Growing up on Kingsway Drive in Gretna in the ’80s, chef Ashwin Vilkhu fondly remembers his family dinners. “We love Indian food, and we love Asian food,” he says. “We are drawn to vibrant dishes, Wok cooking, explosions of flavor. That’s what I grew up with.” Enter: The Kingsway in New Orleans, a brand new restaurant that celebrates those memories.
You probably know Vilkhu and his family from the beloved modern Indian restaurant across the street, Saffron NOLA. It was a James Beard semifinalist for Best New Restaurant the year after it opened in 2017. He’s the co-executive chef there along with his dad Arvinder Vilkhu, but at The Kingsway, he’s branching out on his own.
Expect a four-course tasting with some of Vilkhu’s favorite dishes reimagined and a deeply personal restaurant that showcases memories everywhere from the plates on your table to the photos on the walls.
Read on for how to have the best time at The Kingsway in New Orleans, and book your seat on OpenTable.
What to eat
The four-course tasting lets you pick from multiple dishes for each course. Start with the tuna solera, a flattened disk of sticky rice topped with thinly sliced Gulf yellowfin and a housemade chile sauce of local red chiles and peppercorns.
Next up, get the salt baked shrimp that comes with a cabbage slaw. It’s a nod to one of the Vilkhu family’s favorite restaurants, the Gretna spot Kim Son, which closed in 2018. “It was a fusion of Chinese and Vietnamese food,” Vilkhu says. “We went there for 25 years.”
You can’t go wrong with any of the showstoppers on the next course. The Peking-style duck breast a l’orange with crispy golden skin is a highlight. “We lacquer it with an orange reduction, so it’s a French meets Asian dish,” Vilkhu says.
There’s also an a la carte menu for those eating at the bar or outdoors.
What to drink
The drinks menu continues this celebration of Asian ingredients. Try one of the cocktails from bar manager Colin Williams’s menu. The namesake The Kings Way is a spin on a gin martini with an Asian pear cordial. Or go for the Night Market with black sesame-infused gin and fish sauce. Sommelier Taylor Adams’s wine list focuses on Old World wines that pair with the food. There’s also a non-alcoholic section with Chinese and Taiwanese teas and the Vilkhu family chai with cardamom, ginger, and fennel.
Where to sit
New Orleans firm FAROUKI FAROUKI created an elegant space with an earthy palette that seats 65 in the main dining room, 30 outside, and 10 at the bar. Ask to sit closer to the entrance if you want views of Magazine Street or request table 18 for a bird’s eye view of the dining room. Look out for the wall of family photos, including a photo of the chef as a young boy cooking with his dad.
When to go
The restaurant is open Tuesday through Thursday from 5 pm to 9:30 pm and Friday and Saturday from 5 pm to 9:45 pm. Reservations open daily at midnight for the following 30 days.
Beth D’Addono is a food and travel writer based in New Orleans. She’s covered the hospitality, creativity, and quirkiness that is NOLA’s dining scene for USA Today and AAA Traveler, and her latest book is City Eats New Orleans.
