We went here for the vegan beignets and the vegan gluten free beignet donut. I was excited that I found a place to make them for vegans and even vegan gluten free, so I really wanted to love the place. When we got there, there was a band playing across the way, and the women working there were screaming names for orders. It was painfully loud, but we stuck it out and figured we'd take our food to another area to eat. When we decided what we wanted, we went up to the counter by the register where the counter worker was standing. She grabbed the credit card machine right in front of us, walked 5 feet over to another part of the counter and stared at us. We said we're ready to order, and she motioned for us to walk over there. Like, why was this necessary? the cc machine was in front of us, but she made a thing out of us moving to place the order... The vegan beignet seemed dark at the edges and over-fried, but my donut was good. I'm adding a star because they had vegan beignets which are hard to find... read more

Meals From The Heart Cafe - vegan gluten free beignet donut - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

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The staff here was very kind and attentive, I wanted to like this place but the food was one of the worst I had in my trip to New Orleans. I ordered the Etouffee and the Crabcake. The food was thirty minutes late, I checked in at some point before 30 minutes but was told that they are just backed up. I was empathetic and waited. I got my food, amazing crab cake, it was very moist and juicy, lots of crab meat and i think one of the best bites of my trip but the etouffee was cold and the rice was clumped together. I asked for my money back, they agreed to refund me, they apologized, offered me a drink but i just left. Maybe ill come back and try again next time im in NOLA. 2 stars because of the great staff & crab cake. read more

Delicious vegan beignets - we loved them more than traditional beignets!! Definitely ordering them again the next time I'm in New Orleans. Love the French Market vibe and excellent waitstaff! read more

OH MAN. I thought that if you ordered food it was ALL vegan. NO. Nah man nah. I didn't know that so a vegan ate a crab. Oh no. It was very good because I thought OH YEAH!! The texture is so good. Like I remember. Yup. Definitely. Because it WAS crab. The service is good. You just order and then go to the counter when they call you. As for Ambiance, if you're okay with heat, sit at those outdoor tables. If not, order it to go. Next time I know to say VEGAN. At least I got VEGAN beignets. And for those 5 stars. Wowsa. I said NEVER will I ever have these again. WHY? Because I'd eat nothing but them and be 400 pounds eating vegan beignets. These were SO good. Insanely good. Oh man they were perfection. So they DO have a vegan menu but you need to ASK for it lol read more

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Vegan Beignets in New Orleans!? And vegan gumbo & po'boys!? YES!!! We couldn't believe it either. This stand is located in the French Market which you make your way to walking the French Quarter. 1000/10 The food was delightful, and Miko and Maya were great! They had a line every time we were there & they handled customers with calm and grace! We were able to snag a table nearby in the market & we can't wait to come back! read more

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The food was incredible. We sampled their crab tacos - recommended as a locals' favorite - and the vegetarian krab po boy, both were incredibly fresh, flavorful, and delicious! We also got an order of beignets that were perfectly fried and sweet but not too sweet. It's a cool spot to grab a bite to eat and sit in the French Quarter. read more

Meals From The Heart Cafe - Single Crab Taco (Not GF or Vegan), Vegan Crab Cake Po Boy, Beignets - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

Amazing food, looked this place up ahead of time for the veggie options. I was surprised to find it in the market and not an actual store front. Unless there's two locations?! This is the one maps led me to. I can honestly say out of all the meals we ate over the week this one here takes the krab cake. Hehe get it. You can find everything you need right here, reconsider your fancy restaurant reservations and give the market vibes a try. read more

Meals From The Heart Cafe - The market - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

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This kiosk-like restaurant is located in the French market. We came here one a Friday afternoon for lunch. I was excited about trying some gluten free items, particularly the beignet as it has been years since I've had one. Overall, the food was ok. I ordered the crab po boy and gf gumbo. The crab cake was tasty. The bread could have been better. I liked the gumbo but it could probably use more seasoning for most people. My companions were not a fan of the black bean po boy (I tasted the protein and admittedly it was a bit burnt). The beignet left a bit to be desired. It was more gummy than I expected. I think if one has dietary restrictions and want to try traditional new orleans cuisine they should give it a shot. If not, there are definitely other places that are better. read more

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In the French Market and made for a solid late breakfast start to our day. The vegan okra gumbo did not look like a lot of food at first but it filled me up more than I realized. The bread was nice too although I have no idea how it is vegan. Must be olive oil. Not cheap, but I know you have to pay for quality, real deal food. read more

Meals From The Heart Cafe - Vegan Okra Gumbo - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

It's OK. Hole in the wall typical French Market booth. Early morning visit assured plenty of seating. Vegan gumbo was delicious but will leave you hungry due to small portion size. Loved the water bottle price being only $1. Partner had apple pastry & we still ended up with a heft price tag. Service was mixed. The guy kindly explained vegan option ( which it has plenty) & provided good service. The gal behind the counter could have really cared less being there. Approaching customers were treated like a nuisance, sadly. read more

