Antoine’s Restaurant: A Crown Jewel in Carnival’s History
The Rex Room at Antoine’s
February 2025An informal tour throughone of the city's most revered landmarks and their krewe-designated dining rooms stirs a sense of wonder for the spectacle of Mardi Gras.
– by Kim Ranjbar
photos by Ellis Anderson and Kim Ranjbar
This column is underwritten in part by Jeannette Bolte
The masquerade ball scene in the 1984 film Amadeus, based on the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, teems with masked revelers adorned in elaborate Venetian costumes in the guise of unicorns, swans, and even butterflies. It’s a scene one might imagine occurring in one of Antoine’s several dining rooms dedicated to carnival royalty.
In 1887, Jules Alciatore, the son of Antoine’s Restaurant’s founder, immersed himself in the Mardi Gras scene while serving as the chef at the prestigious Pickwick Club—a private gentlemen’s club that also served as a front for the Mistick Krewe of Comus.
“Jules was there, cooking for them and mingling with this exclusive group,” says Lisa Blount, wife of Rick Blount, a fifth-generation Alciatore and CEO of Antoine’s Restaurant.
When Jules married Althea Roy, the daughter of a plantation owner in Youngsville, Louisiana, he used the dowry to purchase Antoine’s, his father’s original “pensione” or bed & breakfast – as well as property around it. Antoine’s Restaurant is housed in a deceptively large, rambling building, composed of 13 separate tax parcels, and featuring 14 dining rooms – with seating capacities ranging from 6 to 220 people.
Antoine’s, 1940 - 1949 by Charles F. Weber. Historic New Orleans Collection, 2012.0208.2.7
A shrewd entrepreneur, Jules transformed the properties around the restaurant into spacious event venues, targeting the social elites and community leaders who were members of long-standing krewes or forming new ones.
On Mardi Gras in 1950, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor dined with Dr. and Mrs. Alton Ochsner and other guests in Antoine’s Rex Room. Photograph: Historic New Orleans Collection, gift of Mrs. Jane Kelogg Ochsner, Dr. E. W. Alton Ochsner, Jr., Dr. John Lockwood Ochsner, Mrs. Isabelle Ochsner Mann, and Dr. Mims Gage Ochsner, 1983.84.6
The Historic New Orleans Collection, gift of the School of Design, 1979.208.150
“He was a true marketing visionary, always engaging with people,” says Lisa. “Antoine’s quickly became the go-to destination for elegant dining and unforgettable celebrations.” The restaurant’s 1840s room currently displays menus from those Jules-era gatherings.
Although Carnival royalty from Rex, Proteus, and the non-parading Twelfth Night Revelers held formal dinners and meetings at Antoine’s annually, it wasn’t until after the restaurant's first centennial anniversary in 1940 that the first official krewe room came into being.
Roy Alciatore – Blount’s grandfather, 3rd generation Alciatore, and a prominent Rex member – created the first, the much-photographed Rex Room, in 1947 after a request from George H. Terriberry, the 1940 reigning King of Rex.
Today there are four official spaces dedicated to Carnival krewes; the Rex Room, Proteus Room, Twelfth Night Revelers Suite and the Hermes Bar.
The well-known Rex Room is probably the most photographed of Antoine’s krewe-designated dining rooms, an emerald jewel box lined with black and white photographs of krewe kings past. In addition to gold-accented architectural details, the dining room features glass-fronted display cases exhibiting krewe artifacts from dresses and scepters to elaborate, meticulously designed ball invitations and parade throws.
For more than three decades, The Historic New Orleans Collection (THNOC) has curated the Rex collection at Antoine’s, an exhibition currently maintained by Lydia Blackmore, the museum’s Decorative Arts Curator.
“We change the pieces on display every five years,” explains Blackmore. “They're all pieces that were given to us by the School of Design – which is the operating name of the Rex organization – [as well as] many, many other donors who have donated their Rex regalia to us over the years.”
One of the many historic photographs on display at Antoine’s.
With time to kill during the pandemic shutdowns, Lisa helped add to that collection. With help from local culinary icon Poppy Tooker, she tackled an old storage room, a space once used as the restaurant’s laundry facilities. The duo of archivists dug through centuries of Antoine’s memorabilia – some of which was damaged beyond repair by mold, mildew, and pests from Hurricane Katrina.
