French Quarter Journal

View Original

Awakening the Holidays: The Réveillon Tradition in New Orleans

Michael Warner

Réveillon dinner 2022 at Antoine’s Restaurant

Awaken your spirits and your palate with this year’s Réveillon, a timeless French celebration during the holidays.

- by Michael Warner and Kim Ranjbar

Tours de granit, clochers rustiques
Jettent au ciel leur carillon;
L’Eglise chante des cantiques,
Les gréviers font le réveillon.


Granite towers, rustic church bells
Send skyward their carillon;
The church sings hymns,
The longshoremen celebrate Réveillon.

--François Barrillot
L’Avant-Coureur, newspaper of Lucy, Louisiana, December 25, 1869

Huitre en coquille. Turtle soup. Cream of asparagus. Baked red snapper with hollandaise sauce. Roast turkey. Salmi of duck. Ham with champagne sauce. Filet mignon. New potatoes. Baked cauliflower. Maque choux. Plum pudding with brandy sauce. Chocolate éclairs. This is the feast of Réveillon.

The New Orleans tradition of Réveillon began centuries ago in France. Families coming home from Christmas Eve midnight mass would sit up through the early morning hours until dawn, and share a celebratory holiday meal.

The name itself is derived from the French verb, réveiller, meaning to waken. Even today, many French celebrate Réveillon with a midnight supper, followed on Christmas morning by a banging of pots and pans in the open air.

Of course, the Creoles brought this tradition with them when New Orleans was settled, adapting the menu to local resources. As late as the first decades of the 20th century, New Orleans restaurants and hotels advertised lavish Réveillon menus.

And what a feast! With extended families around the table, chefs served as many as ten courses of soups, seafood, meats and vegetables, always capped with a pastry for dessert. In 1895, even the warden of Parish Prison published their reprobate guests’ menu, which included a serving of bottled beer.

But the celebration nearly disappeared after the first quarter of the 20th century, as the traditional Creole population in New Orleans came into decline. It was not until 1985, following the first French Quarter Festival, that the tradition was re-invented by a handful of Quarter businesses and residents. It grew over the next four decades as part of the effort to tie together a range of Louisiana holiday celebrations: carols in Jackson Square, bonfires along the Mississippi River, the lighting of the oak trees in City Park, and Réveillon menus.

Most of the following Réveillon dinners are offered, as is the tradition, on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, but be sure to check with the restaurant when making your reservations. To officially take part in Réveillon Tradional, restaurants must offer a minimum of 4 courses and maximum of 8, with up to 4 menu items per course that all contain ingredients that would have been available to a Creole family during the 1800s.

Not long ago, an additional category was added permitting a more contemporary interpretation of the tradional menu, where the prix fixe menu with the same size requirements must offer dishes that all incorporate new and innovative food products, trends and techniques such as molecular gastronomy, deconstruction of the classics, small shared plates and nouvelle cuisine.

Crème brûlée from Tujague’s, photo by Sam Hanna

Tujague's Restaurant – Réveillon Traditional – (tujaguesrestaurant.com), in its new location at 429 Decatur Street (504- 525-8676), is continuing their long tradition of celebrating Réveillon this year. Even though it's moved down the block, Tujague's remains a destination for dining and one of the French Quarter's most venerated restaurants.

On Christmas Eve, Executive Chef Gus Martin is presenting a traditional, four-course, prix fixe menu featuring dishes such as an oyster pan roast, shrimp and goat cheese crepes, grilled double pork chop with oyster dressing and a rosemary reduction, and crème brulee.

Smoked Oyster Velouté at Antoine’s Restaurant

Antoine's Restaurant – Réveillon Traditional – (antoines.com), at 713 St. Louis Street (504-581-4422), has likely celebrated Réveillon longer than any other restaurant in the Vieux Carre, considering it was founded over 180 years ago in 1840. Even though their Réveillon menu is not available on Christmas Eve or New Years Eve, you can enjoy Antoine's special four-course, prix fixe menu the rest of December which includes dishes like bacon boursin vol au vent; smoked oyster velouté; paneed Gulf fish; and satsuma pot de creme.