I don't eat pork and finding a place with pork free gumbo was a struggle but really happy to find this place. The gumbo was hearty, meaty and good flavor. The crab cake poboy was also very flavorful. It's a small location so If you go on a busy day like we did, expect to wait a bit. But the food was solid. Would return. read more

Meals From The Heart Cafe - Okra Gumbo and crab cake poboy - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

This place hold its own in the super busy French Market, and it was impressive! What's special about Meals From The Heart Café is the plethora of vegan and health-conscious options (Hint: look for the menu printed on green paper). Had to wait a little while for my Bloody Mary, but it was worth it. There are so many good menu options, so I understand people taking longer to place their orders. The cashier/bartender was quick once we got to the front of the line. Strong and flavorful. I'd stop by again for sure while walking around and sightseeing. And to that point, I would not recommend driving there. Stop by while you're walking through the quarter, because there isn't much room for a car, unless you luck up and find a space on Esplanade (not guaranteed!). read more

I love neighborhood joints that feel like I'm dining with loved ones. That's the vibe Meals From The Heart Cafe gives me! Okay picture this: New Orleans dishes with a healthy twist. Now who knew that exists? You can essentially get any classic Cajun and Creole dish here, either gluten free or vegan. The vegan beignets are DELICIOUS. I'd put them next to any beignet in the city and they'd beat em in flavor and texture. They are light and airy. Other must try items include the vegan hot sausage po-boy, their signature crab cakes and the shrimp and grits, which are dairy-free and don't feel as heavy on your body, a plus to me! Because walking around New Orleans, especially downtown, you want to eat and drink things that keep you movin! No time to be sleepy and lethargic after a meal. Time to explore! They also have cocktails but I opted for the fruit-packed Power Shake. Plenty of seating in the shade near their booth and their area is clean with a hospitable staff. If you visit, tell them LetDatGirlEat sent ya. ;) read more

I got the vegan beignets & krab cake poboys. My non-vegan travel partner got the regular crab cake poboy and the honeyed ice tea. My travel partner confirmed that the beignets and poboys were comparable to much else we've tried in the city so far, so maybe it's just the New Orleans tourist standard? But to my taste, the sandwiches were very bland. I would order them again, but I do wish there was some kind of hot sauce to go with them. The side of potatoes that came with the sandwiches were delish, very flavorful. The beignets were great. Kind of small, but they were the first I ever had so not sure I should be the authority on that! Ingredients seemed very high quality and this meal gave me the energy to run around the city for the next eight hours unlike some of the other greasy meals I've had around here. The service was very fast, and the employees took extra care to be sure we had clean dishes to eat off of in the outdoor market. I'm from the midwest and was kind of shocked that the service workers weren't as friendly and chipper as they are in my neck of the woods, but after checking out more local shops and restaurants I definitely feel it's just the way things are down here. Now that I know what to expect, I would totally eat here again. Just remember they have a separate vegan menu, and they serve real meat and fish! I wish the business very well :) read more

Meals From The Heart Cafe - Vegan Crab Cake Po Boy, Vegan Beignets - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

vegan beignets! they were so good! came the to like $9 for 4 which is a little steep but they're made fresh tk order and tasted divine

Beware! When ordering the gluten free "donut beignet" you only get 1 small baked donut for $6!! The photos are misleading showing several beignets in a box but these aren't the gf ones. read more

First day in NOLA with the hubs; he found this little gem in the French Market making gluten-free food. We shared the piping hot shrimp and grits - some of the tastier ever: the shrimp were cooked perfectly and the red beans and rice was yummy, too. read more

Excellent seafood, and even vegan options, which is nice to see. The shrimp and grits had a very flavorful crawfish sauce. The crab cake was not quite up to Maryland crab cake standards, but still good. Service was friendly. read more

Meals From The Heart Cafe - Shrimp and grits with crawfish sauce - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

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Fun location of in the French Market, but that might be a con for some people. We ordered and walked around for about 15 minutes and our food was ready when we came back. Happy to have tried vegan beignets and gumbo! read more

Tried their crabs cakes with creole potatoes and fresh lemonade. Crab cakes were small and tasteless. Didn't seem fresh. Potatoes were lacking salt and flavor. Lemonade tasted like it was made from a bottle. Not worth the $$. Disappointed read more

Located in the French market offers vegan options. Had vegan beignets and they are very comparable to cafe du monde not as sweet and size differs but overall impressive. Mimosa was typical nothing special, it's not fresh squeezed. The place is a bit overpriced but it's a tourist attraction so not shocking. If you're not vegan u can def get a better deal at the staple 4 minute walk away. Worth a try tho read more

