BJs Lounge in the Bywater neighborhood is the dive of all dive bars. Camille Farrah Lenain for Lonely Planet
The Big Easy and booze go together like bitters, whiskey, absinthe, and an orange peel – the ingredients of the sazerac, that platonic ideal of cocktails invented in this very town. With this in mind: yes, New Orleans is riding the craft cocktail wave.
It’s been doing so for roughly 200 years, arguably since Antoine Peychaud invented the bitters that bear his name in a tiny apothecary in the French Quarter. The city’s storied French connection gives it a loving relationship with wine, and family-friendly breweries with busy events calendars have taken over warehouse spaces and neighborhood news listservs. Dive into the social scene with our favorite places in New Orleans to enjoy a tipple or two.
1. Sip a sazerac at Bar Tonique
Bar Tonique effortlessly accomplishes what so many cocktail bars sink thousands of dollars into: it’s cozy, it’s cool, it’s dark and the drinks are unabashedly great. Located at the edge of the French Quarter, this little nook feels like the sort of spot where you might seduce a poet, or spend all night tossing back martinis with a jazz musician – all of these things are possible. It’s simply a classic bar, so come here and have that most classic of New Orleans cocktails: the sazerac.
2. Pet the animals while cracking an Abita at Carrollton Station
Carrollton Station is located on a corner of the Riverbend across from the barn where the city’s famed streetcars are stored (hence the name). It’s the sort of casual neighborhood bar with a friendly vibe that folks long for in ostensibly hipper cities. There’s lots of live music, comedy shows, and a pretty backyard where you may find two special regulars: a cat that may as well be a throw pillow, and a black labrador that pops its head through the fence from next door, via a specially constructed hole, just so it can say hi – give his pretty head a rub while enjoying an ice cold Abita Strawberry.
3. Live the High Life at BJ’s
Calling BJ’s a dive is like calling the Grand Canyon a ditch. It’s the diviest of dives, a spot where teachers, musicians, and community gardeners come to laugh, listen to live shows, and just be neighbors. There are interesting people, a great jukebox, and not much in the way of fancy drinks. That’s fine. Order a Miller High Life, let the bottle sweat in your hands, make a new friend, and be happy.
4. Relax with a rum at Cane & Table
There’s no shortage of lovely courtyards in New Orleans’ French Quarter, but Cane & Table’s version, all porcelain tilework and warm bricks and fecund vines, feels like the sort of spot where you’d potentially fall in love with a pirate before leading a rebellion against the territorial governor. The craft cocktails here grow out of the tropics, often featuring tequila, mezcal, or the queen of Caribbean drinks: rum. Order a Golden Lasso (a mango lassi spiced with turmeric, coconut, and rum) and cool off in style.
5 Go with a Guinness at Black Penny
Plenty of French Quarter bars can feel same-samey, but Black Penny, located on Rampart St on the border of the neighborhood, stands out in a crowded pack. Which is funny, because the vibe is lowkey; at the end of the day, this is just a pleasant bar in a beautiful building, and there’s a lot to be said for that. The old wood accents cast a glow on a youngish clientele that can’t be bothered with being pretentious; they’re having great drinks and conversation, and you should as well.
6. Bet on the blueberry mojito at St Joe’s Bar
Both a neighborhood spot and cocktail bar, St Joe’s is a beloved corner institution well within the orbit of Tulane and Loyola universities. Students and graduates of those institutions (plus a bunch of folks who like a good drink) enjoy the dim, narrow front room, or sit beneath the blood-red glow of lanterns in the intimate back patio. The signature drink is a blueberry mojito, and it tastes delicious on a sticky New Orleans evening.
7. Embrace the tropical Tiki vibes at Beachbum Berry’s
If you’re one of those drinkers who turns their nose up at tiki drinks for being too fruity/sweet/whatever, just give Beachbum Berry’s a try. Founded by a connoisseur of the tiki bar genre, Berry’s looks lovingly to kitsch in an unaffected manner that is as charming as the midcity decor. All the drinks are delicious – and have a ton more depth than you might expect. We’re big fans of the namesake Latitude 29, which mixed up rum, passion fruit, vanilla syrup, and a citrus grove of oranges, lemon, and pineapple.
8. Raise the dead with a Pushing Daisies IPA at Port Orleans
New Orleans has experienced a flowering of local breweries that were housing themselves in former warehouse spaces and other large format venues. Port Orleans, located on Tchoupitoulas St (that’s chop-uh-tool-us) amidst a row of dock warehouses, nailed this style of bar, with an interior full of seating, TVs, and pinball machines, and an outdoor area where families can let their kids run while everyone takes a turn at cornhole. The beers are tasty, and the IPAs consistently earn strong reviews.
9. Enjoy the gingerita at Pal’s Lounge
The visitor who happens upon Pal’s Lounge has luckily stumbled on one of the city’s most endearingly oddball neighborhood joints, and this is a town with a fair few of those in circulation. There’s not any one quality that makes this Bayou St John bar so enjoyable; it’s just friendly, cheap, and inviting. A cast of regulars circulates through on a nightly basis, although sometimes it gets so busy the party spills out onto the sidewalk. What one should not spill are the drinks; the gingerita is a cocktail that’s as fiery and refreshing as its namesake ingredient.
10. Inhale a merlot at Anna’s
Anna’s is another one of those places that pushes one to ask "is it a dive or is it a neighborhood bar", but the thing is...it’s both. The interior feels like a 19th-century billiards room enlivened by chill music, tattooed locals from the neighborhood share a glass of wine, and there's a beloved cast of bartenders. Though the surrounding neighborhood of Faubourg Marigny has heavily gentrified, Anna’s feels as charming and welcoming of all types as it always has and is a great spot for that most New Orleans of bar activities – striking up a random conversation with the stranger next to you.
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