Come for the oysters, stay for everything else

Noteworthy for: Drago's invented the local speciality of chargrilled oysters - they must be good, because the restaurant goes through around a thousand a day.

Croatian-born Drago Cvitanovich and his wife Klara have made a name for themselves and their grilled oysters in much the same way as other restaurants - Antoine's, for example - have also invented dishes now imitated across the city. The original location is in Metairie, west of New Orleans, but a new restaurant in the Hilton hotel in the Riverside is one of the busiest in town.

Apart from their signature oysters - grilled with butter, garlic and herbs and topped with a blend of cheeses - other excellent choices here are plump lobsters, grilled fish, and barbecued shrimp. Stick with the grill and you'll find unbeatable seafood, even in a town known for its fish.