Brunch in New Orleans: Where Mississippi Couples Actually Eat

New Orleans does not need a special occasion. That is the whole point. The city that invented brunch — and yes, brunch was actually invented in New Orleans — serves it with the same seriousness it brings to everything else. Gospel music, Bloody Marys, scratch biscuits, and enough hollandaise to make you rethink every brunch you have ever had anywhere else.

This is the daytime companion to our New Orleans date night guide. If you stayed over after dinner at N7 or Herbsaint, this is what Sunday morning looks like. If you are making a day trip of it, this is where you start. Either way, you are less than three hours from Jackson and the city is waiting.

For the full Gulf Coast picture, this pairs with our Ocean Springs weekend guide and our Bay Saint Louis guide. And if you are still building out your date night life closer to home, the Central Mississippi hub has everything you need.

Stop by Romantic Adventures on Your Way Out

Before you leave Pearl, swing by Romantic Adventures at 175 Highway 80 East. We are right off I-55 South and a day trip to New Orleans is exactly the kind of occasion worth packing for properly. Browse our marketplace at romanticadventures.com/the-marketplace — most of our featured vendors are on the West Coast so order ahead if you need anything shipped. Find us at romanticadventures.com/map.

The One on Magazine Street: Ruby Slipper

There are several Ruby Slippers in New Orleans. Locals will tell you the one on Magazine Street is the one — and locals are right. Uptown energy, scratch-made Southern brunch classics, biscuits that are baked fresh all day, and a hollandaise program that has made the eggs Benedict here genuinely famous. The Eggs Cochon and the Chicken St. Charles are the two to know. The Peacemaker lets you order two Benedicts at once, which is a reasonable life decision on a Sunday morning in New Orleans.

Open seven days a week starting at 7am. Get there before the line builds.

Ruby Slipper Uptown — 2802 Magazine Street, New Orleans | rubybrunch.com

The Bakery That Became a Restaurant: Willa Jean

Willa Jean is named after the grandmother of Chef Kelly Fields, a James Beard Award winner for Outstanding Pastry Chef, and that origin tells you everything about what to expect. This is a place built around the idea that baking is the foundation of good cooking — scratch biscuits, housemade pastries, bread that arrives warm and means it.

The space is in the Central Business District, a little off the tourist path, which makes it feel like a find even though it has been one of the city's essential brunch spots for years. The BBQ shrimp with burrata over sourdough is the savory standout. The cookies and milk dessert is exactly what it sounds like and worth ordering anyway.

Willa Jean — 611 O'Keefe Avenue, New Orleans (CBD) | willajean.com

The Magazine Street Diner With a Secret: Red Dog Diner

Red Dog Diner is the kind of place that surprises you. From the street it reads as a comfortable neighborhood diner — exposed brick, deep-grained wood, handcrafted tables, the general feeling of somewhere broken in and familiar. Then you find the Back Alley Bar tucked behind a narrow passageway in the back, opening into a courtyard with a bar on one side and an old-wood dining space on the other, and the whole evening changes shape.

Chef Terri's menu draws from Italian heritage, New Orleans kitchen experience, and a deep love of Mediterranean flavors applied to Southern comfort food. The Brisket Hash Omelet. The Seafood Paella. The pimento patty melt. Happy hour runs daily in the Back Alley from 3 to 6pm Thursday through Monday, which is worth knowing if you are making a full day of it.

Red Dog Diner — 3122 Magazine Street, New Orleans (Garden District) | reddogdiner.com

The One That Requires No Explanation: Cochon Butcher

There is a butcher shop in the Warehouse District that has been making its own sausages, salamis, terrines, and charcuterie from scratch since 2009. It sits next door to Cochon, Chef Donald Link's flagship restaurant, and it operates as something between a New York deli, an old-world Cajun meat market, and one of the best casual lunch spots in New Orleans.

The muffuletta is layered with house-made meats and olive salad and has been called one of the city's best. The Cubano features smoky housemade pork and ham with melty Swiss. The Le Pig Mac exists and you will order it.

Order the macaroni. This is not a suggestion.

No reservations. Walk in. Eat well.

Cochon Butcher — 930 Tchoupitoulas Street, New Orleans (Warehouse District) | cochonbutcher.com

The Drive Home

You pass back through Pearl on I-55 North. Romantic Adventures is at 175 Highway 80 East if the weekend gave you ideas or you need to restock for the road. We will be here.

If you have not read the evening companion to this guide, Date Night in New Orleans covers N7, Herbsaint, Doris Metropolitan, Paladar 511, and Tito's — the full after-dark version of the city. Between the two guides you have a complete New Orleans weekend covered from Sunday morning brunch all the way through Saturday night.

Romantic Adventures has been helping Mississippi couples find what they're looking for for over 25 years. Visit us at 175 Highway 80 East in Pearl — a quick stop off I-55 South on your way to New Orleans — or browse our marketplace at romanticadventures.com/the-marketplace. Find directions at romanticadventures.com/map.