Antoine's

Antoine's
Antoine's Restaurant, October 2007
Restaurant information
Established	1840
Food type	Louisiana Creole cuisine
Street address	713 Rue St. Louis (St. Louis Street)
City	New Orleans
State	Louisiana
Country	United States
Coordinates	29°57′24″N 90°04′00″W / 29.956768°N 90.066614°W / 29.956768; -90.066614
Website	Antoine's official website

Antoine's is a Louisiana Creole cuisine restaurant located at 713 rue St. Louis (St. Louis Street) in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It has the distinction of being the oldest family run restaurant in the United States, having been established in 1840 by Antoine Alciatore. A New Orleans institution, it is notable for being the "inventor" of several famous dishes, such as Oysters Rockefeller,Pompano en Papillote, Eggs Sardou and Pigeonneaux Paradis. Antoine's Cookbook, compiled by Roy F. Guste (the fifth-generation proprietor) features hundreds of recipes from the Antoine's tradition. The restaurant is also known for its VIP patrons (including several U.S. presidents and Pope John Paul II).

Antoine's features a 25,000 bottle capacity wine storage and 15 dining rooms of varying sizes and themes, with several featuring Mardi Gras krewe memorabilia. The lengthy menu (originally only in French, now in French and English) features classic French-Creole dishes. By tradition, Antoine's is closed to the general public on Thanksgiving, Christmas and Mardi Gras. The restaurant can be reserved for private parties on these "Closed Days." Advance reservations are required for dining during Mardi Gras and on weekends. The executive chef as of November 2012 is Michael Regua.

Antoine’s was founded by Antoine Alicatore in 1840 and run by the same until 1875. After his death at the age of 55, Julie Freyss Alicatore, his wife, took over while their son Jules Alicatore got culinary training in France. Upon his return in 1887, he took control of the restaurant until 1934. During this time, Jules also acquired property around the original restaurant as it became available, including a former slave quarters and carriage house. Antoine's eventually could accommodate 800 people in its 15 dining rooms. Each dining room was decorated according to a theme, many of the themes referencing a Mardi Gras krewe, such as Rex, Proteus, Twelfth Night or Maison Verte. Later, his son, Roy Alicatore, took over until 1972. After Roy’s death, William Guste Jr. and Roy Guste, both Antoine Alicatore’s great-grandchildren, took over for a brief three years before appointing Roy Guste Jr., who managed the restaurant until 1984. For the next twenty years, between 1985 and 2004, the restaurant would be managed by Bernard “Randy” Guste, Roy Guste Jr.’s cousin. Rick Blount, son of Yvonne Alicatore Blount who is Roy’s daughter, was brought in as owner and manager in 2005 as an attempt to save the restaurant from a critical economic state. Under his management, the restaurant recovered after Hurricane Katrina, and saw to many renovations in its infrastructure, as well as menu changes and changes in the dining rooms.