Formerly: Manale’s Restaurant
New Orleans, Louisiana · Founded 1913
An Uptown New Orleans Italian-Creole restaurant founded in 1913 and widely credited as the home of the original barbecue shrimp.
Pascal’s Manale began in 1913 as Frank Manale’s corner-grocery-store conversion at Napoleon Avenue and Dryades Street. It later took the name of his nephew Pascal Radosta and became widely associated with New Orleans barbecue shrimp, a 1950s dish whose precise authorship and date remain disputed.
Frank Manale purchased a corner grocery store at Napoleon Avenue and Dryades Street and converted it into Manale’s Restaurant.
Source: Pascal’s Manale, home page; NPR, "Hacking Iconic New Orleans Barbecue Shrimp"
After Frank Manale died, his nephew Pascal Radosta—an early employee, bartender, and manager—became proprietor.
Source: NOLA.com, "See Pascal's Manale through the years"; NPR, "Hacking Iconic New Orleans Barbecue Shrimp"
Pascal’s Manale developed the dish later known as New Orleans barbecue shrimp after regular customer Vincent Sutro described a shrimp dish he had eaten in Chicago. Accounts conflict over the exact year and whether Pascal Radosta or his chef-brother Jake Radosta created the final version.
Source: Biz New Orleans, "Keepers of the Flame"; Rouses, "Barbecue Shrimp"
The DeFelice family sold Pascal’s Manale to Jessica and Ray Brandt.
Source: NOLA.com, "See Pascal's Manale through the years"; Pascal’s Manale, home page
Pascal’s Manale joined Dickie Brennan & Co. and Steve Pettus, beginning its current ownership chapter.
Source: Pascal’s Manale, home page; Biz New Orleans, "Keepers of the Flame"
Pascal’s Manale continues operating at 1838 Napoleon Avenue, with dinner service seven days a week.
Source: Pascal’s Manale, home page
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
NPR, local business reporting, the restaurant, and regional food-history sources consistently credit Pascal’s Manale with originating the dish. Its specific date and individual kitchen creator remain disputed, so the restaurant-of-origin claim is strong but should not be treated as perfectly resolved documentary history.
Some accounts, including the restaurant’s current history, give 1953 and credit Pascal Radosta. Other accounts date the dish to around 1954 or 1955 and say chef Jake Radosta executed the first version after Pascal relayed a customer's description. The exact year and individual attribution remain unresolved.
The restaurant’s official history and NPR both identify Frank Manale as the founder and 1913 as the opening year, when he converted a corner grocery store into Manale’s Restaurant.
The Manale/Radosta/DeFelice family ownership era ended with the 2019 sale to Jessica and Ray Brandt. The restaurant was then acquired by Dickie Brennan & Co. and Steve Pettus in 2023.
Pascal’s Manale is still owned by the founding Manale/Radosta/DeFelice family.
The family ownership era ended with the 2019 sale to Jessica and Ray Brandt. In 2023, Pascal’s Manale joined Dickie Brennan & Co. and Steve Pettus.
Source: Pascal’s Manale, home page; Biz New Orleans, "Keepers of the Flame"
Ray Brands bought Pascal’s Manale in 2019.
The 2019 buyers were Jessica and Ray Brandt.
Source: NOLA.com, "See Pascal's Manale through the years"; Pascal’s Manale, home page
Pascal Radosta conclusively invented barbecue shrimp in 1953.
Pascal’s Manale is widely credited with originating barbecue shrimp in the 1950s, but sources disagree on the year—1953, circa 1954, or 1955—and on whether Pascal Radosta or chef Jake Radosta created the original version.
Source: Biz New Orleans, "Keepers of the Flame"; Rouses, "Barbecue Shrimp"; NoMenu, "Pascal's Manale"
The current restaurant building was built in 1910.
The reviewed sources establish that Frank Manale converted a corner grocery store into a restaurant in 1913. They do not establish when the building itself was constructed.
Source: Pascal’s Manale, home page; NPR, "Hacking Iconic New Orleans Barbecue Shrimp"
The restaurant has remained a neighborhood destination through several family and nonfamily ownership changes, sustained by its Italian-Creole identity, raw-oyster bar, and enduring barbecue-shrimp association. Since 2023, it has operated under Dickie Brennan & Co. and Steve Pettus.
Pascal’s Manale was founded in 1913 by Frank Manale, who converted a corner grocery store at Napoleon Avenue and Dryades Street into Manale’s Restaurant.
The restaurant is widely credited as the birthplace of New Orleans barbecue shrimp. The dish emerged there in the 1950s, but accounts conflict over the exact year and whether Pascal Radosta or his chef-brother Jake created the first version.
Pascal’s Manale joined Dickie Brennan & Co. and Steve Pettus in 2023. The exact legal operating entity and ownership percentages were not established in the sources reviewed.
No. Frank Manale originally called the restaurant Manale’s. After Frank died in 1937, his nephew Pascal Radosta took over, and by the 1950s the restaurant was known as Pascal’s Manale.
1838 Napoleon Ave, New Orleans, LA 70115
(504) 895-4877
Pascal’s Manale is on Napoleon Avenue in Uptown New Orleans. Its official site lists dinner seven days a week and promotes its raw-oyster bar and original barbecue shrimp. Confirm reservations, bar availability, and current hours directly before visiting.