New Iberia is a quiet little town on the banks of Bayou Teche with a big history. Founded by Spaniards in 1779, New Iberia is the only Louisiana city retaining a Spanish name. Later, the French settlers, known as Acadians, settled there after being driven out of their home in Nova Scotia by the British. All the historic markers are in English, Spanish, and French.
The biggest attraction in New Iberia is Shadows-on-the-Teche, an antebellum sugar cane plantation home. It offers tours.
My guide, Adam, was very knowledgeable not only about the history of the Weeks family who built the mansion, but the enslaved people who labored there.
You can take a tour and shop in the onsite store which features its world-famous products marketed under the trade name KONRICO.
Keep reading to find about the seven best New Iberia restaurants!
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The Seven Best New Iberia Restaurants
Victor’s Cafeteria
109 W. Main St., New Iberia, LA 70560
Victor’s is a Cajun breakfast restaurant that is a tradition in New Iberia since 1969. It’s made famous as a favorite breakfast spot of James Lee Burke’s fictional Detective Dave Robicheaux. It’s where Dave often enjoyed breakfast.
The décor alone is reason enough to dine there. Victor’s has a small replica of Dave’s bait shop, which he owned on the side managed by Batist, an African American friend, while Dave was busy solving crimes.
The walls are decorated with plaques, stuffed ducks and fish, and pictures of Burke’s books and movies made from them. One plaque proudly states, “Dave Robicheaux eats here.” Near it, there is a letter from James Lee Burke explaining who Dave is.
I enjoyed a traditional Southern breakfast of eggs, grits, bacon, and biscuits. It was delicious. It’s a cross between a cafeteria and a café.
There is a line of different food choices for either breakfast or lunch displayed behind a glass, but you give your order to a server at the counter.
She gives you a number when you pay and then you take a seat and enjoy your coffee, tea, or soft drink. A server brings out your food and calls out the number to see which table to bring it to.
Bon Creole
1409 E. St. Peter St., New Iberia, LA 70560 // +13373676181
Bon Creole is another restaurant featured in many of Burke’s books. It has a mural that wraps around the outside front and side of the building depicting New Iberia’s seafood.
On the side wall, a giant crawfish holding a fish in its claw loomed over a terrified frog on the bank and a fisherman in a small boat on Bayou Teche.
The front wall displays Bayou Teche with a larger fishing boat tied at a dock beneath a moss-draped oak tree while a Cajun band plays on the banks.
Inside, you order at the counter for the best po’boys and gumbo in New Iberia and they have the awards to prove it.
Dave usually has a shrimp po’boy. I opted for a half-sized shrimp po’boy as well. You need a really big appetite to eat a full-sized one.
The half sandwich was huge and filled with nicely breaded fried shrimp topped off with lettuce and tomatoes and a touch of mayo on fresh po’boy bread. Yummy!
Jane’s Seafood and Chinese Restaurant
1201 Jane St., New Iberia, LA 70560 // +13373655412
Jane’s has been serving Acadiana seafood with a Chinese twist for over 30 years. Khai Tran and his wife Ngoan, who had immigrated from Vietnam in 1982, opened Jane’s in 1991. It’s located on Jane Street, hence the name. It’s still family owned and operated.
They offer a variety of boiled and fried seafood and Chinese food. You can enjoy boiled crawfish, crab, or shrimp. For fried or grilled, they offer platters of either shrimp, oysters, fish, or a combination of all.
They have a large choice of Chinese food ranging from egg rolls to about any dish you want.
Their Stuffed Crab Fingers are a great choice for a light snack. They are crab claws covered with a hearty bread stuffing and fried.
The crab meat is still tender while the stuffing is rich and tasty. Dipped in a slightly spicy sauce, they are delicious.
The atmosphere is modern and bright. There is a well-stocked bar. They are open for dinner only.
Calabria Italian Restaurant
113 E. Main St., New Iberia, LA 70560 // +13376088264
Calabria is relatively new. It opened in November 2020 and offers Acadiana a taste of Italian dining. It’s in a historic building on Main Street that was originally part of the 1777 Spanish Land Grant to François Prévost.
The building dates to around 1890 and became Provost’s Café and Bar in the 1930s. The tiger oak bar dated to the 1890s is still in use.
It was bought and moved by barge down Bayou Teche to Provost’s. In 1994, the building was used as Armand’s Restaurant until 2003, when it became Clementine on Main.
