Peche

            Peche, one of New Orleans newest and best, seafood restaurants sits tucked away at the corner of Magazine and Julia Streets in New Orleans’ Warehouse District. There are no giant glowing neon signs beckoning tourists inside. No promises of Hurricanes or to-go cups. Instead a simple blue sign hangs on the corner of the building as the giant glass windows (and a helpful set of doors), framed by the brick and wood building exterior, offer a glimpse into the culinary marvel that lies within.  Since chef Donald Link and his chef-partners, Stephen Stryjewski, and Ryan Prewitt opened Peche in the spring of 2013, the restaurant has garnered a slew of awards. In 2014 The James Beard Foundation named Peche the Best New Restaurant in America. Prewitt also received the James Beard Award as the Best Chef in the South. Peche received Four Beans from Brett Anderson, the restaurant reviewer for the New Orleans Times Picayune. Anderson also placed the restaurant on his list of the Top 10 Restaurants of 2014. Bon Appétit Magazine named Peche one of its 50 best new restaurants in America, and the list of accolades goes on and on.

Peche's simple exterior 

            Peche is the latest restaurant in the burgeoning culinary empire of chef Donald Link. Link began his career working as a dishwasher in restaurants at the age of 15. He attended culinary school in California in 1993, and throughout the 1990s alternated between New Orleans—including a 2 year stint as the sous chef at Susan Spicer’s Bayona—and California. In 2000, Link returned to Louisiana permanently, opening his first restaurant, Herbsaint, a French-American bistro. In 2006, he opened, with Stryjewski, Cochon, specializing in Cajun and Southern cooking. Cochon Butcher, nestled just around the corner from its namesake, soon followed. Butcher represents Link’s tribute to Old World butcher and charcuterie shops. It features small plates, sandwiches, and other bar staples. Then most recently he opened Peche, alongside Stryjewski, and Prewitt his former chef-de-cuisine at Herbsaint, this time with a focus on seafood. Along the way, Link has won the James Beard Award for Best Chef in the South in 2007. His restaurants frequently appear on lists of the top restaurants in the United States in major culinary publications like Bon Appetit, Gourmet, and Food and  Wine.  While Link does not have the fame of a Besh or Emeril, the quality of his food and restaurants rivals that of his better known culinary colleagues.

Donald Link: the man behind Peche 

            As a tourist town, New Orleans restaurants rarely enforce strict dress codes and Peche is no different. The restaurant promotes a casual atmosphere. The tables are wooden and unadorned. The servers, mostly hipster types, wear buttoned down shirts and denim aprons. The food comes served in simple plates and bowls. There’s nothing overly elaborate or fancy about Peche and the focus remains firmly fixed on the food. A few weeks ago, we wrote about the time required to create a smooth running restaurant. The staff at Peche functions almost effortlessly. Servers patrol the dining room, keeping an eye on their tables and clearing away plates and silverware, sometimes without guests even noticing—at one point a server refilled my water glass without me noticing. The host station is never unmanned. When the host went to seat a table, one of the other employees shifted over to cover and quickly shifted back once the server was done. This efficient operation stems from the combination of experienced front of house managers, chefs, and owners, and time.

Peche specializes in grilling whole fish

            Peche offers coastal seafood cooked over coals in an open hearth oven. It also has an oyster bar that highlights gulf seafood—as well as from around the rest of the United States. The food at Peche lives up to its promise: fresh seafood prepared in a deceptively simple manner. Flavors at Peche are sharp and clean. On a recent visit, a tuna crudo (a raw preparation of fish) with chilies and sourdough croutons highlighted this approach. The chilies offered spice, the croutons crunch, but the fish remained the star. Delicately fried fish sticks came with a homemade tartar sauce that avoided the heavy cloying texture of so many mass-produced tartar sauces. The smothered catfish was lightly crusted and moist. Catfish is a rather moderately flavored fish, but the accompanying rice and sauce, never overwhelmed it. Softened local shell beans shined alongside some perfectly cooked jumbo shrimp and bacon. The food proved filling and immensely satisfying.

            The food at Peche represents some of the best New Orleans has to offer. It merges expert cooking with the finest local ingredients, and a respect for the history of the region and the food bounty that the Gulf has to offer. We can’t recommend it highly enough.