Look Around Morrow Steak, New Orleans’s Vibiest Restaurant Yet

Inside Morrow Steak.

It’s barely been open a month, but Morrow Steak is already drawing famous diners. Megan Thee Stallion capped off a tour stop in New Orleans in June at the Larry Morrow-owned restaurant, solidifying the luxe new steakhouse as the city’s top new see-and-be-seen destination.

There’s more to Morrow Steak (1003 Julia Street) than extravagant decor and famous customers, however. It’s the fourth restaurant from Morrow, a New Orleans-born entrepreneur who has successfully intertwined nightlife, family recipes, and design inspiration from his Black and Korean heritage to create hotspots with soul. It follows up the debut of Sun Chong last year, a French Quarter stunner known for gumbo dumplings and seafood ramen pasta. In 2022 he opened Monday, an outdoor-centric brunch favorite that gained traction for its Keith Lee-approved sweet potato beignets. And it all began in 2018 with Morrow’s, a Marigny restaurant that still draws a line snaking down the sidewalk for dinner.

There has been one main theme coursing through them all: family. Morrow partnered with his mother, Lenora Chong, on the first restaurant, which was built around her recipes that meld New Orleans and Korean flavors. Sun Chong is dedicated to his grandmother, who helps lead the kitchen and developed many of its Asian ingredient-influenced recipes. Morrow Steak is the first slight departure from that script, a lavish steakhouse and sushi restaurant that doesn’t so much evoke comfort as it does glamour.

“It was time to shake it up,” Morrow tells Eater. “We wanted to challenge ourselves to create something less casual and more elevated.”

Morrow is channeling the energy of places like Dubai, Tokyo, Miami, and Los Angeles, aiming to redefine destination dining in a city where tradition and history rule. “Coming from nightlife and being a promoter in the past, I like to incorporate that DNA into what we do, creating an experience within a restaurant,” says Morrow. That goal feeds into an even more ambitious one: to be the largest Black-owned hospitality group in the region and, eventually, the country.

The kitchen at Morrow Steak is led by chefs Jordan Lindsey and Vernell Gibson, formerly of Martin Wine Cellar and Ruth’s Chris, respectively. And while top-notch cuts of steak — New York strip, tomahawk, filet, porterhouse, and ribeye, specifically — are a draw, seafood and sushi are an equal focus here, as are the cultural mashups Morrow’s restaurants have become known for, like turducken potstickers and wagyu tacos. Specialty sushi rolls incorporate truffle lobster and wagyu (in the Surf and Turf Roll) or Hokkaido scallops and foie gras (the Hokkaido Roll), which are also combined in the form of nigiri. The crab cakes, set atop a charred corn relish and citrus tarragon aioli, and the double bone-in pork chops with a pineapple citrus soy marinade, have been big hits so far, says Morrow. There are classic sides with an upscale twist, like the fully loaded baked potatoes with an option to add caviar; crawfish and crabmeat mac and cheese; and white asparagus.

Sliced tomahawk.

Parker bread.

The Hokkaido Roll; Surf and Turf Roll; Mardi Gras shrimp, tomato bruschetta, kale and wedge salads; and ube cheesecake.

Unsurprisingly, Morrow has more in the works. He’s expanding Morrow’s footprint on St. Claude Avenue and opening Spicy Mango, his first Caribbean fusion restaurant, later this year on Frenchmen Street. For now, though, Morrow is enjoying the moment. “It’s amazing to be acknowledged for what you’re doing,” he says. “The whole purpose is to create a legacy and generational wealth. Being able to change the lives of those within your family and not just yourself — it’s bigger than what most people can understand.”

Look around Morrow Steak, now open at 1003 Julia Street from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., Wednesday through Monday.

The bar at Morrow Steak.