The High Hat Cafe has been a fixture on Freret Street since June 2011, set in the old Long's Bakery building at the corner of Freret and Jena, one block Uptown from Napoleon Avenue. It's a casual neighborhood spot built around Louisiana and Southern cooking.
Catfish is the anchor of the menu — U.S. farm-raised by house policy — with Smoked Roasted Chicken, BBQ Shrimp, Slow Roasted Pork, and Fresh Gulf Fish in support, and shrimp sourced from local waters. Pimento cheese, a burger, strawberry pie, red beans and rice, poboys, and boudin round out the table, alongside a full bar and wine list, local draft beers, and cocktails.
In mid-2023, ownership passed to Ryan Iriarte, the restaurant's original manager and resident mixologist, and his childhood friend Chef Fredo Nogueira.
The restaurant was a James Beard Foundation Best Chef semifinalist in 2022, and NOLA.com's Where NOLA Eats named it among the city's best in 2025.
Catfish is the anchor of the menu — U.S. farm-raised by house policy — with Smoked Roasted Chicken, BBQ Shrimp, Slow Roasted Pork, and Fresh Gulf Fish in support, and shrimp sourced from local waters. Pimento cheese, a burger, strawberry pie, red beans and rice, poboys, and boudin round out the table, alongside a full bar and wine list, local draft beers, and cocktails.
In mid-2023, ownership passed to Ryan Iriarte, the restaurant's original manager and resident mixologist, and his childhood friend Chef Fredo Nogueira.
The restaurant was a James Beard Foundation Best Chef semifinalist in 2022, and NOLA.com's Where NOLA Eats named it among the city's best in 2025.