2 Best Restaurants in Side Trips from New Orleans, Louisiana

A stylish contemporary restaurant as chic as the crowd it attracts delivers fresh and innovative sushi and Japanese cuisine. Entrées include a sumo rib eye, Chilean sea bass, and various tempura dishes. For a nightcap, go next door to the lounge—managed by the same owners—which has an L.A. vibe.

On the roof of the Shaw Center for the Arts, the sleek, modern dining room of this Japanese restaurant commands one of the best views in town, with tables overlooking the busy Mississippi River (an open-air patio is available, too). In addition to the usual sushi-bar fare, the chefs here prepare creative Louisiana-style variations: try the panko-crusted alligator roll or the soft shell crab, for instance. Weekday happy-hour specials draw a young and chatty crowd.