Galatoire's

Galatoire's
The first floor dining room of Galatoire's.
Restaurant information
Established	1905
Head chef	Michael Sichel
Food type	Louisiana Creole cuisine
Dress code	Galatoire's dress code is business casual for lunch. No shorts or t-shirts. Jackets are required for gentlemen starting at 5 p.m. nightly and all day Sunday.
Street address	209 Bourbon Street
City	New Orleans
State	Louisiana
Postal/ZIP code	70119
Country	United States
Coordinates	29°57′18″N 90°04′08″W / 29.95495°N 90.069004°W / 29.95495; -90.069004
Website	Official Site

Galatoire's is a restaurant at 209 Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.

Jean Galatoire, an immigrant from a small village near Pau, France, in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains, established a "saloon on Canal Street" in 1896. In 1905, Galatoire purchased Victor’s Restaurant, in business at the location since the mid-1800s. Galatoire renamed the restaurant and began cooking the dishes from his homeland. The restaurant is run by his fourth-generation descendants. Galatoire’s specializes in French Creole cooking. The main entrance, a French door, leads into the first-floor dining room. The first-floor dining room is a mix of high ceilings, slow-moving paddle fans, and mirrored opposing walls, maintaining much of the look of a mid-19th century restaurant. The second-floor dining rooms, opened in 1999, comprise smaller rooms overlooking Bourbon Street. At lunch, men may dress casually, although after 5:00 PM, and all day on Sundays, men must wear a jacket.

In 2004, Galatoire's was cited by the James Beard Foundation as the "outstanding restaurant" in America.

Until 1999, the restaurant did not accept reservations, leaving patrons to stand in long lines on the Bourbon Street sidewalk. With the addition of the second-floor dining rooms and bar, standing on Bourbon Street is only needed for first-floor dining room seats, which are still always on a first-come-first-served basis. Exceptions to their first-come-first-served policy have never been allowed. According to the restaurant:

Most of the waiters are long-time employees who are professionals and local to southern Louisiana.

In 2005 a second restaurant, Galatoire's Bistro, opened just off Interstate-10 on the southern fringe of Baton Rouge.