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.
Address: 1107 Decatur Street, New Orleans, LA 70116
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.
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 books brass and funk Thursdays.
Tip: Side-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.
Republic NOLA in the Warehouse District is a converted brick warehouse with wooden beams, two stocked bars and a 5,000 square foot main room that runs touring electronic and hip-hop bookings.
Tip: Most weekends sell tickets via the venue calendar; the stage doubles as a concert room earlier in the evening before the DJ takes over.