Meals From The Heart Cafe - Vegan Beignet Donut (V/GF) 5/5 ~$9 and mimosa ~$8 - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

This cafe is in the French Market in the French Quarter. It's counter service, and there is a line. I believe that the food is made to order, it took about 25 - 30 minutes for our food to be prepared and it was very good. We ordered crab cakes, poboys and jambalaya. All were hot and tasty. (We witnessed a person being extremely rude to the gentleman behind the counter. He handled the entire incident with grace and patience. He deserves a medal!j Be prepared for the wait, but it gives you time to find a seat - that is pretty scarce. read more

Flavors were weird and food was not hot. The shrimp and grits tasted like day old grits with some sauce. The gumbo was one of the worst from my visit to New Orleans. This place had a high review which was disappointing. I had to go get another meal. read more

Meals From The Heart Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

The food here was great quality. They recommended anything with crab and was so glad we tried their crab cakes and crab cake po' boy. The crab cakes were fresh and packed with fresh crab meat and super flavorful. My crab cakes came on a bed of spinach and arugula and potatoes. Combined with a fruit smoothie from a couple stalls down, my tummy was happy with my lunch. The people there were very nice and made great recommendations. I didn't have any but I saw many others ordering their tacos and it looked sooo good. I was a little worried I'd be eating a bunch of heavy fried "fair" food going to a market, but what a pleasant surprise Meals From The Heart was. Excellent quality food, friendly people. read more

Meals From The Heart Cafe - Double Crab Cake Platter w/Creole Potatoes - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

Food: This being my favorite vegan breakfast spot, I have eaten here multiple times. The pancakes, beignets and vegan crab cakes are delicious and among my favorite menu items. This time I tried the vegan gumbo and I loved there being an option from traditional gumbo. The gumbo has mushrooms, yellow squash and zucchini in it. My only thing was the flavor wasn't rich enough for me. Service: I have always have a pleasant encounter with the staff at the cafe. They was polite and always answer any questions I've had Atmosphere: Located in the French Market, it is very busy with people in and out of the market. You can order online and pickup order to avoid being in the most of some of the food traffic. read more

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I can't say enough about Meals From The Heart where I return every chance I get when I'm visiting Nola. Last year I sat at the counter and had engaged in conversations with two young customers who are also gluten intolerant. This is a Mecca as I was diagnosed 25 years ago with celiac disease, and when I found out in 2017 that Meals From The Heart served gluten-free gumbo as well as GF crab cakes and pancakes, I showed up at 10 AM ready to have gumbo morning noon and night. I will back in May to again have their delicious GF Gumbo. Whatever food and delightful family and staff that run this oasis in the French Market. read more

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The ONLY place to get vegan beignets in New Orleans. This place is pure chaos, especially on the weekend, so be prepared to maybe not find a seat. It's located in the French Market along with other eateries and vendors. Great stop for sure on your New Orleans travels. Anyway.. knowing so, I ordered some of the beignets online to go, so by the time I wandered my way over there, they'd be ready ! And they were ! A little pricer at $10, compared to the non-vegan Cafe Du Monde $4 version. But I wanted the experience of trying some vegan fried dough puffs while in New Orleans. So here we are. They were everything I expected, plus some. Four came in the box, coated with just the right amount of powder sugar. I wish there were more in a box ! Each bite was warm and fluffy. Perfectly sweet and paired well with my last two sips of morning coffee I was lugging around. Highly recommend because I mean.. what other options do you have unless you make em yourself ! read more

Meals From The Heart Cafe - vegan beignets - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

Visited Meals from the Heart for the first time. I chose this restaurant because of a great selection of vegan options of traditional New Orleans foods. My partner tried the red beans and rice, sausage poboy, and apple pie. The red beans and rice had the same texture and consistency of the meat version. Flavor was very similar and you wouldn't miss the meat. The apple pie had a good texture and flavor. The sausage poboy was way too spicy. My partner could only eat a few bites. My shrimp poboy had a good flavor but the shrimp were very small for the price. The bread was ok but not the traditional consistency of most poboy French bread. All in all, Meals from the Heart has potential but needs to upgrade a few things. I just expected a bit more for almost $65. read more

I haven't had anything taste like this beautiful crab cake in so long! The French Market, out door eatery is definitely worth your walk in the heat to get to this. "Jay" was very helpful with my questions and helped me choose the perfect lunch, which actually became my dinner, too because the food is so filling! read more

Meals From The Heart Cafe - Vegan Crab Cake Po Boy & Creole Potatoes - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

