Serving Since

New Orleans

Serving since

1893

133 years in New Orleans

Commander's Palace

Garden District · Creole

Go here for
Turtle soup · Creole bread pudding soufflé
Why go
Turtle soup and bread pudding soufflé at the Garden District restaurant Emile Commander opened in 1893, run by the Brennan family since 1969.
Good to know
Business attire; jackets preferred for men. Collared shirts and closed-toed shoes required. No shorts or t-shirts.
Directions Official website Reservations

Emile Commander founded it in 1893. It was dated 1880 for more than a century until a historian's research of property records, newspapers and city directories corrected it.

Why it matters

Emile Commander founded the restaurant in the Garden District in 1893. It stands at the corner of Washington Avenue and Coliseum Street. Frank and Elinor Moran owned it from 1944.

The Brennan family, then known for Brennan's on Royal Street, bought it in 1969. After a family split in 1973, Ella Brennan and her siblings kept Commander's. Ella hired chef Paul Prudhomme, and the two introduced what they called haute Creole cuisine. Emeril Lagasse later succeeded him in the kitchen.

Ti Adelaide Martin and her cousin Lally Brennan are co-proprietors today. The restaurant has won seven James Beard Foundation Awards.

The story

  1. 1893Emile Commander opens the restaurant3
  2. 1944Frank and Elinor Moran buy it3
  3. 1969The Brennan family buys Commander's Palace3
  4. 1973Family split leaves Ella Brennan and her siblings with Commander's3
  5. TodayStill serving New Orleans

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Notes on the record

  • Commander's Palace was long dated 1880, and some sources still use that year. Later research by a historian found it opened in 1893.
  • The Brennans bought Commander's in 1969; the restaurant's own site dates the family's stewardship from 1974.

Details

Address
1403 Washington Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70130
Neighborhood
Garden District
Ownership
Family-owned
Status
Open · verified Sep 2026

OldScore

A secondary, editorial measure. The founding year above is the fact that matters most. How it works.

Age35/ 35
Continuity—/ 20
Local significance15/ 20
Local food culture15/ 15
Independence—/ 10
OldScoreNot yet scored

"—" means unknown. We don't publish a total until every part is verified.

More like this

Sources

  1. Commander's Palace (official site, About) Ownership, Address, Current status
  2. Commander's Palace (official site, Menus) What to order
  3. Gambit (Blake Pontchartrain), "Blakeview: After 50 years of Commander's Palace" (May 27, 2019) Founding year, History, Ownership
  4. WGNO, "Famed New Orleans restaurant Commander's Palace discovers century-old secret" Founding year, History
  5. Saveur, "At Home With the Brennans" Ownership
  6. NewOrleansRestaurants.com, 'Commander's Palace' review History