Who Is The Green Goddess?
The Green Goddess opened in May 2009 with a progressive menu that blends New Orleans sensibilities with a globetrotting sampling of ingredients, all emanating from the small open kitchen where chefs Chris DeBarr and Paul Artigues make it happen.

We’re the kind of place that defies labels, with a globetrotting menu that spans soul food dishes from here, there, and everywhere. We are as comfortable with showcasing Louisiana seafood, sausages, and local produce as we are bringing in exotic tastes that reference New Orleans’ historic role as one of the greatest port cities in the world, where anything can be found.

Our Goddess illustration is by Marrus with sign fabrication by Mystic Blue Signs. Photographs by Jedd Haas.

The Green Goddess is a lovely, intimate restaurant on 307 Exchange Alley, with alfresco dining as weather permits. We’re located in the heart of the French Quarter, and at the same time happily off the beaten path down a pedestrian alley located between the Louisiana Supreme Court and the Monteleone Hotel. We use the alley as a courtyard for dining, giving the Green Goddess a refreshing set of outdoor tables for our unique cuisine, cocktails, and friendly service.

Inside the restaurant, we have built a fabulous space according to our “small is beautiful” scale. We have built our own bar & tables & customized the chairs & barstools to give diners a sense of the dedication to our pursuit of the pleasures of the table.

If you look closely at the open cabinet near the upper left, you'll see the first of our “Goddess Shrines” that will ultimately line the walls. If you have a Goddess statue you’d like to add to our collection, bring it to Chef Chris!

A peek at our ceiling reveals psychedelic copper pressed wallpaper, from our friends at Flavor Paper, and a funky pineapple chandelier. We love finding well-designed kitchen tools, from our silverware to our glassware and plates. Ultimately, the main purpose of a restaurant is to restore balance and fun to our hectic lives, giving us comforts and adventures beyond the everyday routines of home. We hope The Green Goddess fits its niche as a unique, creative home-away-from-home sort of restaurant.

Our Food
There really isn’t a simplified formula or phrase to describe our food at The Green Goddess. We just enjoy making all sorts of stuff, and the menu changes frequently. We totally get off on showcasing terrific ingredients and introducing folks to new tastes, and we live to discover offbeat, intriguing products that expand our working culinary vocabulary. Please download our current lunch menu and dinner menu (PDF files).

To some people our menu probably reads like a fever dream: loaded with exotic terms and unfamiliar foods from almost every corner of the planet. Even classic ingredients from Louisiana meet unusual flourishes, as when our crawfish cakes hook up with Spanish romesco sauce, crushed avocado and wasabi tobikko caviar. To us in the kitchen of The Green Goddess, we simply want you to come along for the ride. We’ve spent years exploring how to make everything under the stars, and we can hardly wait to share our favorites with our guests.

Clockwise from upper left: Shrimp & Grits with a side of Sweet Potato Biscuits with Pepper Jelly; “The Crawfish Boil” Salad; ‘Shroom Gravy & Biscuits; The Green Goddess Wedge Salad. Please download our lunch menu for details. (PDF file)

That’s the real secret behind the menu at The Green Goddess: “these are a few of our favorite things” (to quote both the Julie Andrew’s movie chestnut and John Coltrane’s inspiring jazz version). The dishes that appear on our menu are based on something that inspired us, whether it’s an ingredient, a cultural reference to a faraway place, or just a figment of our culinary imagination. We knew our guests would enjoy it, so we had to make it happen.

Clockwise from upper left: “Tumblin’ Dice” Seared Tuna and Watermelon; South Indian Savory Ivory Lentil Pancake with optional shrimp; Banh Xeo; Bison and Bacon Meatloaf. Please download our dinner menu for details. (PDF file)

How About Our Drinks!?
The Green Goddess marches to the beat of our own drummer with our ambitious beverage program. As with the food, we enjoy sourcing cool juices from around the globe, including Brazilian cashew fruit juice, Thai young coconut juice, Vietnamese sugar cane juice, and African coffee berry juice, to name just a few of our far-flung beverages.

We believe that it’s possible to celebrate refreshing drinks from all over, especially from other tropical places which share the same hot, humid climate as New Orleans. We also have Vietnamese coffee, an array of teas, and we specialize in original juicy cocktails that are non-alcoholic but still creative and unusual.

Of course, we feature carefully selected beers, wines, and spirits to complement our adventurous food. Please download our Adult Drinks listing (now combined with our enlarged menu format). We approach drinking from a chef’s perspective, looking to use seasonal ingredients, to use products we have encountered in our travels, and to challenge ourselves to make new cocktails that are mind-boggling.

The Chefs
The Green Goddess has a pair of chefs who run the kitchen, based on their years of experience in New Orleans restaurants. Paul Artigues, who was recognized by Food Network for his innovative twists on brunch at Surrey’s Juice Bar, will be running our lunch and brunch menu. He will spin off a few selections from our global eye-openers list of brunch items, with some sandwiches, salads, and blue plate specials.

Chef Chris and Chef Paul

A few dishes will make the crossover from lunch into dinner, when Chris DeBarr takes over the kitchen for his high wire acts of daring and adventure. DeBarr, who recently ran the award winning kitchen at The Delachaise, will continue to operate his kitchen with his trademark sustained curiosity about world cuisines filtered through his 17 years of cooking in some of New Orleans’ best kitchens. Chef Chris has launched his first tasting menu. As we calibrate our opening operations, limited reservations are available for this experience.

The Green Goddess has hired a talented team of cooks to manage every aspect of the restaurant, including all front-of-the-house service. This means that the waiters at each table also know how to cook the food being served, and are ready for any questions guests may have about the menu. The result is an intimate dining experience for guests with all the expertise of the kitchen involved in every step of the meal.

Our Hours
The Green Goddess is open for Lunch & Brunch every day, except Tuesday,
from 11am – 3:30pm
Please note! No Lunch Service on Tuesday
Dinner is only on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday: 6:00pm – 11pm. Yes, we’re now open Wednesday night for dinner!
Last Dinner Seating at 11pm.
We won’t give you the stinkeye if you come at 11pm. Honest!
Please note! No Dinner Service on Monday & Tuesday.

(We sometimes schedule special dinners for Wednesday nights and parties on special occasions - please check the three links below to stay alert to special events.)

Reservations
Please understand that due to the small size of The Green Goddess, we do not accept reservations. We operate on a “first come, first served” policy. Please feel free to email us questions about our menu. We look forward to your spontaneous visit!

Read Chef Chris DeBarr’s blog for the latest musings of “the excitable chef” or visit our Facebook fan page or our Twitter page to join in the fun directly.