re: What are the best restaurants in New Orleans?

Trying to get a handle on what you're looking for.
Cajun, Creole, near the Quarter, but also the best restaurants in New Orleans. Casual, but one nice dining experience? No budget.

The time of your visit could affect availability or urgency in making reservations. When are you going?

New Orleans isn't a Cajun City. However, if you're looking for Cajun fare, you could try Bon Ton (only open on weekdays) for dishes like crawfish etouffee and crawfish bisque which is very good and more traditional. Also, K-Paul's and Cochon might be good options for you. You might enjoy R'evolution which has some Cajun inspired dishes, but less of them than the others. That would be a nice dining experience.Not all of them are in the Quarter, but close enough.

You might enjoy Mr B's in the Quarter for gumbo and BBQ shrimp. Stanley for breakfast or lunch in the Quarter.

Peche is a hot restaurant for seafood right now. It's not Cajun or Creole, but it's excellent and worth a trip. Its certainly considered one of the best for what it is and, as mentioned, has received Beard awards in the last year.

For traditional old New Orleans fare that's very good, try Galatoire's or Arnaud's and get the oysters rock at G's or the oysters Arnaud at Arnaud's, plus shrimp remoulade and dishes such as those which are typical old New Orleans dishes.

Lots of folks recommend Coop's if you want jambalaya and the like. I've not eaten there, so I can't comment on the quality. I'm not looking for jambalaya in New Orleans. It's casual.

You also might enjoy NOLA as has been suggested.

Some of the best restaurants in the city would be:
August
Gautreau's
Herbsaint
Commander's

Take a look at the menus of the restaurants suggested and you may find what you're looking for. We also don't know how many meals you're looking for or which meals.