Of course, the bar is the first thing you see on entering. It’s definitely photo-worthy. They painted the walls of the main dining room a glossy red that emphasizes the dark wood bar. There is a second large dining room where there are local artists’ paintings on the walls.
Their menu is large, with a lot of pizza choices, typical Italian dishes like lasagna, cannelloni, manicotti, and Fettuccine Alfredo.
Of course, dessert choices include Cannoli among other sweet treats. I chose the Cheese Ravioli filled with cheese baked in marinara sauce and topped with melted mozzarella cheese. As they would say in Italy, delizioso! Highly recommend this gem among the New Iberia restaurants.
Cane River Pecan Company Pie Bar
254 W. Main Street, New Iberia, LA 70560 // +13375472345
It’s easy as pie to enjoy a sweet treat from Cane River Pecan Company here. You’ll find many pie choices, especially Pecan and Bourbon Pecan, but they also serve sandwiches, soup, salad, ice cream, and my favorite, Pralines. Here’s why it’s one of the best New Iberia restaurants.
On one side of the building is a typical restaurant. You can sit at a table, in the lounge, or at the bar. The other is a shop featuring Cane River Pecan Company items ranging from pecan treats to souvenir items.
Cane River Pecan Company has historical ties with the famous Melrose Plantation in Louisiana’s Natchitoches Parish. Among other crops, Melrose grew pecans.
The plantation was owned by Jady Henry. He was the uncle of brothers Dan and Joe Regard, who founded Cane River Pecan Company in 1969 and opened a small store in Natchitoches to sell the pecans.
It grew and expanded to both a wholesale and retail store that sells its pecan-related items, including my delicious praline.
Meche’s Donuts
403 East St. Peter St., New Iberia, LA 70560 // +13373670726
While your sweet tooth is still front and center, head for Meche’s Donuts for freshly made donuts and pastries. Menche’s Donuts is a small Louisiana chain that began when Ewell Meche bought three doughnut shops in Lafayette in 1970.
Over the years, there have been some family feuds that caused some shops to be sold to investors, but many are still owned by members of the Meche family. This location has been doing business in New Iberia since 1988.
They are known for their kolaches and king cakes as well as the donuts. They’ve been voted New Iberia’s Best King Cakes for 20 years running.
When you enter the bakery with its tables and glass display of donuts and pastries, the sweet smell draws you in.
I was heading out of town and stopped there. Just one look into the display case sold me on the large chocolate Eclair.
I munched on that delicious treat for several miles. By the time I finished and was way out of town, I wished I had bought some more of their goodies. Definitely one of the best New Iberia restaurants.
Conrad Rice Mill
307 Ann Street, New Iberia, LA // +18005513245
You can tour the oldest rice mill in America and visit KONRIKO Company Store next door to sample Wild Pecan Rice or their special taste of the day. Elaine, my guide, took me on a tour of the mill. It began with a video about rice growing.
They often do rice and crawfish farming on the same land in Cajun country. It was fascinating to see equipment that old, that still is used today.
She told me how the trade name “KONRIKO” came about. P.A. Conrad, who began Conrad Rice Mill and Planting Company in 1912, picked Kon for Conrad, RI for rice, and KO for company.
Conclusion: New Iberia Restaurants
A trip to New Iberia is a deep dive into Cajun culture and food. Situated on winding Bayou Teche, it’s a relaxing town to visit as New Iberia has little traffic or parking problems.
They have lots of food festivals, including the Delcambre Shrimp Festival, Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival, World Championship Gumbo Cookoff, and more.
Visiting other destinations in Louisiana? Check out our other delicious guides:
- 10 Best New Orleans Cajun Seafood Restaurants
- 10 Best New Orleans Seafood Restaurants
- 10 Best Shreveport Restaurants
- The 8 Best Lake Charles Casual Dining Restaurants
Kathleen Walls
I’m Kathleen Walls, former reporter for Union Sentinel in Blairsville, GA, currently publisher/writer for American Roads and Global Highways. I live in Middleburg, FL but travel extensively, mainly in the U.S.I’m the author of travel books, Georgia’s Ghostly Getaways, Finding Florida’s Phantoms, Hosts With Ghosts, and Wild About Florida series, and several novels. All available at my site, katywalls.com/.
Publications I write for include Travel the South, Roadtrippers, Travel Awaits, World Footprints, Snowbirds and RV Travelers, Family RVing, Deep South, Florida Country, and more. My photographs appear in many publications. I also do videos.I’m a proud member of International Food, Wine, and Travel Writers (IFWTA), Society of American Travel Writers (SATW), and North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA).
