what we’re all about
The Crustacean Club is the dream restaurant of husband and wife Chefs Evan Ingram and Brenna Sanders. Their vision to put Gulf seafood front and center is what inspired them to create their own little jewel box filled with fruits of the Gulf.
Like any chef worth their weight in saffron, whenever possible, time off is spent as food motivated travelers exploring new flavors and cultures, complete with pilgrimages to local markets poring over glimmering seafood displays with iridescent scales and ruby shells. Always a feast for the eyes, and a lucky traveler will find a specimen or two on the menu at a local restaurant for dinner, but an ever hungry foodie wants more. Brenna and Evan envisioned a menu that tours the Gulf’s finest—a seafood array where tastes are very much included, highlighting our fresh and venerable local catch.
The Crustacean Club sources all fish, oysters and shellfish exclusively from local waters, supporting the long history of seafood along our the Gulf Coast. Brenna and Evan have spent years in detail-oriented fine dining kitchens, a background that uniquely qualifies them for the monger artistry required to present our local product as world class fruits of the Gulf. Precise and fresh, it’s served in an enchantingly fishy room on the edge of the French Quarter, ideally paired with a signature craft cocktail or curated bottle of wine.
Brenna and Evan’s tasting menu is the heart of the operation, but their mission to celebrate the local catch doesn’t stop there. The Oyster Bar at The Crustacean Club presents even more seats that serve Gulf seafood front and center.
OUR TEAM
Chef Evan Ingram
Owner & Chief Fish OfficerEvan’s culinary journey began with a love for the fresh Mediterranean flavors served at his Armenian family gatherings growing up in California. He pursued this early interest in food and honed his skills with a culinary degree. He was drawn to the cuisine of Louisiana, and meeting his future wife while cooking in the Crescent City made it his home. His pursuit of culinary excellence led him to even higher echelons leadership roles in world-class kitchens and extensive experience as an expert seafood specialist. Chef Evan’s approach to flavor and precision was forged in the kitchens of Michelin-starred landmarks and celebrated local favorites, including Saison, Quince, Restaurant August, and Effervescence.
When he’s not in the kitchen, you might find Evan shaking a cocktail, exploring his interest in photography or restoring vintage dive watches.
Cheffe Brenna Sanders
Owner & Chief Crustacean OfficerBrenna grew up on the Alabama coast and began her professional cooking career after completing her studies at Tulane University. Brenna honed her culinary craft in renowned fine-dining pastry programs. She built her reputation as a pastry chef known for refreshing, subtly sweet desserts, while also mastering modern and savory technique.
Her love of Gulf seafood runs deep as a lifelong pescatarian, with seafood reserved for special occasions, and she grew up relishing in Gulf coast specialties like west Indies crab salad and Causeway seafood platters. These personal connections to the Gulf’s bounty fuel her passion for highlighting her own local “fruits de mer.”
Beyond the line, Brenna brings her attention to detail, keen eye for design and multidisciplinary skills to curating The Crustacean Club and bringing their vision to life.
Joshua Currence
General MANAGERJoshua Currence is a hospitality lifer with over a decade of experience and just enough personality to make sure you remember your night—for the right reasons.
With roots in New York City’s relentlessly fast restaurant scene, he built his reputation in the kind of places where brunch feels like a contact sport and details don’t get missed, they get noticed. From leading high-volume dining rooms in Brooklyn to helping open and operate multi-outlet Bar Bedford and Mesiba in the Moxy Williamsburg, Joshua developed a style of management that’s equal parts precision, and instinct.
Most recently, he relocated to New Orleans, where he spearheaded the reopening of The Maidstone Hotel and Swim Club—building the team from the ground up, shaping the guest experience, and turning a property into something people want to talk about.
Joshua subscribes to the idea that hospitality should be unreasonable—not in effort, but in impact. The kind of service that feels intuitive, a little indulgent, and just unexpected enough to stay with you. Now, at The Crustacean Club, he’s focused on bringing that philosophy to the forefront—working alongside a team full of personality, precision, and people who take hospitality just as seriously as they take community.
He’s as comfortable building a cocktail program or managing inventory as he is orchestrating a packed dining room or a full-scale event. But what sets him apart is simpler than that: he cares—deeply—about how things feel. The pace, the energy, the timing, the room.
Because in his world, hospitality isn’t just about getting it right. It’s about making it matter.