Cocktails, wine bars and dives: drinking in New Orleans for grown-ups.
Cocktail bars, wine bars, dive bars and gastropubs: drinking in New Orleans for grown-ups.
Jewel of the South in New Orleans is Chris Hannah's St Louis Street cocktail temple in an 1830s Creole cottage, four-time North America's 50 Best South USA winner and on the World's 50 list.
Signature drink: Brandy Crusta
Food: Full dinner menu upstairs
Tip: The brandy crusta was invented by Joseph Santini in New Orleans circa 1850; this is the canonical version.
The Sazerac Bar in New Orleans is the 1949 Art Deco bar inside the Roosevelt Hotel on Roosevelt Way, the spiritual home of America's first branded cocktail with African walnut walls and murals.
Signature drink: Sazerac
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: The Ramos Gin Fizz is the second canonical drink here; the bartender will shake it for the requisite 12 minutes.
Cure in New Orleans is the Freret Street cocktail bar in a 1907 firehouse from Neal Bodenheimer, on the North America's 50 Best Bars list since 2018 with a rotating seasonal cocktail list.
Signature drink: Seasonal cocktail menu
Food: Small plates and bar food
Tip: Cure prints a seasonal menu but the regular order is to tell the bartender what you like and what you don't.
Cane and Table in New Orleans is the Decatur Street rum bar from the Cure team, with Caribbean-inspired cocktails, Cuban plates and an Old Havana patio behind on the French Quarter river edge.
Signature drink: Rum cocktails
Food: Caribbean and Cuban plates
Tip: The back patio is the prize seat; rum flights start at $15 and beat the daiquiri Bourbon Street chain shops.
Manolito in New Orleans is the tiny Cuban daiquiri bar on Dumaine Street from Chris Hannah and Nick Detrich, a tribute to Havana's El Floridita with frozen daiquiris and Cubano sandwiches.
Signature drink: Daiquiri (El Floridita style)
Food: Cubano sandwiches, ceviche
Tip: Standing room only inside; pay cash and tip well. The frozen daiquiris are blended El Floridita style.
Molly's at the Market in New Orleans is the Decatur Street dive bar by the French Market, open 10:00 to 03:00 daily, famous for its frozen Irish coffee and a queue at the door.
Signature drink: Frozen Irish coffee
Food: None (bar food at neighbours)
Tip: Open at 10:00 every day; the frozen Irish coffee is the signature order and the room runs to 03:00 nightly.
Erin Rose in New Orleans is the French Quarter Irish dive bar on Conti Street, with frozen Irish coffees, no-frills service and the Killer Poboys kitchen tucked into the back room.
Signature drink: Frozen Irish coffee
Food: Killer Poboys in back
Tip: The frozen Irish coffee is the canonical Quarter order; Killer Poboys at the back closes at 20:00.
Napoleon House in New Orleans is the 1797 Chartres Street tavern at St Louis that was offered to Napoleon as exile residence, with Pimm's Cups and a muffuletta on a 200-year-old patio.
Signature drink: Pimm's Cup
Food: Muffuletta and Mediterranean snacks
Tip: The Pimm's Cup and the muffuletta are the canonical order; sit on the back courtyard for the cooler seat.
French 75 Bar in New Orleans is Chris Hannah's longtime cocktail room beside Arnaud's on Bienville Street, with the canonical French 75 cocktail and a serious classic-cocktail programme.
Signature drink: French 75
Food: Bar snacks; Arnaud's kitchen next door
Tip: Order the French 75 with cognac, not gin; the older Cazenave-era recipe is the house standard.
Twelve Mile Limit in New Orleans is Cole Newton's Mid-City corner cocktail bar on South Telemachus Street, named for Prohibition-era rum running, with a backyard smoker and a serious cocktail list.
Signature drink: Tequila Brave
Food: Barbecue from the smoker out back
Tip: The backyard barbecue runs Thursday to Sunday; ask the bar what's on the smoker.
Bar Tonique in New Orleans is the North Rampart Street classic cocktail bar from Tony Yu, with a stripped-back menu of canonical mixed drinks and a quiet Treme-edge crowd.
Signature drink: Classic cocktail menu
Food: None
Tip: The two-for-one happy hour from 17:00 to 20:00 is one of the best deals in the Quarter for a real cocktail.
The Carousel Bar in New Orleans is the rotating carousel inside Hotel Monteleone on Royal Street, where the Vieux Carre cocktail was invented in 1938 by bartender Walter Bergeron.
Signature drink: Vieux Carre
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: The bar itself rotates, one full turn every 15 minutes; the booths around it do not move.
The Elysian Bar in New Orleans is the Marigny lounge inside the Hotel Peter and Paul on Burgundy Street, with European wines, classic aperitifs and a courtyard in a converted rectory.
Signature drink: Aperitif rotation
Food: Bar snacks and small plates
Tip: The back courtyard is the prettiest seat; the rectory bar has the longer pour list.
Saturn Bar in New Orleans is the St Claude Avenue dive bar in the 9th Ward, with painted walls, cold beer and a fluorescent-light interior that has run since 1960 and feels untouched.
Signature drink: Cold beer and well drinks
Food: None
Tip: Cash only and no kitchen; pre-game across the street at the Country Club or at Bywater Bakery.
The Old Absinthe House in New Orleans is the 1807 Bourbon Street bar at Bienville, with marble fountains for absinthe drips and the canonical absinthe frappe invented here in 1874.
Signature drink: Absinthe frappe
Food: None
Tip: The absinthe frappe is the historical drink; the marble fountains drip cold water into the glass.
Peak food season in New Orleans is year-round.
Local dining hours: lunch around 12:30, dinner from 19:30.
service is typically included; small extra is welcome but not expected.
Ask the next local you meet what they would order. New Orleans rewards trust.