“I was picking up pictures and documents and it just gnawed at me,” says Lisa. “[I thought] this is just too much, and too important to the family’s history – we can't not keep it.”
Although some of the materials were lost, in the end they were able to save “seventy linear feet” of photographs and documents, all of which was donated to THNOC. The museum is still processing the massive collection, but many of the digitized documents are already available in THNOC’s online database.
The outside of a folded 1882 Rex Invitation, one of many pieces of Mardi Gras memorabilia digitized and archived in the THNOC Williams Research Center’s online database. Historic New Orleans Collection, the L. Kemper and Leila Moore Williams Founders Collection, 1960.14.74
The inside of a folded 1882 Rex Invitation, one of many pieces of Mardi Gras memorabilia digitized and archived in the THNOC Williams Research Center’s online database. Historic New Orleans Collection, the L. Kemper and Leila Moore Williams Founders Collection, 1960.14.74
Carnival memorabilia on exhibit in Antoine’s Restaurant’s historic Rex Room include dozens of ducal decorations worn by the male members of the court from 1946-2000, and a sterling silver commemorative tray presented to Roy C. Alciatore on the special occasion of dedicating the Rex Room in 1942.
A gold lamé gown draws the eye as soon as one walks into the dining room, decked out with a gold metallic lace overdress and hand-beaded with rhinestones, golden bugle beads, and golden sequins. The gown was worn by Shelby Scott Westfeld, who served as the reigning Queen of Rex in 2003 and is a coffee trader for Westfeldt Brothers Inc., the nation’s oldest importer of green coffee.
The Krewe of Rex is comprised of prominent members of the community, and the favors from their annual carnival balls reflect their status and sophistication. Featured in the exhibit are a 1902 letter opener, a 1912 hand mirror, and a 1917 vase, each favor showcasing the timeless elegance of Rex traditions.
Three other spaces in Antoine’s are designated for specific Carnival krewes, each offering their own, krewe-curated exhibits. Named after a shape-changing, Greek god of the sea who can see the future, the Krewe of Proteus’ dining room exhibits embroidered fish taken from a queen’s cape, and sparkling rhinestone tiaras from 1896.
Servers readying the room for a luncheon
Founded in 1870, the Twelfth Night Revelers are a local krewe with roots in Alabama and the second oldest continuously active Carnival organization behind the Mystick Krewe of Comus. At Antoine’s, the krewe hosts annual Carnival luncheons and dinners in a suite of rooms located on the second floor.
Below the replica of a large gold bean or fève won by the Queen of the Twelfth Night Revelers at their annual January 6th bal masque, a large carved wood cabinet displays colorful invitations, tiaras and photographs, plus a small collection of decorative pins given as favors during the ball.
“One krewe member revealed that ladies attending the TNR balls would often wear several of these pins down the back of their gowns, displaying their years of devotion to the krewe.”
In 1937 when the country was still in the grips of the Great Depression, a group of local businessmen formed the Knights of Hermes and hosted a parade the Friday before Mardi Gras, extending the Carnival celebration into five full days of revelry.
The Hermes Bar, a space that is open to the public, premiered at Antoine’s Restaurant in 2009 replete with its own, elegant wooden display cases filled with costume jewelry, photographs, and ball favors, including a small porcelain snuff box, from Carnivals past.
Over the years, Antoine’s Restaurant has become so synonymous with Carnival, that krewes of all shapes and sizes regularly hold luncheons and dinners at the historic restaurant.
"Looking at our reservation list, it’s overwhelming, there are just so many krewes that come here during Carnival,” says Lisa, smiling. “I think much of it has to do with our capacity to host large groups, but also because of the unique spirit of Antoine’s.”
A fold-out invitation in the Rex Room
Antoine’s Restaurant
713 Saint Louis Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 581-4422
antoines.com
Antoine's Hours:
Dinner (Monday-Saturday): 5pm-9pm
Lunch (Mon, Thu & Fri): 10:30am-2pm
Brunch (Sat & Sun): 10:30am-2pm
Hermes Bar:
Mon, Thu, Fri & Sat: Opens at 10:30am
Tue & Wed: Opens at 4:00pm
Sun: 10:30am–3:00pm
*The Hermes Bar and displays within are open to the public during normal business hours. Tours of Antoine’s other dining rooms are occasionally offered to diners when servers or managers have time available. Please contact the restaurant directly for more details.
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