The Pelican Club

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A French Quarter Institution Built on South Louisiana Tradition

Since 1990, chef and owner Richard Hughes has been welcoming guests into a beautifully renovated 19th-century Creole townhouse on historic Exchange Place in the French Quarter. The Pelican Club is a contemporary New Orleans restaurant with deep roots — one that draws on the rich culinary culture of the city while reaching outward to French, Italian, and Asian influences to keep the menu genuinely diverse.

The result is a kitchen that, as outside observers have put it, "salutes the seafood New Orleans lives and breathes" — a fitting description for a place where south Louisiana tradition shapes every plate. Consistently excellent Creole cuisine has earned The Pelican Club recognition over decades, including Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence, held for more than twenty years running. That kind of sustained recognition speaks to a kitchen and a wine program that don't rest on reputation alone.

The Room and the Experience

The setting matches the ambition. A renovated Creole townhouse carries its own atmosphere — warm, historic, and grounded in place — without needing to announce it. The dress code (business casual to nice casual) signals the tone: this is a proper dinner out, but one where the room feels lived-in rather than stiff. Bar seating is available for walk-ins, and the bar tables are typically unreserved, making it possible to experience the full menu even without a booking.

For larger occasions, the restaurant accommodates group events and private parties, with a dedicated events coordinator on hand.

Why It Endures

Few restaurants in New Orleans manage to hold a position on lists like America's Top Tables and America's Top 250 Restaurants while remaining the kind of place a local would bring an out-of-town client — somewhere that feels like an insider choice rather than an obvious tourist destination. The Pelican Club occupies that rare space. Richard Hughes has spent more than three decades refining a menu that is rooted in Creole cooking while remaining genuinely open to the wider world, and the consistency shows in both the awards and the repeat guests.