Café du Monde (New Orleans)

Posted on Tuesday, July 01, 2014 by
Location: New Orleans, USA
Address: 813 Decatur Street
Website: http://www.cafedumonde.com/
Type of Meal: Breakfast or Snack
Café du Monde is not hard to find - just walk along Decatur and look for a bustling patio and you've found it. Luckily, tables turn over quickly or there’s always a takeout option (walk past the patio and look for a line-up by the back of the building).


As a warning, they have a limited menu - there are only beignets and drinks. But, everyone who visits is coming for the pillows of joy, the lovely freshly made French doughnuts that they call beignets. Arriving three to an order ($2.42) my best advice is to plan accordingly … trust me you'll want at least two!

So what makes them so good that a restaurant can sustain itself for over 150 years going head-to-head with the likes of Dunkin Donuts? Well, simply because they are unlike any doughnut I've tried before. They're crispy, light and airy but also has a delightful chewy consistency to them. The closest thing I can compare it to is a cruller mixed with a sweet Chinese fried dough pocket (ham chim peng). Simply dusted with powdered sugar, there's plenty of it on the plate so you can customize the beignet’s sweetness. 



It's the chewiness and all the air pockets in the middle that makes this so good. Of course, constantly being made fresh, due to the popular demand, doesn't hurt either. 



 Intrigued by what chicory would taste like I also tried their cafe au lait ($2.42).  Cafe du Monde's website describes that this endive root as being added to soften the bitter edge of coffee.  I'll admit, the cafe au lait was light and creamy, but I'm not sure if this is attributed to the chicory or merely the whole milk used in the coffee. Nonetheless, you do need something bitter to counteract the sugariness of the doughnut. As a tip, consider getting the coffee in the "iced" form as it will arrive in a plastic cup perfect for taking to go. 


Overall mark - 8.5 out of 10
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Gastro World's Grading System
  • Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
  • 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
  • 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
  • 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
  • 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
  • 10 - absolute perfection!