Where to Network and Eat in New Orleans During GSX
We know you’re already excited for the incredible education sessions and speakers to learn from at GSX 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana, but don’t forget about the social opportunities, especially in a city renowned for its culinary prowess. Whether you just need a quick bite and strong cup of coffee before a full day at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, or if you’re looking to keep networking while enjoying drinks and dinner, be sure there’s a place for you.
The GSX Daily turned to the GSX Host Chapter—ASIS New Orleans—to find the local spots that lend themselves to good food and conversation, allowing you to fuel up, connect, or wind down after a great day of learning at GSX. These are some of the options the chapter president Frank Quinn, president of NOLA Protection, suggested.
GSX Daily: Where would you want to go for a fun atmosphere with great food after a full day of learning?
On Julia Street and within a block of the Convention Center, you’ll find Jolie. “A great spot to stop after you get off the floor and want to have a nice, cool drink,” Quinn says.
📍Location: 324 Julia St, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
🕙Hours: 4:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., Monday and Wednesday; 4:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., Thursday; 4:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., Friday through Saturday; 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., Sunday
✨Vibe: A newer spot offering cocktails, small bites, entrees, and air conditioning in a lounge environment.
If you’re a fan of surf and turf, consider sister restaurants Chophouse New Orleans and Bon Ton Prime Rob. “They’re both phenomenal, and both within walking distance of the Convention Center,” Quinn says.
He also recommends Doris Metropolitan in the French Quarter. “If you’ve got a table of a few people and you want to try a few different cuts, they’ll do a big board for you in the middle,” he says.
📍Location: The New Orleans Hotel, 322 Magazine Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
🕙Hours: 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Sunday through Thursday; 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday
✨Vibe: A welcoming steak and seafood restaurant that leans upscale, offering an old-school atmosphere, family-size sides, and courtyard seating.
📍Location: 401 Magazine St, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
🕙Hours: 5:00 p.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday through Thursday; 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday
✨Vibe: With its origins dating back to the mid-1800s, the third-oldest restaurant in the city offers prime steaks, Cajun flavors, and in the historic 1840s Natchez building.
📍Location: 620 Chartres St, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
🕙Hours: 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday; 12:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., Friday
✨Vibe: A modern steakhouse and butchery that draws inspiration from Middle Eastern flavors.
For more seafood, Quinn points to Pêche, which won a James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in America in 2014.
📍Location: 800 Magazine St, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
🕙Hours: 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. everyday
✨Vibe: The rustic marine restaurant sources much of the fare (including oysters and fish) for its contemporary menu from the Gulf Coast and has a seafood bar. Quinn recommends the oysters.
Inside the Hilton Riverside Hotel, there’s another good spot for wining and dining, according to Quinn. Whether for lunch or dinner, Drago’s and its famous charbroiled oysters are crowd-pleasers.
📍Location: 2 Poydras St, New Orleans, Louisiana 70112
🕙Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., everyday
✨Vibe: Laid back and casual, Drago’s doesn’t take reservations. The original location is in the suburbs, but a downtown location adjacent to the convention center opened its doors eight years ago and is worth considering for a networking lunch or dinner.
GSX Daily: If it were your last day on Earth, where would you eat and what would you order?
“Commander’s Palace is my absolute favorite,” Quinn says. “It’s usually a turtle soup and either the quail or beef tournedos, and then the soufflé for dessert. They do a bread pudding soufflé—it rises, it’s all puffed up, and you have like a rum cream sauce they pour on top. It’s pretty spectacular.”
📍Location: 1403 Washington Ave, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
🕙Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday; 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Monday and Tuesday
✨Vibe: This iconic New Orleans restaurant launched the careers of several chefs including Frank Brigsten, Anne Kearney, and Emeril Lagasse. It is further away from the convention center than the other places on this list, but if you’re in the Garden District and looking for a good meal, then what’s holding you back?
GSX Daily: Where do you go for the best drinks?
Quinn recommends Jolie, given its proximity to the convention center, as well as several hotel bars nearby—the Sazerac Bar, the Carousel Bar, the Chandelier Bar, and Hot Tin Rooftop Bar. All are familiar haunts for informal networking and offer the allure of air conditioning and cold drinks in a city where the heat and humidity last until November.
📍Location: The Roosevelt New Orleans Hotel, 130 Roosevelt Way, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
🕙Hours: 4:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., Monday through Thursday; 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., Friday and Saturday; 12:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., Sunday
📍Location: Hotel Monteleone, 214 Royal St, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
🕙Hours: 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m., everyday
📍Location: Four Season Hotel New Orleans, 2 Canal St, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
🕙Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m., Sunday through Wednesday; 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m., Thursday through Saturday
📍Location: The Pontchartrain Hotel, 2031 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
🕙Hours: 2:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., Sunday through Thursday; 2:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m., Friday and Saturday
GSX Daily: Any other places that you would recommend for networking?
If it’s dinner, head to Emeril’s. “They’ve got a wine room that can be closed off, and they’ve got two different menus,” says Quinn, who suspects that the restaurant will soon earn a Michelin star.
📍Location: 800 Tchoupitoulas St, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
🕙Hours: 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday;
For something that’s a different speed from just food and drinks (although it feels sacrilegious to write that when it comes to New Orleans), consider Five 0 Fore Golf.
📍Location: 3800 Howard Ave, New Orleans, Louisiana 70125
🕙Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m., Sunday through Thursday; 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., Friday and Saturday
Breakfast has long maintained the title of the Most Important Meal of the Day, and a networking breakfast is perhaps even more so. To make sure you start the day and your meetings off right, Quint recommends the following:
- Brennan’s (where Bananas Foster was invented)
📍Location: French Quarter, 417 Royal St, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
🕙Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Monday through Sunday; 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Monday through Sunday
📍Location: The Pelham Hotel, 200 Magazine St, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
🕙Hours: 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Monday through Sunday
📍Location: 2207 Magazine St, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
🕙Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday
📍Location: 2368 Magazine St, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
🕙Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Wednesday through Monday
If you're still hungry for more recommendations, check out the GSX Blog. ASIS staff hunted around and came up with its Top 20 restaurants to visit while in the Big Easy.
