Holywater Brings an Oyster Bar Home to the French Quarter

The French Quarter has a new oyster bar, and this one comes with a homecoming story. Holywater opened September 23 at 622 Conti Street, from Alex and Miles Pincus — New Orleans natives who built their name in New York with the Crew hospitality group (Grand Banks, the beloved oyster operation aboard a historic schooner on the Hudson).

The room

The space is a former 1800s maritime chandlery, and the bones show it: a multi-level dining room organized around a mahogany-and-brass oyster bar. Gulf seafood meets classical French technique — the through-line of the menu — with the Pincus brothers betting that the Quarter’s dining scene has room for a seafood restaurant that takes itself seriously without taking the fun out of it.

The drinks program leans playful: the Mezcal Hurricane and the Purple Jesus are the early signature sips, riffs on classics with enough of a twist to give the bar its own identity.

The culinary firepower

This isn’t a celebrity-chef vanity project — the kitchen and bar have real credentials behind them. Culinary input comes from James Beard Foundation semifinalist chef Alex Harrell, and the bar program draws on James Beard-winning barman Neil Bodenheimer. That’s a serious bench for a first-week opening, and it signals where Holywater wants to sit in the city’s hierarchy: not a tourist trap, not a precious tasting-menu room, but a proper restaurant.

Why it matters

New Orleans’ restaurant scene has been on a tear, and Holywater is exactly the kind of opening that rewards paying attention early. Operators with a proven New York track record, returning to their hometown with local talent in the kitchen and behind the bar, in a historic Quarter building — that’s a combination that tends to produce the rooms people are still talking about in five years.

The French Quarter oyster bar is a crowded category on paper. In practice, very few do it at this level. Holywater’s bet is that Gulf product, French technique, and a room with real atmosphere is still an underserved combination. We’ll see you at the bar.

The details

• Address: 622 Conti Street, New Orleans (French Quarter)
• Opened: September 23, 2026
• Concept: Oyster bar and restaurant — Gulf seafood, classical French technique
• From: Alex and Miles Pincus (Crew hospitality group, NYC — Grand Banks)
• Culinary team: Chef Alex Harrell (James Beard semifinalist); barman Neil Bodenheimer (James Beard winner)
• Order at the bar: The Mezcal Hurricane, the Purple Jesus
• Instagram: @holywater.nola