Palace Cafe – Réveillon Traditional – (palacecafe.com), long at the edge of the French Quarter at 605 Canal Street (504-523-1661), is one of several of the famed Dickie Brennan restaurants in the city. The atmosphere at this iconic New Orleans restaurant is unlike any other as it's housed it what was formerly the historic Werlein's music store.

Sit by one of the soaring windows and watch the red Canal street cars rumble by as you enjoy a traditonal Réveillon feast featuring roasted beet salad with Creole-spiced pecans and tangy feta, seafood velouté with Gulf oysters and a savory pastry crust, seared duck breast in a red wine demi-glace, and their famous white chocolate bread pudding draped in a warm white chocolate ganache.

Fried Oyster Chowder at Muriel’s Jackson Square

Muriel's Jackson Square – Réveillon Traditional – (muriels.com), located right on Jackson Square at 801 Chartres Street (504-568-1885), resides in what was, for a time, the private residence of Julien Poydras, delegate to the Louisiana State Senate (1809-1811). After an extensive restoration in 2001, Muriels opened for business and has remained a popular dining desitination for locals and visitors alike. Executive Chef Erik Veney has created a tradional holiday menu featuring fried oyster chowder with leeks and bacon, local satsuma salad with vanilla bean dressing, wood-grilled venison in a port-currant reduction, and a classic French bûche de Noël – a chocolate roulande with chocolate mousse, raspberry preserves, ganache and crème anglaise.

Seared Haumi with persimmon gastrique at 3rd Block Depot Kitchen + Bar

3rd Block Depot Kitchen + Bar – Réveillon Contemporary – (3rdblockdepot.com), inside the W Hotel at 310 Chartres Street (504-552-4095), is a relatively new restaurant in the French Quarter and as such, it seems appropriate they're offering a contemporary-style Réveillon menu. Diner can expect an eclectic mix of culinary influences course by course with dishes like seared haloumi with persimmon gastrique, traditional Cajun-style gumbo, grilled ribeye with miso parsnips and potato hash, and chicory coffee brigadeiros with blood orange gelee.

Other French Quarter restaurants serving Réveillon dinners:

But gracious eating is not the only opportunity offered by the season. Be sure to visit Celebration in the Oaks: the beloved lighting of the oaks in City Park, now through January 1, 2023 at New Orleans City Park. Both driving and walking tours are available. Call for more information at 504-482-4888 or visit oline at celebrationintheoaks.com.

  • A Swinging Christmas. Singing by the Victory Belles in “Louisiana Christmas Day” at the National WWII Museum, 945 Magazine Street now through December 23rd for lunch buffet matinees. nationalww2museum.org

  • Running of the Santas. On December 10th, participating Santas will “RUN” from the “South Pole- Mannings” to the “North Pole – Generations Hall” (only a few blocks). The “Runners” will assemble on Lafayette Street at the corner of South Peters. Runningofthesantas.com

  • St. Louis Cathedral Choir and Orchestra Concert. Sunday, December 18th at 5:30pm. Stlouiscathedral.org

  • Candlelight Christmas Caroling in Jackson Square. December 18th at 7pm.

  • Luna Fete. December 15th-18th, 6pm to 10pm nightly. New Orleans' annual festival of light, art and technology happening this year at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center Pedestrian Park. Lunafete.com

  • PRC Holiday Home Tour. Presented by McEnery Residential, this year's tour on December 10th + 11th will offer a tour of the interiors and grounds of six stunning private homes, and one bonus property all dressed up for the holidays in the historic Garden District. Prcno.org

  • NOLA Christmasfest. Celebrate Christmas in New Orleans from December 21st to the 30th at the New Orleans Convention Center featuring almost 300,000 square feet of rides, giant ice slides, an ice skating rink and lots of holiday décor and cheer. Nolachristmasfest.com