Best New Restaurant Openings in New Orleans, April 2025 | Eater New Orleans

"The restaurant's name means "yippee" in Italian, and the quietly opened, chef-driven Mediterranean spot sits at 2600 Dauphine Street (at Franklin Avenue). The team includes A-list alums from the Link Restaurant Group, with operators Heather Lolley and Humberto Suazo (longtime operations director and chief financial officer for the company) and owners who also run Galaxie Tacos in Bywater. Executive chef Rebecca Wilcomb, a James Beard winner formerly of Herbsaint and Gianna, leads the kitchen alongside Marcus Jacobs, who "cooked with Wilcomb at Herbsaint" before opening Marjie's Grill and Seafood Sally’s and remains involved with the dock-to-plate Porgy’s Seafood Market. The previously chopped-up space has been opened up for an airy feel with a communal table and a private nook for groups. The opening menu highlights Basque-style fish soup, spring vegetable tonnato with Calabrian chilies, and broiled triggerfish on the half shell with green peppercorn butter. The Franklin-era happy hour tradition continues from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. daily and includes a $7 martini that was a real crowd pleaser." - Beth D’Addono