New Orleans, Louisiana
The Café of the World Famous Beignets
Dined March 2015
The Beignet, a classical French Doughnut from the Normandy Regions of France, which made there way to Louisiana by the Acadians when they brought them over. These were fried fritters, sometimes filled with fruit. Today, the beignet is a square piece of dough, fried and covered with powdered sugar. The Beignets fame in the United states comes from the first cafe in New Orleans to serve them, the Café du Monde, in The French Quarter, and when you visit New Orleans, this is a must to visit at least once if not several times.
Scroll down to read the main review
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Follow Wine, dine, and Play:
Star ratings chart:
5 stars
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Extraordinary |
| 4 stars | Outstanding |
| 3 stars | Exceeded expectations |
| 2 stars | Above average |
| 1 star | Average |
| No star rating | Basic, poor, or appalling |
Review basics:
Overall Star rating by Wine, Dine, & Play:
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4 of 5
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Ambiance:
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5 of 10
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Quality of food:
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8 of 10
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Plate Presentation:
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not rated
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Customer service:
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5 of 10
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Wow Factor:
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10 of 10
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Restaurant style:
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Casual
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Reservations:
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Not Required
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Dress code:
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Casual, or Conservative attire
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Cuisine style:
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Contemporary, Bistro, Modern, Lounge, Steakhouse, Seafood, American, Southern, Italian, French, German, Indian, Organic, Asian-fusion, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, European, New Zealand (Kiwi), Australian, Japanese, Chinese, Caribbean, Beach food, basic chain style, International, Fusion, Vegan, & Vegetarian
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Music styles:
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Jazz Bands
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Experiences:
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Place for foodies, Hot spot, Great outdoor dining, Rustic, Scenic views, Hole-in-the-wall, Classy, Tourist grabber, and a Neighborhood gem.
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Payments:
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Cash Only
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Parking:
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Public lot, or Street Parking
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Transport options:
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Bus, taxi, limousine, personal vehicle, and walking
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Wifi
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The restaurants reviewed on this site may have Wi-Fi, but do not require you to go online, because the excitement of the food and wine alone will keep you too entertained instead of checking your social media and emails.
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Noise level:
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Medium, to Loud
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Smoking:
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Nonsmoking restaurant, and nonsmoking patio
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Patio:
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Yes
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Food Prices
(excluding taxes & gratuity)
$£€¥ - Under 50.00
$£€¥ x 2 - 51.00- 99.00
$£€¥ x 3 - Over 100.00
$£€¥ x 4 - Over 200.00
$£€¥ x 5 - Over 400.00
**Currencies chosen reflect the world’s major travelers and restaurant connoisseur’s**
My food bill:
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Currency:
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Price chart:
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$5.00
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United States Dollar (USD)
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$
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£3.25
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Great Britain Pound Sterling (GBP)
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£
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€4.38
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European Union (EUR)
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€
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$6.50
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Canadian Dollar (CAN)
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$
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$6.90
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Australian Dollar (AUS)
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$
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¥32.00
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Chinese Yuan (CNY)
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¥
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Café du Monde Review
From restaurants home page:
The Original Cafe Du Monde Coffee Stand was established in 1862 in the New Orleans French Market. The Cafe is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It closes only on Christmas Day and on the day an occasional Hurricane passes too close to New Orleans. The Original Cafe Du Monde is a traditional coffee shop. Its menu consists of dark roasted Coffee and Chicory, Beignets, White and Chocolate Milk, and fresh squeezed Orange Juice. The coffee is served Black or Au Lait. Au Lait means that it is mixed half and half with hot milk. Beignets are square French -style doughnuts, lavishly covered with powdered sugar. In 1988 Iced Coffee was introduced to the cafe. Soft drinks also made their debut that year.
Now there are a total of eight Cafe Du Monde Coffee Stands in the New Orleans Metropolitan area. They are located in the French Market, Esplanade Mall, Riverwalk Mall, Lakeside Mall, Oakwood Mall, Mandeville, Covington and 4600 Veterans Boulevard.
Main review:
My Daughter and I started the day early as we still had things to see before having lunch, and then continuing our drive to Florida as our time in the great New Orleans had come to an end. But before leaving there was one place on the list that I had to bring my daughter to see. You can’t come to New Orleans and enjoy the wonderful food without have a beignet at Café du Monde.
When we arrived to have a table, the line went nearly down the block, with almost an hours wait. There was a separate line for people ordering beignets to go, which was just as long as our table line. While we waited a local group of performers entertained the crowd with some old style jazz, which made the time fly by.
The cafe dining area was under a canopy patio, with what appeared to be close to 100 tables, with a basic setting of napkins and sugars. The menu was a simple one, beverages and beignets, and thats all you need when you visit Café du Monde. A set of three beignets came with one order for $2.44 (2015 prices) and choice of coffee, cafe au lait, hot chocolate, and assorted sodas.
The beignet melts in your mouth after the first lush bight, and arms your heart and body with true comfort food. When finished we walked into the are of viewing for the kitchen where you could watch as the beignets are made, hundreds every minute of every day.
The service was very basic, but service is not really needed beyond the delivery of your coffee and basket of beignets, but the wow factor hits top marks making this ordinary cafe and extraordinary experience that is a must when you visit New Orleans.
Across the street is the official Cafe store where you can purchase merchandise such as the beignet mix and the coffee grounds.
Other New Orleans favorites on Wine, Dine, and Play:
Willie Mae’s Scotch House
Other trending story’s on Wine, Dine, and Play:
Base Woodfire Oven in Christchurch
Vu de Monde in Melbourne, Australia
McCrady’s in Charleston
Qui Restaurant in Austin
Restaurant address:
1039 Decatur Street
New Orleans, LA 70116
Neighborhood:
The French Quarter
Cross streets:
Ursulines Avenue & St. Phillip Street
GPS Coordinates:
Latitude: 29.959915
Longetude: -90.060200
Contact Information:
Maître d, Reservations:
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(504) 587-0835 |
Restaurant Website:
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Social Media & Accolades:
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Hours:
Standard Time (GMT -6:00)
Monday
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24 hours
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Tuesday
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24 hours
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Wednesday
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24 hours
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Thursday
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24 hours
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Friday
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24 hours
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Saturday
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24 hours
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Sunday
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24 hours
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Reviewed by:
Sean Overpeck (CFE)
Executive Chef
At Café du Monde, 2015
Chef Sean cooks for soldiers in Afghanistan, 2012:
“Culinary perfection consists not in doing extraordinary things,
But in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.”
-Angelique Arnauld (1591-1661)
TTFN
