The holy, semi-religious offering that is the In-N-Out cheeseburger aside, the greatest culinary gift the US has given the world is Creole cuisine. Born of both struggle and optimism in complicated, brilliant Louisiana, it’s a food impossible to separate from its knotty history. Here, humming gumbo, lacquered shrimp creole and creamy seafood etouffee provide a direct link to French colonial influences alongside the culinary heritage of slaves from west Africa, as well as Caribbean, Native American, Spanish, and German communities in the bustling port city of New Orleans.
Due to such deep geographical ties, Creole cuisine – and its sizzling southern neighbour Cajun cooking – is hard to come by in the UK, with only pop-up arch party kings Decatur and Islington’s Plaquemine Lock coming anywhere close to nailing the giddy, vital punch of southern flavour.
A po’boy transmogrified into a saucy little eclair, stuffed with crunchy fried oysters and a mayo that zings satisfactorily with the Louisiana lifeblood that is Crystal hot sauce
Louie, named in honour of New Orleans native and jazz zaddy Louis Armstrong, is a relative outlier, the only central London restaurant dedicated to serving southern-style plates. It’s a swish, camera-ready joint, taking up the plumb four story townhouse once home to L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon and next door to the original Ivy. Here the main dining room has shades of New Orleans’ more old-school joints – crisp white tablecloths, soft, carpeted floors and a curvy circular bar set to the side. It attracts a glammy, preened crowd – Rihanna celebrated her birthday here not long ago – though launch chef Slade Rushing, a Mississippi-born Paul Prudhomme fanboy who previously plied his trade at Brennan's fine dining spot in the French Quarter, has now moved on.
Under a new head chef, the menu is unfussed with keeping things traditional. Here, a po’boy transmogrified into a saucy little eclair, stuffed with crunchy fried oysters and a mayo that zings satisfactorily with the Louisiana lifeblood that is Crystal hot sauce. The real deal is a heavy beast of a baguette, best eaten at midnight on the stoop of a Royal Street deli with a plastic cup of sazerac by your side and a Tom Waits song playing in your head. A po’boy is not restaurant food, it is the very epitome of street food – in that it is food you should eat on the street. This more refined take works much better on a porcelain plate and you get two of them, which should make the £16 price tag smart a little less. A corn and white crab cake too was also a toothsome treat, served with a sauce made up of the southern trinity of onions, bell peppers and celery, and a pool of lobster aioli.
Tradition was also skewered for a main of beans and rice with meaty bbq shrimp. Usually served over a bed of rice, here were rice crackers instead, which, though tasty, gave the thin stew studded with hunks of smoked bacon nothing to really soak into. A perfectly tender smoked rack of lamb meanwhile came with a matcha and herb crust and a creamy, gleaming sweet potato and truffle gratin.
Louie might not be the paragon of classic New Orleans cookery, but they’re more than happy doing things a little differently.
The vibe A dressed-up, influencer-friendly New Orleans-style dining room in Covent Garden.
The food Creole and cajun cookery with a series of contemporary Euro twists.
The drink Cocktails are a serious strong point; Nana’s Good Soup is a just-frothy-enough tequila, mezcal and tomato concoction, while the elegant Charles comes with lemon myrtle-infused gin and absinthe vermouth.
Time Out tip The oyster po’boy eclair is a must order and comes with two on the plate, perfect for twosing with a pal.