Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop at Bourbon and St Philip is the candlelit 1772 cottage commonly cited as the oldest standing structure used as a bar in the United States, with no electric lighting.
Tip: Open until 03:00 most nights. Order the purple Voodoo Daiquiri; cash and card both work but the line in the back is faster.
Address: 941 Bourbon Street, New Orleans, LA 70116
Erin Rose on Conti, half a block off Bourbon, is the locals' Irish pub with frozen Irish coffees out front and Killer PoBoys serving sandwiches from the back kitchen until late.
Tip: Open 21 hours a day. The frozen Irish coffee is the order; cash bar runs faster than card on Saturday nights.
Molly's at the Market on Decatur is the journalist and bartender pub at the river end of the Quarter, open 10:00 to 03:00 with a frozen Irish coffee built almost as well as Erin Rose's.
Tip: The bar runs until 03:00 every night. Order the frozen Irish coffee at the counter; the front window seats people-watch the Decatur foot traffic.
Erin Rose on Conti, half a block off Bourbon, is the locals' Irish pub with frozen Irish coffees out front and Killer PoBoys serving sandwiches from the back kitchen until late.
Tip: Open 21 hours a day. The frozen Irish coffee is the order; cash bar runs faster than card on Saturday nights.
Molly's at the Market on Decatur is the journalist and bartender pub at the river end of the Quarter, open 10:00 to 03:00 with a frozen Irish coffee built almost as well as Erin Rose's.
Tip: The bar runs until 03:00 every night. Order the frozen Irish coffee at the counter; the front window seats people-watch the Decatur foot traffic.
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 and the long-standing Mod Dance Party Saturdays.
Tip: Cash bar, no card minimum. Saturday's Mod Dance Party runs from 22:00; the front bar opens at 16:00 weekdays.
Pal's Lounge in Mid-City is the pin-up themed neighbourhood dive on Rendon, around since 2002 in a building that's been a bar since the 1920s, with a jukebox and an open back patio.
Tip: Open 15:00 to 03:00 every day. Play the jukebox; the back patio is dog friendly and runs popup pizza most weekends.
Twelve Mile Limit on Telemachus runs a Mid-City corner dive where the cocktails come out at proper craft level, the back room hosts trivia and karaoke, and the kitchen rotates pop-ups.
Tip: Trivia Tuesdays from 20:00; food pop-ups posted on Instagram. Cash and card; the Telemachus side patio is the quieter seat.
Kajun's Pub on St Claude runs karaoke open to close every day of the week, a state-of-the-art light and sound rig, and a back patio that bleeds into the Marigny dive-bar circuit.
Tip: Karaoke from open until close. Friday and Saturday run to 03:00; cash bar, no cover, 21+ after 20:00.