5 speakeasies in New Orleans, editor-picked by TableJourney. All New Orleans nightlife.
French 75 Bar ★ 4.7
French Quarter · 813 Rue Bienville, New Orleans, LA 70112
French 75 at Arnaud's has poured the city's defining gin-and-champagne cocktail since 1918, a wood-panelled side room behind the dining hall with a small bar and antique military prints.
Tip: Walk in for the bar; reservations for the dining room only. Order the French 75 with a side of soufflé potatoes.
Jewel of the South ★ 4.8
French Quarter · 1026 St Louis Street, New Orleans, LA 70112
Jewel of the South, by Chris Hannah and partner John Stubbs, runs the renovated 1830s Creole cottage as a World's 50 Best cocktail room with a stocked back garden and a small dining menu.
Tip: Reserve via Resy; the garden tables sit two and four. The Brandy Crusta is the order, served at the front bar.
Cure ★ 4.7
Freret · 4905 Freret Street, New Orleans, LA 70115
Cure on Freret Street, opened by Neal Bodenheimer in 2009, took the James Beard Outstanding Bar award in 2018. The room sits inside a restored 1905 firehouse with a copper-clad back bar.
Tip: Walk in for the bar, Resy for a back-room seat. The seasonal menu changes quarterly; the bartenders will riff if you give them a flavour to chase.
Cane & Table ★ 4.5
French Quarter · 1113 Decatur Street, New Orleans, LA 70116
Cane & Table on Decatur runs a rum-forward tropical cocktail menu inside a worn 1830s shopfront, with a courtyard out back and a small late-evening kitchen of Caribbean small plates.
Tip: Open 17:00 to 22:00 nightly. Sunday dinner is the easier walk-in; weekend nights book the back courtyard via Resy.
The Carousel Bar & Lounge ★ 4.6
French Quarter · 214 Royal Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
The Carousel Bar in the Hotel Monteleone opened in 1949 as the city's first rotating bar. The merry-go-round counter turns once every fifteen minutes around a single barback well.
Tip: Stools at the carousel itself rarely free up; arrive at 16:00 if you want one. The Vieux Carre cocktail was invented here in 1937.