Cafe Beignet

Whoever invented deep frying was a genius. It seems downright disrespectful that this cooking technique isn’t named after the inventor. Can you imagine a butcher asking his customer ‘Are you going to go home and soak that chicken in buttermilk then ‘Smith’ that bad boy up?’ What an epic conversation.
This place has mastered the art of fried dough — light, crispy beignets covered with icing sugar that you can’t stop nibbling on while being serenaded by a fantastic band. Few better ways to spend an hour or two in New Orleans.

I tried beignets at Café du Monde (3 locations), Morning Call, and at Café Beignet and Café Beignet takes the cake. Their beignets are smack dab in the middle in terms of fluffiness. They are not nearly as dense as the ones served at Café du Monde nor as flavorless as the ones at Morning Call.
I also really appreciated the courtyard setting with live music. It was incredible to step away from the Bourbon St crowd and munch on beignets while listening to talented musicians do their thing.

Recommendations: jambalaya & beignets
Small portions but short wait and great outdoor atmosphere.

Get ready to inhale your fluffy and warm plate of beignets when you stop by Café Beignet on Bourbon Street. The open-​air dining scene is perfect on those comfortably mild mornings in NOLA.
It’s easy to order. Just request your beignets, coffee (or, in my case, mocha!) and whatever else you’d like from their well-​crafted menu, and have a seat.
They’ll deliver your beignets when ready — which can take a few minutes since they’re clearly made fresh. During our visit, we opted to sit at the bar and chat with the friendly bartender on duty around 10 a.m. Surprisingly, no one was ordering boozy drinks yet, so we had a lengthy and helpful conversation about unique places to visit in the city.
All the while, a live band was performing jazz a few yards away. It was such a relaxing experience and not at all what you’d typically find on the block.
Only con: Bathrooms. They are gross, tiny and smell terrible. Do not use their bathrooms if you can help yourself; do eat the beignets.

very crowded and it took a VERY long time to get the Beignets. By the time we got back to the hotel and ate them — I concluded that I liked doughnuts better

Food was average. The atmosphere is nice though, I sat outside and listened to live music while I ate. Perfect for a quick and easy lunch. Not crowded. Order at the counter and seat yourself.

I love beignets because they are soft and just the right amount of sweet. While these weren’t my favorite the crunch was a nice surprise as I’m used to a softer variety like at Café Du Monde. The staff was friendly and I visited both the location on Bourbon St and Royal Street.

I lost my beignet virginity to Café Beignet. And they set the bar high.
Before my trip to NOLA, I heard that Café Beignet was better than Café du Monde. Luckily on my first morning in town, I walked past this location and got to discover this myself. Also luckily, there was no line at the time of my visit; we were able to walk right up and order.
Despite the lack of crowd, it still took a little while to receive our beignets. I’m mentioning this as a positive! Boy did they taste fresh. There was a light crisp to the outside and they were filled with heaven on the inside. I can see why they are referred to as heaven’s pillows.
The small coffee was still a fairly decent size and it was strong. If you like strong coffee, this coffee is good.
It had been raining a little earlier so my friend and I ate at the bar. The bartender was very friendly and chatted with us most of the time.
This café was set back in an adorable courtyard. There was even a live musician.
I did go to Café du Monde later in my trip, however I know that Café Beignet will be my beignet headquarters for all future trips to New Orleans.

Overpriced
We ordered beignets and carrot cake. The carrot cake was really overpriced, for the piece we got and the staleness of it. I’m sure it was very rich and smooth a few days prior, but what I got served was stale.
We went during the hour they close, and they turned on their AC even though it was blasting cold outside (doors are open), maybe to rush the remaining patrons out, but it was rude.
I did like that there was a man with his guitar (or violin?) can’t remember, I had a few drinks, but nonetheless, there was a man sitting playing music in the shop. It was nice and calming. He definitely wasn’t part of the café but he added to the ambience.
I won’t go back, there’s café du monde for beloved beignets!

This place gets 4 stars based on the beignets alone. Hot and sweet, the literally melt in your mouth.
It’s all outdoor seating, which in December is not ideal. But in the spring, the quaint patio in the courtyard with live music would be the absolute perfect place to stop and rest a bit with a warm beignet and a hot cup of coffee.

Pros:
The Beignet were delicate, sweet, fresh and very tasteful.
Cons:
As an African-​American I found the postcard minstrels very offensive and degrading while I understand it’s historical I feel at some point we have to move forward and leave the hateful and degrading stereotypes of the past behind rather than continue to replicate the things that divide us as people embrace the love between each other. That’s my personal opinion on my experience.

