Care most certainly did not forget this New Orleans treasure, where James Beard award-winning chef/co-owner Susan Spicer specializes in all things fresh and supreme. Three charming dining rooms await diners, and there's also the patio, which maintains some of its original Creole cottage feel. Spicer's menu is difficult to classify, with unique starters such as oyster gratin or smoked quail salad, and the entrée list always includes a variety of seafood and meat dishes such as the Gulf Coast bouillabaisse and cider-glazed pork shank. For dessert, you may find frozen lemon bombe with gingersnap crumble and blueberries. Extensive and rare wine list. Full bar. Serving lunch Wed–Sat, dinner Mon–Sat. Closed Sun.
Where the Locals Eat Rating
Best Contemporary
Top 100 Restaurant, New Orleans
"Inside you'll find three warm, elegant dining rooms, a lushly romantic courtyard, an intimate wine room and Chef Spicer's legendary eclectic global cuisine. . . . [which] moves across a spectrum of styles and influences with only one unifying thread: the best ingredients, with their tastes always being allowed to shine through. Flavorful, balanced, yet complex is Bayona's ever-evolving menu that includes daily specials and seasonal offerings."
–Bayona website
"The cooking at this most broad-minded of classic New Orleans restaurants draws on global influences."
–The Times-Picayune
"In the era of the celebrity chef, and with stiff competition, [Chef Spicer's] star still shines."
–New Orleans Magazine
"Guests dine on specials or perennial favorites like grilled shrimp with black bean cake, crispy smoked quail salad or the sautéed Pacific salmon with choucroute and a Gerwurztraminer sauce."
–Gambit Weekly
" . . . a jewel of a restaurant tucked into a 200-year-old Creole cottage, in the heart of the French Quarter. The warm, cozy room is often set with fresh flowers and is warmed by sunny lighting and bright colors."
–Mobil Travel Guide
"After 17 years, renowned chef Susan Spicer is still creating some of the most exciting food in New Orleans."
–Epicurious Restaurant Guide
How Others Rate Bayona
Zagat 2008
28 Food Quality (extraordinary to perfection)
Top American (New) and Top Outdoor in New Orleans
The Times-Picayune
Top 10 Restaurant, 2008
Frommer's
** (very highly recommended)
Mobil Travel Guide
**** (of 5)
The New Orleans Menu by Tom Fitzmorris
**** (excellent and ambitious)