If you're visiting New Orleans and love oysters, make Desire Oyster Bar your first stop. Tucked off Bourbon Street in the heart of the French Quarter, this place delivers on both the raw bar and the chargrilled oysters -- and does it at a high level. The raw oysters were fresh, clean, and briny in exactly the right way. But the chargrilled oysters are the real showstopper -- buttery, perfectly seasoned, and cooked with the kind of confidence that only comes from doing it right every single day. This is New Orleans oyster culture at its best. The setting inside the Hotel Monteleone area adds a classic French Quarter vibe without feeling touristy. Service was attentive and knowledgeable. Whether you're a raw oyster purist or a chargrilled convert (or both), Desire delivers. Highly recommend to anyone looking for a quintessential New Orleans oyster experience. read more

Desire Oyster Bar - Char grilled oyster - Seafood Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

Went to Desires Oyster Bar on Bourbon Street and ordered the catfish. The catfish was just so-so. The crust was flaky instead of the traditional cornmeal coating, and it didn't have the Southern-style flavor I was expecting. The fries were the highlight of the meal--they were well seasoned and tasted great. The corn fritters also had really nice flavor and were enjoyable. The customer service was excellent, and the restaurant has plenty of seating, including a nice outdoor patio area. Overall, the service and atmosphere were great, but the catfish didn't quite meet my expectations. read more

Sit at the oyster bar & let Kentrell and/ or Wilder take care of you! Why? Because these gentlemen are hilarious, charming & full of so much information/ tips. Tried the charbroiled oysters & the strawberry beignets. *chef kiss* perfect little snack! I was happy with my stroll down here. (We stayed at the royal sonesta) I loved how clean & cozy it felt for a hotel spot. Def wouldn't have expected that. It surpassed my expectations with its friendly staff, upbeat ambiance & delicious goodies read more

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Another one of those French Quarter places that you pass by and you never really know how good it is until you take the time to sit down and stop. Service is always good, speedy, friendly people, good choices for breakfast. I've had breakfast here three times over the last two and a half years. You've got pictures from two different trips. The fruit cup was exactly what I needed when I didn't want something heavy. The shrimp and grits was great, but I could have used a little bit less of the sauce. That's something I'll remember for the next time. Very filling. The staff is just friendly and always worth a trip. Highly recommend. read more

Desire Oyster Bar - Seafood Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

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Just got into town and wandered into the French Quarter. 9 pm on a Tuesday night and got seated right away. Ordered a catfish po'boy with fries ($19) and a half Caesar salad ($12). Food took about 10 minutes to come out. Half a Caesar was plenty and the po boy was huge -- I only ate half and took the rest home. Everything was pretty standard and the service was friendly. read more

Desire Oyster Bar - Half Caesar and catfish po boy! - Seafood Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

We fell into Desire while looking for a place (without a line) selling boiled crawfish. The crawfish were quite good and our waiter helped teach us Northerners how to efficiently eat them. I ordered a hurricane and a Purple Reign drink which were also good. It seemed only 1 waiter was working, so service could be a little slow but the waiter was hustling and still took time to teach us. This may not be one of the hot restaurants of the area, but it was perfect for good food with no line/no reservations. read more

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First time visiting and very happy I walked in. My waitress was sooooo sweet Mrs. Shirley was her name. Placed my order and the food came out pretty quick too. The dessert was the best part! Price is reasonable. Will definitely return. read more

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Had lunch there. The staff was great! Gumbo was delicious and thick but needed more kick. I had alligator bites, as well! Delicious. Nice relaxed atmosphere. read more

This place is a cute little spot on bourbon street. It wasn't really packed when I went (but it was a Monday at lunch time). The waitress was really nice and the food was good! My favorite was the oysters, and I really enjoyed the shrimp poboy as well! read more

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We are staying at the Royal Sonesta and wanted a quick bite to eat after exploring our first night here. The restaurant is bright and clean. Nothing fancy. The wait staff is quick and responsive. We were lucky to be able to get a spot at the chefs oyster grill. He was a funny, welcoming, and really great at his job. He's been there a very long time. The char grilled oysters are delicious and fun. They won't fill you up but the flavors are amazing and you really should try them if you're ever in NOLA. I also had a Cesar salad. They didn't have anchovies. The Salad was ok. Just a basic salad. The star of the show was the shrimp and grits. It's the absolute best I've ever had. I would eat it every day if I could. I fear that no other shrimp and grits will taste good now that I've eaten this at Desire. read more