I ate at Meals from the Heart cafe twice during my New Orleans trip- once in person and once DoorDash. Yummmmm! I had the gluten free crab sandwich and pralines. Their crabcakes are absolutely delicious. With a very good sauce on it. A friend I was with had their poboy and my mom had a jambalaya and both of them loved their food. When we went in person, we had such a great time sitting in the market, and one of our party members had a hurricane and said it was delicious. Staff was very friendly and accommodating to my wheat allergy. It was such a great treat to be able to have some New Orleans food! I totally recommend this place not only for gluten-free and vegan dishes, but for general good food since our party really liked it. read more

Meals From The Heart Cafe - Crab cake sandwich gluten free! Door dashed! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

This business is located at an outside flea/farmer's market area. There's lots of different food choices there. Its basically a counter area that you can order your food. There's general outdoor seating available. I specifically came here from Bourbon street to get some gluten free food. There's lots of choices for those that need to eat gluten free. I got the single gf- crab cake and gf grits and a bottle of water. The cost was over $26. There was a big up charge for the gluten free items. The side order of grits were $7.50. They were ok nothing special but if you are worried about eating a strict gluten free meal it seemed legit. The single crab cake was equally ok. I'm not sure I would come back. I ate at another gluten free restaurant called Carmos I would recommend please see the review. read more

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The shrimp and grits were out of this world! The crab cake poboy was fantastic as well! If you're at the market, it's worth the stop!

Eating gluten free and dairy free is tough, esp. with a zest of NOLA flair. This was an absolute find! Food: GF crab cake po-boy was awesome. Basically 2 large crab cakes sandwiches. I threw in some creole potatoes as well. Too much food for 1, but I still cleaned my plate. My only warning is that there were pieces of crab shell in the Pattie's and I definitely crunched too hard; on the bright side, must mean the crab is fresh... Service: Fine. You order at the counter, wait 15-25 min, and come back to pick up your food. Ambiance: This was not at all what I was expecting. It's a stall in an outdoor market with lots of eateries and little shops. A little cold, but great for COVID safety precautions and front row people watching. This was great solo and could be fun with a date as well. My tummy is happy I came! I might come back once more before leaving. read more

Meals From The Heart Cafe - Crab Cake Po Boy (gf) - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

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Was really happy to find a vegan place serving local specialties within walking distance of our hotel. However, while Meals from the Heart has potential, there was much that was disappointing here. First of all, as some other have noted, the portions are super small, considering the price. I paid $14 for the large bowl of gumbo and got maybe a cup worth of food, along with half a cup of rice. The food was also way under-seasoned, tasting not at all like gumbo -- no amount of salt would save the dish. I might have been a bit happier with the price had this been a proper restaurant, but it's in a noisy open-air market, no air conditioning, sitting on public tables while sweltering the the heat. I'd love to see Meals from the Heart succeed, but they need to reconsider their strategy. read more

Meals From The Heart Cafe - Vegan gumbo - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

My baby's first beignets!! She was able participate in this NOLA tradition safely despite multiple food allergies thanks to the amazing service at meals from the heart. She ate them then had round 2 The location is in a covered, open air market with lots of other vendors around. This cafe has a variety of food for different diets/preferences. Their coffee & pancakes were great as well. Thank you!! read more

Meals From The Heart Cafe - Beignets - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

Good food in an informal atmosphere. Shrimp & grits with creole sauce was served hot, so it hit the spot on a cold day. Relatively quick service. read more

These tacos were BIG and filling! There's counter service and outdoor seating right in front of the business at the French Market. Service was quick. It's pretty chill area where you can eat and people watch and maybe socialize with people from all walks of life and all parts of the world. read more

Meals From The Heart Cafe - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana

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Went to New Orleans and this was one of the few vegan places I could find. It's in the midst of a bunch of other restaurants. I almost missed it but when I saw vegan beignets I had to stop. The beignets were tiny but really good. And I was super excited for the vegan crab Benedict. Which was also pretty good. If you're vegan in New Orleans this is a good place to stop. read more

Got the small okra gumbo and a small red beans and rice, paid $21only for them to be bland. They both lacked flavor and seasoning...the gumbo had one big chunk of chicken and one shrimp. Definitely was not worth the 20 minute wait AFTER we placed the order. read more

YAYYY always love seeing and eating at vegan/veggie places whenever I travel. This place has a TON of options. We got the veggie (chef's choice maybe?) po boy and okra gumbo. The orange sauce we got with the poboy was AMAZING and I loved eating the bread and gumbo together. One of the few places where I found vegetarian gumbo so that was special for me! The food itself was good; I might go back again and try some other stuff. * Vegetarian / Veggie review * I'm a vegetarian foodie that has a lot of meat eating friends who want to go to fun places that may or may not be veggie-friendly, so I'm here to tell you what to order if you find yourself in the same situation :) Just search "vegetarian" or "veggie"! read more

Meals From The Heart Cafe - Veggie poboy with Okra gumbo - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - New Orleans, Louisiana