Our first beignets in New Orleans. Order and pay at the counter. They were not sweet enough and on the chewy side.
Tables to sit down and they didn’t really clear or clean them. We had to grab some napkins to clean out table.
They offer limited champagne and wine. Other baked goods and coffee.

Treating yourself to an order of beignets is completely normal. Ordering two on separate occasions in the same day is not. My stomach looks like one of these beignets now.
If you want the best beignets in NOLA, this place serves it (IMO). They are pricier ($ 3.99), but they taste so much better. Bigger, fluffier, and moist.
Eat it on Bourbon St location and be entertained by Steamboat Willie’s jazz band. Can’t beat it.

Two words: POWDERED SUGAR. These beignets were different than Café du Monde because they were fluffier and not as chewy. In my opinion, I liked these better! They were made fresh to order and came with a pound of powdered sugar. The beignets were so soft, it was almost like eating a warm cloud (covered in powdered sugar). They are also located in a great area with lots of seating and live music. Perfect ending to a night in New Orleans!

Nothing against the other popular local beignets around, but Café Beignet is my favorite, and it’s located on Bourbon Street. Once you enter the gates, you’re greeted with a few statues and right behind is a patio/​courtyard seating setting for the customers. At the very back is where you order, lines are not long at all, and they have friendly service. They serve other breakfast items and drinks but the go to is obviously their fresh handmade beignets. Minimum order is 3 beignets for $ 3.99. It’s just like you imagine, something fluffy with a taste of good ol dough plus powdered sugar smothered all over is just perfection! At the top of the morning is the best time to have this fix with your café au lait. What I dig the most about this place are the good vibes from the live music being played and chill getaway from the craziness of Bourbon Street which is a few feet away. This definitely has to be a stop for visitors to get a dose of beignets and live music!

I like this location better than the one on Royal, not quite as busy, not as long a wait for food, but the same menu. Spacious Bourbon-​facing courtyard with live music playing. Great coffee, great food. We saw more people eating their food than waiting at their tables for their food, so this is our choice next time we come to town.
Full bar.

I wouldn’t say their beignets are better than Café Du Monde’s but they are pretty good. It might really be the open courtyard ambiance and live music playing day and night that attracts many here. I admit, that was the allure for us. Dining al fresco under some shade with fans blowing was a nice retreat from the busy Bourbon St. All that, plus a cup of CAFE AU LAIT ($ 2.99/sm) and an order of delightful BEIGNETS ($ 3.99), I felt right with the world. I can’t say I’m not a fan.

Last year I tried out one Café Beignet location, this year I decided to try out this location.
I actually did not get the beignets here. That WAS the plan, however, we saw they had a pretty impressive breakfast menu so being that it was 9AM on Bourbon (unheard of) we decided to get an actual breakfast instead.
The French toast I ordered was made with French bread (no plain old sliced bread here) and came with fresh fruit on the side. It was delicious, as well as filling since the portion was huge. One person in our group ordered an omelet and we were all surprised by how small it was. Maybe 1 ¹⁄₁₂ eggs? He said the flavor was decent but it was definitely not filling. My café mocha was perfect and not overly sweet. It also gave me that caffeine I so desperately needed and got me up and running for the day ahead.
This location has a big courtyard area with additional seating (and restrooms) upstairs. There is usually live music, which is nice. The counter where you order your food is small but you’re only there for a moment or two since they bring your food to your table.

I give them 4 stars almost exclusively because of the atmosphere. Their patio has live music almost all the time. I went for coffee at 9 a.m. on a Monday morning and there was a live band playing already.
I had their coffee and beignets and they are pretty good. I know it’s trendy to go to Café du Monde but Café du Monde’s beignets and coffee are better.
I also went another time and had the shrimp basket. It was pretty average. I also had a hurricane with my lunch and the hurricane was just about terrible. It was red Kool Aid and no taste of alcohol.
The staff was friendly and again, the atmosphere is so good it makes up for the average food. I would recommend having a beer and listen to the music and go somewhere else for food.

Great place to get away from all the Bourbon st. craziness! It’s tucked into a nice outdoor patio area where you can enjoy some awesome music while getting some daiquiris and beignets!
Personally I found that their beignets are way better than those at Café Du Monde because they’re bigger, fluffier and a better texture! I also tried their mango soco drink and it was just the right amount of sweet!
Definitely recommend this place not only for a great spot to enjoy music away from the crazy Bourbon street crowd but also for their awesome beignets!

5 stars on the beignets. 3 huge beignets for $ 2.69. I’m not really sure why each batch needs 1 pound of powdered sugar, but no matter it was delicious fresh out of the fryer. I eat beignets at café du monde, but glancing at café du monde’s, they are $ 0.50 more, but a lot bigger per order. And there’s not a 1 hour line at café beignet like there is a café du monde. We went there twice in once day!