The 2026 Best of 225 Awards winners

It’s that time of year again—the issue that you’ve been waiting for since last summer. The Best of 225 Awards for 2026 can finally be revealed!

Launched in 2006, Best of 225 is Baton Rouge’s original reader’s choice poll of its kind. It’s a fan favorite that many readers refer to all year as a guide to where to dine, play and shop. This year’s awards include top winners plus runners-up in 73 categories, including a few new categories launched this year in response to reader requests.

Food & Drink winners

People & Entertainment winners

Shopping & Services winners

This is how we do it

Find out how the Best of 225 Awards program works:

1. It starts with nominations. A write-in nomination period was held between Jan. 2 and Jan. 31, 2026. During this time, Capital Region residents were invited to submit their picks for the best businesses, personalities and things to do via a fill-in-the-blank ballot. The entities that received the most nominations in each category were included on the final ballot.

2. Winners are chosen by reader votes. Voting was accessible via the
225batonrouge.com website from Feb. 25 to April 8, 2026. To ensure that voters were legitimate and were residents of the region, they were required to include their addresses and phone numbers (225 area code only, natch!) and were only allowed to vote once in each category.

3. It’s independent of advertising. While companies and organizations are invited to advertise in this special keepsake issue, they do not have an impact on the results of the contest itself. 225’s editorial team abides by strict journalistic ethics and standards, and that means that advertising never influences or determines the subject of any story that we publish—including this one. The proof? There are longtime 225 advertisers who have never won, and there are repeat winners who have not advertised.

This article was originally published in the July 2026 issue of 225 Magazine.