Lilette

What Lilette does

Lilette is a privately held, single-location French and Italian-inspired fine-dining restaurant located at 3637 Magazine Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, founded in 2001 by Chef John Harris. The restaurant operates out of a late-1800's corner drugstore building with a dimly-lit, wine-colored dining room and an al fresco patio, serving an expertly curated seasonal menu featuring signature dishes such as bouillabaisse and duck confit. Hours run Monday through Saturday (closed Sunday), with dinner service Monday and all-day service Tuesday through Saturday. The core technology is culinary technique — precise French and Italian preparation with premium ingredients — rather than software or automation.

The business generates revenue primarily through dine-in service, supplemented by online ordering and takeaway via the Revelup platform and table reservations managed through Resy. The marketing and distribution footprint is concentrated locally and relies on the website, press coverage in outlets such as Travel + Leisure, Times-Picayune, GOOP, and Food & Wine, and earned media around Chef Harris's credentials (Food & Wine America's Best New Chefs 2002; four-time James Beard finalist for Best Chef South, 2009-2012). Target customers are dining enthusiasts, food lovers, and couples seeking romantic, special-occasion meals in an upscale Uptown setting.

The portfolio extends beyond the flagship restaurant: in 2010, Harris opened Bouligny Tavern in an adjacent century-old New Orleans cottage, offering a mid-century modern bar program with fine wines, classic cocktails, and small plates; in 2015, Chef de Cuisine Edward Charles (made co-owner after 16 years) co-founded Gemellis, a Sunday Italian family-style pop-up operating out of the Lilette kitchen. The company reports 12 employees and is privately held with no disclosed funding, no subsidiaries, and no parent company.

Name

Lilette

Legal name

Lilette

Website

https://liletterestaurant.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lilette is a single-location French and Italian-inspired fine-dining restaurant on Magazine Street in New Orleans, founded in 2001 by Chef John Harris. It serves couples and dining enthusiasts with a curated seasonal menu, complemented by the adjacent Bouligny Tavern and a Sunday Italian pop-up called Gemellis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New Orleans

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Dine-in service: Revenue from serving meals in the restaurant's dining room, including al fresco patio seating
2. Online ordering: Revenue from takeaway/online orders through their Revelup online store platform

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Lilette is a French and Italian-inspired restaurant in New Orleans that serves imaginative, seasonally rotating cuisine in a dimly-lit wine-colored dining room and outdoor patio. The restaurant also offers online ordering for takeaway through the Revelup platform and accepts reservations via Resy. The menu emphasizes precise technique, premium ingredients, and signature dishes such as bouillabaisse and duck confit.

Product overview

Lilette is a single-location French and Italian-inspired restaurant operated by Chef and Owner John Harris. The core offering is an imaginative dining experience at 3637 Magazine Street in New Orleans, featuring a romantic wine-colored dining room and outdoor patio seating. Chef Harris also operates Bouligny Tavern (2010), an adjacent mid-century modern bar with fine wines and small plates. The portfolio includes Gemellis, a Sunday Italian family-style pop-up launched by Chef Ed Charles in 2015. Menus span All Day, Desserts, Cocktails, and Wine offerings, with dishes like bouillabaisse and duck confit as signature items.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Bouligny Tavern: A sophisticated, mid-century modern tavern opened in 2010 by Chef John Harris, located in a century-old New Orleans cottage adjacent to Lilette, featuring diverse offering of fine wines, classic cocktails, and high-end small plates menu.

Products and services

• Lilette Restaurant Dining Experience A French and Italian-inspired dine-in restaurant located at 3637 Magazine Street in New Orleans, featuring a dimly-lit wine-colored dining room, al fresco patio seating, imaginative seasonal cuisine, and signature dishes such as bouillabaisse and duck confit. Targets diners seeking chef-driven fine dining in an Uptown New Orleans setting.
• Lilette Online Takeaway Ordering Takeaway and online food ordering service operated through the Revelup online store platform, allowing customers to order Lilette's French and Italian-inspired cuisine for off-premise consumption.
• Bouligny Tavern A sophisticated, mid-century modern bar and restaurant adjacent to Lilette on Magazine Street, offering a diverse selection of fine wines, classic cocktails, and high-end food service with a sumptuous small plates menu. Operated as a related concept by the same ownership.
• Gemellis Pop-up Restaurant A Sunday pop-up restaurant co-founded by Chef Ed Charles and his twin brother Anthony in 2015, serving regional Italian family-style cuisine at Lilette.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Bouligny TavernminorOthers · 1 January 2010A separate restaurant venture opened by Chef John Harris in 2010 in a century-old New Orleans cottage adjacent to Lilette. Features a sophisticated, mid-century modern vibe with diverse fine wines, classic cocktails, and high-end food service with a small plates menu.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Restaurant August: John Besh's flagship refined-Creole/CBD fine-dining room; competes with Lilette for the same special-occasion guest and trade press visibility in New Orleans.
• Commander's Palace: Iconic Garden District fine-dining restaurant serving elevated French/Creole cuisine in a similarly historic venue; the closest direct comp to Lilette within New Orleans' upscale dining tier, competing for the same celebratory-diner occasion.
• Bayona: Susan Spicer's French Quarter fine-dining restaurant where Chef John Harris trained as Sous Chef; directly comparable French-leaning tasting-menu format and the same local market.
• Herbsaint: Susan Spicer's French/Italian-influenced restaurant in the CBD; directly comparable cuisine palette, wine/cocktail program, and fine-dining price tier to Lilette.
• Gautreau's Restaurant: Uptown New Orleans French-leaning fine-dining restaurant where Chef Harris was Executive Chef before founding Lilette; near-identical cuisine style, neighborhood, and price point.
• Galatoire's: Long-running French-Creole fine-dining institution on Bourbon Street; comparable to Lilette in cuisine lineage, white-tablecloth positioning, and reliance on a single flagship location to anchor the brand.
• Café Amelie: French Quarter courtyard restaurant serving French-influenced fare in a historic setting; comparable romantic, courtyard-driven dining experience and French culinary positioning.
• Coquette: James Beard-recognized contemporary upscale New Orleans restaurant; comparable check size and dinner-occasion guest, and a benchmark for next-generation NOLA fine dining against which Lilette must defend relevance.
• Peche: James Beard award-winning seafood-focused restaurant and a leading example of the newer wave of NOLA upscale dining; comparable price tier and same competitive set for premium New Orleans diners.
• Mr. B's Bistro: French Quarter bistro from the Brennan family serving classic French-Creole cuisine; comparable prix-fixe/menu-driven French fine dining and a similar local-and-tourist guest mix.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lilette

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lilette