Downriver creative neighbourhood of shotgun houses and warehouses. Saint-Germain, Bacchanal Wine, N7, Turkey and the Wolf, Elizabeth's: the city's most interesting modern rooms.
Saint-Germain in New Orleans is the Michelin-starred ten-course tasting menu inside a Bywater double-shotgun from chefs Blake Aguillard and Trey Smith.
OrderThere is no choice; the ten-course is what they serve. Add the wine pairing.
TipReservations open monthly. If you can't get a seat, the wine garden out back takes walk-ups and serves bottles with snacks.
N7 in New Orleans is the Bywater French wine bar behind an unmarked fence on Montegut Street from Aaron Walker and Yuki Yamaguchi, with French bistro plates.
OrderThe tinned-fish board with bread, then steak frites with Bordelaise.
TipReservations are tight; the garden seating opens at 17:00 and walk-ins land best on weeknights.
Elizabeth's in New Orleans is the Bywater corner cafe at Chartres and Gallier that invented praline bacon, with pecan sugar lacquered slices on a breakfast.
OrderThe praline bacon, ordered as a side with the redneck eggs Benedict.
TipNo reservations. Arrive by 09:00 on weekends or wait an hour for the brunch turn.
Bacchanal Wine in Bywater runs an outdoor backyard with nightly live jazz, a wine and cheese deli inside the cottage and Mediterranean small plates plated.
TipMusic seven days a week. Pick a bottle from the shop, take it to the back patio. Weekend brunch sets start around 12:00.
Saturn Bar on St Claude in Bywater is the cluttered velvet-painting dive with a tin ceiling, cheap beer and a back room that runs DJs, brass.
TipCash bar, no card minimum. Saturday's Mod Dance Party runs from 22:00; the front bar opens at 16:00 weekdays.
Vaughan's Lounge sits on a Bywater residential corner, a 60-year neighbourhood dive that ran Kermit Ruffins' Thursday residency for two decades and still.
TipSide-door buzzer entry. Thursday brass sets start around 20:30 with a second set near 23:00; free red beans and rice on Thursday nights.
Guided tour · 3 hours
Discover iconic, bohemian Bywater like a New Orleans local! Enjoy 3 food stops and street art on the banks of the Mississippi & learn our Creole history.
Guided tour · 3 hours
Join a guided walking tour of the French Quarter of New Orleans and visit 5 distinct eateries to discover its diverse cuisine. Taste up to 9 different food samples and...
Guided tour · 3 hours
Join this tour through New Orleans’ historic and fascinating history of cocktails, and sample them along the way.
