Nola

New Orleans-inspired kitchen on University Avenue with Cajun and Creole classics, craft cocktails, and a lively all-day dining atmosphere.

Nola occupies the historic Pedro de Lemos building of 1908 in downtown Palo Alto, with eight dining rooms across two stories plus an open-air courtyard, an oyster bar, and a streetside parklet. The kitchen serves Southern cooking with New Orleans influences, which the restaurant describes as reflecting the many diverse cultures that have inhabited that city. Greg St. Claire owns the restaurant and Victor Molina is executive chef. Craft cocktails carry a Southern focus, and the building houses what Nola calls one of the largest collections of Southern folk art in the country.