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Place was crowded for breakfast so we walked by and checked out a few more restaurants. One place was handing out samples trying to get patrons in so we walked back to Desire since that was the place that was crowded. Our waiter was terrific and we are glad we made the choice to eat here. The food was fresh and tasty. We had the best grits we've ever had. The bathrooms need help. No TP and no paper cloths to dry hands after washing. read more

Desire Oyster Bar - Crab Benedict - Seafood Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

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Desire oyster bar. What can I even say! This place is fantastic. $1.50 raw oysters for happy hour. You cannot beat this price on giant fresh oysters anywhere. The quality of oyster was out of this world and the flavor was incredible. These things were gigantic and fresh. They shock them right in front of you if you sit at the bar. They also grill them up right there also if you want that variety (not $1.50 though). This was a top spot on my New Orleans trip. A dozen oysters and a $5 beer, I will mark this place and make sure to come back repeatedly on future trips. The staff was friendly and the environment clean. Chris was a delight to talk to. This was a gem of a find on bourbon street for sure. Kudos to them for having an A frame out advertising the happy hour special. read more

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Kiki do you love me? Kiki was my amazing bartender during my visit to Desire on my oyster crawl. She was warm and friendly and had great conversation. I started with wine and the kicking oysters which were so yummy! I then washed it down with a lavender lemon drop which was so good! The oysters with the spinach mix were also very tasty and didn't disappoint! The vibe of the restaurant on a Monday afternoon was so chill. It wasn't busy or loud but a great stop for a Monday afternoon. I really enjoyed my time here, especially the convo with Kiki at the bar. read more

Desire Oyster Bar - Seafood Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

Unfortunately we didn't know about the happy hour specials. Otherwise, service was friendly & welcoming. The fried green tomatoes were good. The oysters were fresh & flavorful but they took a long time. Bar area was clean as well as the restroom. Chris & Kiki (bartenders) were great! read more

Desire Oyster Bar - Seafood Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

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The food is amazing and if you're willing to endure substandard service, give it a chance. The dining room was damn near empty on a Sunday night at 7PM and it took forever for the server to process our bill. For as great as the food is, the wine list should be better. I tried to order a bottle of Belle Glos Pinot and they didn't have it stock. Their solve was Murphy Goode Pinot Noir. read more

Food is gross/under cooked and drinks are shitty. Catfish poboy was undercooked/slimy, oysters Rockefeller are mushy. Gator seemed ok but had a weird sweet sauce on it. My mojito tasted nothing like a real mojito. read more

My wife and I, while in New Orleans, stopped in Desire Oyster Bar, for breakfast as we were walking by. They weren't busy and we were hungry. Desire Oyster Bar is part of the Royal Sonesta Hotel. We were greeted by the hostess and shown to our table. Robert, our server, introduced himself. He was very professionally dressed and acted in the same manner. He met us with a coffee pot reading our minds. He asked if we were from out of town and what we'd seen so far. He gave us some time to look over the menu before returning and wanted to know if we had any questions. My wife, who's a French Toast lover, immediately said she wanted the Bananas Foster French Toast. It was a platter of deliciousness, sliced French Baguettes topped with Desire's Bananas Foster Sauce. Can you say decadent? I love Eggs Benedict. I've never met an Eggs Benedict I didn't love. I spotted Desire's Famous Cajun Benedict on the menu and immediately was drawn to it. What's not to love about poached eggs, crab cakes, English muffins topped with a crawfish cream. While our entrees were being prepared Robert stopped by our table for a bit of chit-chatting wanting to know if we needed any recommendations of places or sights to take in. Robert returned shortly with our breakfast entrées. WOW, the presentation was beautiful, just like the restaurant. My wife started with her French toast entree and stated the Bananas Foster sauce was so delicious. Not on to my Cajun Eggs Benedict. One of the things I check first with any Benedict are the poached eggs whether they're slightly overcooked and just right when you poke them the yellow wonderfulness f the yoke flows all over the Benedict. I was elated to have two perfectly poached eggs. In fact, I asked Robert to please compliment the cook. Cooking breakfast is one of the toughest jobs in the restaurant industry. Eggs can overcook SO easily. What incredible service and food we experienced at Desire Oyster Bar. Next time we're in New Orleans, we'll definitely stop in for another visit. read more

