him as our server was one of our top memories during our trip to the Big Easy.

Our family still talks about the incredible social talent that this man possessed. He had a subtle sense of humor and hospitality. I felt kind of resentful that he wasn’t in my immediate family. He walked us through descriptions of dishes several times and referred to everyone as “baby” and “darlin’.” He even brought us some samples of food when we could not make a decision about what to order.

The award winning chicken gumbo is acclaimed for a reason — so definitely start with that.

It has a smoky bold flavor and its combination of spices are divine. Trying to satisfy a carb craving, I sprung for the crawfish tasso pasta as my entree. The dish consists of penne pasta coated in a cream sauce and spices. A generous topping of crawfish tails completes it. This was an excellent combination of New Orleans’ famed form of seafood, with savory, creamy, salty goodness to sop up the alcohol from the several daiquiris that I enjoyed. To be more specific I’d say it was kind of a rich macaroni and cheese with sweet, buttery, crawfish.