Through the course of two decades, and at least two distinct chapters, Tommy’s Cuisine was a downtown restaurant for a very New Orleans blend of French and Italian dishes. The new restaurant now open at its former Warehouse District address goes in a different direction, with an opening menu that feels emphatically French.
Le Moyne Bistro opened in early April and is serving dinner Tuesday through Saturday. It’s the next step from a group of seasoned local hospitality pros who are making their mark on the downtown restaurant circuit.
Le Moyne Bistro serves French cuisine in downtown New Orleans. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Le Moyne Bistro serves French cuisine in downtown New Orleans. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Le Moyne Bistro serves French cuisine in downtown New Orleans. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
People familiar with Tommy’s will know their way around the bar and progression of dining rooms, and Le Moyne also has a network of private dining rooms. But the look is different, simultaneously feeling classic and refreshed.
It was just in 2023 that chef Farrell Harrison and Brian Weisnicht opened Plates in the large restaurant space in the Cotton Mill building, with its convivial bar. They cross Spanish tapas with a strong dose of Louisiana Creole for a menu centered on small plates.
Next, they made a double play just around the corner. They took over Tommy’s Cuisine and also the interconnected N.O.S.H., which had previously had a long run as Tommy’s Wine Bar.
Maria’s Wine & Oyster Bar in downtown New Orleans has the feel of an oyster bar and lounge combined. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
They turned that former lounge into Maria’s Wine & Oyster Bar early this year, and next developed Le Moyne.
Like their predecessors, Maria’s and Le Moyne still connect, meaning you could start with oysters and a cocktail at one and proceed without meeting sunshine, raindrops or potential paparazzi to dinner at the bistro next-door.
The two share more than a vestibule.
Proprietors (from left) Christian Hurst, Brian Weisnicht and Ferrell Harrison at Le Moyne Bistro in downtown New Orleans. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
The Plates founders brought on Christian Hurst as a partner and he’s the chef for both new restaurants. He’s another example of local talent to have come through the Link Restaurant Group, that standard bearer of consistent quality.
Drinks for both new restaurants are overseen by Lindsay Dukes. At Le Moyne Bistro, start with a cocktail. Dukes has created a list long on elegance, and inspired by Parisian motifs of the Belle Epoque and roaring 20s. The first sips have been balanced and beautiful.
Lindsay Dukes oversees the cocktails and wine at Le Moyne Bistro in downtown New Orleans. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
A dapper ray of liquid sunshine called “yellow” is a fine curtain raiser, starting with gin and the aperitif Suze. She also wraps tequila in a smooth, aromatic cloak of elderflower, rosewater, cassis and cardamom for the agave en fleur.
Yellow is the name for a Suza and gin based cocktail on the menu at Le Moyne Bistro in downtown New Orleans. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Agave en fleur is a tequila-based cocktail on the menu at Le Moyne Bistro in downtown New Orleans. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Hurst and Harrison collaborate on the menu and their first edition feels very French indeed, with a modern culinary sensibility to lift them from the standard template.
You can taste the tallow in the onion soup, with chunks of crouton acting as delivery vessels for the stretchy gruyere.
Gruyere stretches from the top of an onion soup at Le Moyne Bistro in downtown New Orleans. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Steak tartare is topped with horseradish and served with sunchoke chips at Le Moyne Bistro in downtown New Orleans. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Steak tartare is hit with a little chile oil and a lot of finely-grated horseradish with ruffles of sunchoke chips to scoop it up.
Slivers of speck cut thin as feathers add salty, hammy crunch to the fresh and bitter frisee salad over a sweep of cheese.
Beef short rib carbonnade is a hearty dish on the menu at Le Moyne Bistro in downtown New Orleans. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Move onto the entrées. The short rib carbonnade is a bit like a beef bourguignon translated in the land of beer rather than wine country. The meat flakes into tender strands like an exceptionally rich Sunday roast, with a sauce somewhere between stew and gravy.
Tuna Niçoise sounds like a salad, but it is a meal-sized splay of yellowfin tuna, well-seasoned, effectively raw within, surrounded by what feels more like a crudité arrangement than a salad.
Tuna Nicoise is served with a spread of fresh vegetables and a farm egg at Le Moyne Bistro in downtown New Orleans. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
There’s pate and mushroom vol au vent, duck confit and steak frites. Local references points are subtle, like a side of black eyed peas that sounds Southern but works like a mini cassoulet, right down to the Toulouse sausage cooked in.
Wine is close at hand at Le Moyne Bistro in downtown New Orleans. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
The wine list goes big, which feels gutsy for a new restaurant given the tumultuous ways of the wine world right now. But it fits the aim of the menu, and the rooms too.
This is a new restaurant that feels like it’s been around for a while. The bar feels like a spot where wine lovers will want to spend some time themselves.
Le Moyne Bistro
746 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-350-1750
Dinner Tue.-Sat.
Maria’s Oyster & Wine Bar
752 Tchoupitoulas St., 504-350-4075
Daily from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. (10 p.m. Fri., Sat.)