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I came here for dinner with my wife and ordered the bourbon smoked wings, 12 charbroiled oysters, a half shrimp & oyster po'boy, a Cajun Mary, and a Regalesse gin lavender lemon drop. Unfortunately, everything we ordered food-wise was very disappointing. The "bourbon smoked" wings were basically plain buffalo wings, poorly executed and lacking any care half of them didn't even have sauce on them. The charbroiled oysters were extremely underwhelming. I'm not sure if it was the cheddar cheese they used, but they tasted more like mac and cheese oysters and did not deliver anything close to the classic New Orleans charbroiled oyster experience. As for the po'boy, there's really no sugarcoating it, it was just unacceptable. I'd strongly recommend skipping it altogether. The only bright spot of the night was the drinks. Both the Cajun Mary and the gin lavender lemon drop were very well made and enjoyable. Overall, I'd give this place a 5 out of 10. Great cocktails, but the food seriously missed the mark. read more

Desire Oyster Bar was awesome! We arrived at about 3pm, thought maybe it would be happy hour, but it didn't start until 4. We went in, anyway and met the best mixologist in NOLA, Kiki!! She made sure we had great drinks and lively conversation until the golden hour arrived. My husband then order some raw oysters and grilled oysters. He said they were the best he'd ever had. They were so good that we returned every afternoon. I enjoyed the fried green tomatoes and several other appetizers. But the stars of the show were the drinks. It didn't matter if Kiki made a drink regularly or had something new/different requested, when she made it, it was awesome. Don't hesitate, try Desires!! read more

Desire Oyster Bar - Seafood Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

My husband and I stopped in for lunch in a Saturday. Waitress was nice and knowledgeable about the menu. We split the chicken Alfredo which was very good. It came with plain untoasted French bread. I would have rather it been garlic toasted. I also had a yummy margarita. The hit was the fried green tomatoes! read more

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I wish I remembered our servers name, but we came at 6pm on Tuesday night. She sat us at the open window, making sure we were ok with the drumming outside, which we were. She was super kind, attentive, and made sure we got everything we needed/wanted. We didn't have to ask for refills on drinks and she was just really friendly. Made us feel welcome and certainly wanting to return. The char grilled oysters came in a delicious buttery sauce and my Alfredo was seasoned nicely and sooo creamy with lots of crawfish. read more

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Great location and outstanding food. Had the best bowl of gumbo. The restaurant is in the heart of Bourbon Street. read more

Desire Oyster Bar - Royal Old Fashion - Seafood Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

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Local wild caught oysters. Raw and cooked really delicious. Excellent service. Great atmosphere. read more

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Stopped in for Happy Hour $1.50 oysters. They have the best shucksters, shoutout Chemical! Great gumbo too, chicken and sausage If in FQ, give them a visit. read more

Desire Oyster Bar - Gumbo - Seafood Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

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Nice, clean spot with a good window seating view of Bourbon St. The staff is sweet and attentive. Patricia, loved her-she recommended their popular Lavender Lemon Drop, it did not disappoint. The crawfish pasta was good, filling and more than enough for two! read more

Desire Oyster Bar - Lavender Lemon Drop - Seafood Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

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This is our go to oyster bar whenever we are in New Orleans. We order the chargrilled oysters, and they are always delicious. If you're going in for oysters, I recommend sitting at the bar where you can watch the workers shuck and grill them. Today we ordered the fried green tomatoes for the first time. Unfortunately, they did not have seasoning on them, and there was a lot of breading. We would not order these again. Pro tip: they have happy hour in the late afternoons, and oysters are one dollar apiece during that time. read more

Desire Oyster Bar - Corner of the dining room - Seafood Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

Came for happy hour, oysters were only $1.50 and $5 well drinks!! We ordered oysters, fried green tomatoes, sweet potato fries, vodka soda and a Manhattan. The oysters were big in size but had more grit/shells in them and didn't seem as clean compared to other places. Idk if it's cause we had raw oysters the two days prior back to back but these just weren't hitting. Most restaurants serve raw oysters over ice to stay chilled as you eat but they weren't here, so the oysters became room temp as we drank, ate and chatted which also affected the taste. The fried green tomatoes were alright, a little bland. I think the sweet potato fries were topped with cinnamon so it was more of a dessert than savory. I'd probably skip those two dishes. Might need to come back to give the oysters another try - unfortunately we didn't love them but perhaps we had too many oysters recently. The service was great and very friendly. read more

This place is okay if you want to get away from the crowds off bourbon street. I wanted to get some oysters in before heading out the next morning and this place hit the spot. There's a bouncer outside that makes sure all the riff raff is kept out. I since I was solo it was easy to eat at the bar. Ordered half a dozen oysters and a beer. Service was quick and friendly. The oysters were ok here. Kind of like the oysters you'd find when they are having oyster night at your local restaurant. They could've shocked or presented better but I think it's fine if you're craving oysters. read more

