OysterNight 2026: A Good Idea Keeps Growing

It’s amazing how a good idea sparks not just more good ideas, but can also leave people wondering, “How have we not done this before?”

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That’s the general consensus behind Chefs Brigade’s third OysterNight, which took place May 14 across the New Orleans Metro Area, including Northshore and Baton Rouge restaurants for the first time - exploding across four parishes. Since the first OysterNight Super Bowl week in February of 2025, the number of participating restaurants has more than doubled to nearly 100, where business was brisk with many places selling out of oysters early with diners using the interactive map to plot their own unique OysterNight OysterCrawls, trying out the various dishes and celebrating Gulf Coast Oysters. 

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Speaking of OysterCrawls, Greg Reggio, Zea’s owner and legendary local restaurateur, designed his own. During a conversation with Chefs Brigade’s Executive Director Troy Gilbert, Reggio almost immediately began formulating an OysterCrawl complete with luxury buses, complimentary drinks and a restaurant tour. 

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Within a few days, Reggio had solidified his plan: securing oysters courtesy of P&J’s Oysters, reserved the buses, sold out OysterCrawl tickets and plotted a course that included Zea’s, Rosedale’s, Parkway Bakery & Tavern, Katie’s and The Bell.

Reggio has been a part of the New Orleans culinary scene for many years, and has seen food fads come and go–sun dried tomato foam, anyone?--and he knows what will live forever in the hearts of diners.

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“When you look at what is unique to Louisiana–and we have so much in terms of culture, music and food– and I think the oyster is part of that,” Reggio says. “I’ve eaten oysters from all over the world and there’s nothing like Louisiana's Gulf Coast oysters. And then you see that there are different flavors, different merroir. Like some people will only eat from Area 13 for instance and now you also have off-bottom oysters. I think OysterNight will just keep growing.” 

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This latest rendition supports Reggio’s forecast.

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Throughout May 14, day and night, excited restaurants were reporting to Gilbert how well OysterNight was going. Here is a small sample of those results. 

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   * Garden District’s Miel Brewery and Taproom spotlighted Après Vous Pop-up Rawbar featuring Brightside Oyster Co. and quickly sold out.

   * Uptown’s Cooter Brown’s had a line of diners out the door, and offered wild-caught oysters (Area 3 to be specific) and off-bottoms from Murder Point Oysters. 

   * CBD’s Luke sold a record 350 plates of wild-caught oysters.

   * Mid-City’s Cafe Degas sold out of Eagle Point Off-Bottom Oysters.

   * Katie’s created a crispy fried oyster taco with P& J wild-caught oysters and were “slammed” all night.  

   * Northshore’s Hampshire created three distinct dishes–Deviled Oysters - cornmeal crusted oysters on creamy deviled eggs with a Creole tomato glaze & chicken

     cracklings;  Cast Iron Baked Oysters with Applewood bacon & bourbon served with buttered French bread; and fresh wild-caught oysters on the half shell with a red

     wine mignonette, horseradish, and Bloody Mary cocktail sauce–and were packed with hungry OysterNight diners.

As in past OysterNights, Chefs Brigade partnered with Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL) to recycle oyster shells. CRCL’s Oyster Shell Recycling Program, which takes restaurant’s discarded shells and recycles them to be used for restoring Louisiana’s eroding coastline. OysterNight 2026 produced  eight tons of shells, which will become part of CRCL’s ongoing oyster reef restoration projects. 

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OysterNight also produced a dynamic duo of oyster superheroes, Greta Reid (aka Greta's Sushi) and NOLA Oyster Queen and Oyster Sommelier Lindsay Allday. The two teamed up at The Tell Me Bar with Greta serving her superpowered Gulf Oyster Nigiri with yellow ponzu, lemon and grated wasabi while Allday kept Greta well supplied with off-bottom Brightside Oysters while also managing to sling Half-Shell Vodka oyster shooters.

Reid reports hearing a constant chatter of people talking about OysterNight, and how they were planning to hit a bunch of places for the “Protein that Built New Orleans.” Turns out they had to move on because by 8:30 pm Greta and Lindsay ran out of oysters.

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“Oh yeah, we sold out,” Greta says. “OysterNight was the busiest night we’ve ever had. It was insane.”

Gilbert couldn’t agree more with Reggio’s assessment that OysterNight will continue to grow and not just in New Orleans. Gilbert has been exploring and recruiting restaurants on the Mississippi Coast to build OysterNight ~ Mississippi Coast, including coastal towns like Bay St. Louis, Pass Christian, Ocean Springs and Biloxi, and restaurateurs have been extremely receptive. 

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Gilbert isn’t surprised by the enthusiasm, and he sees OysterNight as another tool for advancing Chef Brigade’s mission of connecting, organizing and educating. Organizing OysterNight has meant showcasing the oyster’s incredible culinary versatility and its different forms: traditional wild-caught and the off-bottom variety. Plus, it connects restaurants with the oyster fishers and the growing number of off-bottom oyster farmers. And it’s an easy way to educate the public.

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“I like to think of it as Chefs Brigade helping to set the table,” Gilbert says.”We’re organizing and connecting the restaurants and the oyster community. And when the diners arrive, that’s an opportunity to educate them about oysters, how they’re produced and harvested, and how they play a role in coastal restoration. And it all takes place as the diners are enjoying a great meal.”

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