Inside a 19th-century brick building on Iberville Street, three former colleagues have spent the past year building something the French Quarter didn't have: a French bistro where breakfast runs $10 to $20 and happy hour wine costs five bucks a glass. Izzat, at 407 Iberville St., opened about a year ago and now serves breakfast, lunch and dinner daily out of a tiny open kitchen tucked behind big windows and high ceilings.
The restaurant is the work of three co-owners — Indian chefs Omkar Patil and Abhijeet Patil, who are not related, and Korean American filmmaker Ji Un Choi. All three previously worked together at a large fast-casual restaurant in the Central Business District, with Choi serving as an owner there and the two Patils working as general managers, according to NOLA.com. Both Patils trained in French culinary technique at culinary school in India, a foundation that now shapes Izzat's entire menu. Choi told the outlet the trio saw a gap in the neighborhood: the French Quarter, she said, was lacking an affordable French bistro, and the restaurant's name — a word representing honor and reputation in Hindi, Arabic and Urdu — reflects the partners' intent to operate honorably with each other and with guests.
Choi brings a different résumé to the table than her chef-partners. Festival Scope Pro lists her film work. She told NOLA.com that the goal at Izzat is recognizable, approachable food that showcases the chefs' technique rather than obscures it.
A Former Pizza Shop Gets a Weekend Makeover
The space itself carries its own layered history. The three-story Italianate Victorian brick building at 401–407 Iberville St. was designed by Louisiana architect Thomas Sully and originally served as brokerage offices for Samuel Delgado and his nephew Isaac Delgado, the founder of the New Orleans Museum of Art, according to the Preservation Resource Center of New Orleans. The structure sits directly behind the historic U.S. Custom House. The Historic New Orleans Collection page also cites the Louisiana Maritime Museum at 201 N. Peters St., situated directly across N. Peters Street from the Custom House.
Before Izzat moved in, the storefront was occupied by Papa's Pizza, a long-running fast-casual pizzeria and sub shop, per the same Preservation Resource Center account. The co-owners renovated the interior themselves over two months of weekends, transforming the former pizza shop into a bistro with about 50 seats, including outdoor sidewalk seating, a tiny open kitchen, high ceilings and big windows.
From Poached Eggs to Moules Frites
Izzat serves breakfast until 2 p.m., with dishes like omelets loaded with ham, cheese and vegetables, poached eggs Sardou with spinach and artichokes, and pain perdu topped with whipped cream and fruit, according to NOLA.com. The sourdough underpinning much of the menu comes from Ayu Bakehouse, a Marigny bakery that opened in June 2022 at 801 Frenchmen St. by alumni of New York's Breads Bakery, known for blending classic French baking technique with regional New Orleans flavors, per Pastry Arts Magazine.
Lunch and dinner lean into bistro staples: salads, sweet and savory crepes, sandwiches, and Lyonnaise potatoes on the side. The menu also includes a Monte Cristo built from grilled French toast, ham and cheese, avocado toast with radish and onion, a Croque Madame topped with a fried egg, a Croque Monsieur with ham, cheese and béchamel, and a French dip finished with beef jus. Heavier plates include steak frites with slow-roasted rib-eye, jus and house-made shoestring fries, grilled salmon with lemon caper sauce and vegetables, French onion soup under melted Gruyère, and moules frites served in a garlicky wine sauce.
Happy hour runs daily from 2 to 6 p.m., with house wine at $5, beers at $4, and two mimosas for $16 — pricing that fits the trio's stated mission of keeping French technique accessible rather than precious. Ahead of the 2025 holiday season, Izzat planned to join New Orleans' Réveillon dining tradition, a 19th-century Creole holiday custom revived by local restaurants, with dishes like Chicken Cordon Bleu and Pot-au-Feu, according to French Quarterly.
Operating in a Neighborhood With Steep Overhead
Running a bistro in the Vieux Carré can involve regulatory layers. The neighborhood also faces financial pressures beyond operating costs.
Nearby infrastructure work has added further strain on Quarter merchants. In July 2026, the City of New Orleans distributed $97,500 in emergency stabilization grants to 26 French Quarter businesses hit by prolonged construction, according to WWL-TV. Despite that backdrop of rising taxes and construction disruption, NOLA.com describes Izzat as thriving, with tourists praising the scratch kitchen and its affordable, non-fried menu. The restaurant is open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and can be reached at (504) 513-4128.