Desire Oyster Bar - Seafood Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

Stopped by Desire for a quick round of oysters. To my surprise, the restaurant gave very quaint diner vibes, with a bar, high and low seating as well as the chefs grill station in the corner. Service was great, and southern hospitality shows. I ordered the chargrilled oysters plus crab cakes. The oysters came freshly garnished with parmesan, parsley, and butter. Their menu doesn't offer many different options on how to prepare the oysters but this was a classic selection. Crab cake order came with 2 decently sized crab cakes, fresh and crispy and over a bed of corn relish. I would recommend it, but if you're looking to try oysters prepped in many ways, consider another joint. read more

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Stopped into Desire a couple of times during our last trip to New Orleans. Both experiences were great. Our first time in, we sat at the bar for a drink and some oysters. My wife loved her espresso martini and I enjoyed my Tennessee Tweed. We had 6 raw and 6 grilled oysters. They came out quick and were delicious. Our bartender, Chris, was kind, helpful and professional. This will be a go-to any time we are in town and looking for a quick snack and/or drink. read more

Desire Oyster Bar - Oysters on the half shell. - Seafood Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

Great service and the oysters were so good and fresh!!! Our waitress was such a sweetheart. Will be back

Located right in the Bourbon Street area, I stopped in this cute little restaurant to experience the charbroiled oysters that New Orleans is famous for. I enjoyed a nice margarita at the bar and ordered the oysters, which were very good. Topped with butter and parmesan cheese, I wish I could have had more. read more

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My salad looked good, but it didn't give what it was supposed to. Heavy on the dressing, not on the toppings, and they didn't have the iceberg lettuce. I probably should have canceled this once he said that. However, I shared a big fried catch plate. That was good! Sorry, I don't have a picture of that, but that was worthy. They were out of quite a few things that a couple of us in our party wanted. This would not be on my place to visit again. One and done for me. read more

Desire Oyster Bar - Seafood Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

My son and I had a good experience today here. We shared the alligator bites, which had a good sauce on the breading. He had rocking chargrilled oysters and I had the crawfish etouffee. My son didn't like the texture of the spinach on the rocking chargrilled oysters, so if you have that kind of concern, maybe order the regular. Our waiter was attentive and kept our drinks filled. Great start to our trip. read more

We are staying at Royal Sonesta so it was super close (attached). Needed a snack and the hotdog stand wasn't opened yet so half dozen chargrilled oysters sounded good. Then I saw the gumbo go by and it was love at first smell! Had a cup. Burned we have dinner reservations it I would've gone nuts in there. I make a good seafood gumbo but theirs was next level. I'm gonna have to do better. Can't recommend highly enough. read more

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We ate here twice while staying in NOLA . Great Service and Great Food ! Everything was fresh and tasty ! The Sister servers there are a joy and are a credit to your staff :) Again, Wonderful Place to Eat ! ( in the Royal Sonesta Hotel) read more

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Fast friendly service with outs standing food. Never disappoints! Best oysters and etoufee in town! Hot food! read more

Desire Oyster Bar - Recommend cajun Benedict and brioche sandwich!!! - Seafood Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

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Happy Hour oysters and wine?! Don't you tempt me with a good time. These are a few of my favorite things. It isn't IN the hotel, but it is connected to the hotel. It is not a big place but I love the decor. Our waiter was very nice, but seemed a bit overwhelmed. He got a couple of things wrong and could not remember who ordered what, but it was quickly rectified and he was always polite about it. The oysters were HUGE, cold and delicious. I love that they had them on happy hour and would definitely come again. read more

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Everything was ok until I saw a giant roach underneath my legs! Staff had no reaction and didn't do anything to fix the situation. Food was ok- I didn't really have much of an appetite after that...wont be going back read more

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People were polite even when we only ordered half a dozen oysters and a drink, the oysters were fresh, clean flavor and delicious with a little lemon and cocktail sauce and horseradish. So much so that we went back for a second batch the day we were flying back. The bartenders were attentive and refilled our waters. The place is on a hopping corner so do expect a little noise: overall a great experience. Caveat, we didn't try other dishes but the freshness of the oysters and price point during happy hour were hard to beat. Hope you enjoy as much as we did! read more

Desire Oyster Bar - Started to put sauces and lemon before I remembered to take a picture. One dozen raw oysters! - Seafood Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana