The best cocktail bars in New Orleans

New Orleans invented the Sazerac, built on rye and the bitters a local pharmacist mixed two blocks from where it's still poured today. See our Sazerac recipe for the drink itself, built the traditional way with a splash of rye whiskey, then use this list for where to order it done right.

Road-tripping from Texas? Our Houston guide covers the stop before this one.

If you only have one night

Top picks

Craft cocktails$$$ French QuarterJewel of the SouthNo. 6 on North America's 50 Best Bars 2026, in a Creole cottage that predates the drinks by a century.Book on OpenTable Hotel bar$$$ French QuarterCarousel Bar & LoungeThe bar that actually rotates, inside Hotel Monteleone since 1949.Walk-ins only Craft cocktails$$$ UptownCureThe Freret Street firehouse that started the city's craft cocktail movement in 2009.Book on Resy Hotel bar$$$ CBDSazerac Bar at The RooseveltThe Art Deco room most people mean when they say "the Sazerac Bar."Walk-ins only Craft cocktails$$ BywaterJusTini'sBywater's own, with a menu named for the women who shaped the neighbourhood.Book on OpenTable Hotel bar$$$ MarignyThe Elysian BarA converted 19th-century rectory at Hotel Peter & Paul, Marigny's most romantic room.Book on Resy

Bars in an order that works

Ready-made nights

Any night · 3 stops · all walkable

French Quarter, by the old bar

The short version of the Quarter: a bar that spins, a James Beard winner, and a 220-year-old saloon, none of it more than a few minutes apart on foot.

6:00pm
Carousel Bar & Lounge French Quarter
Start on the rotating bar itself. One slow turn takes about 15 minutes, so order before you've gone all the way around.
7:30pm
Arnaud's French 75 Bar French Quarter
A short walk to a James Beard-winning cocktail bar for the namesake French 75.
About 6 minutes on foot.
9:00pm
Old Absinthe House French Quarter
Finish at the 1806 corner saloon for an Absinthe House Frappe and the history that comes with it.
About 4 minutes on foot.

Any night · 3 stops · all walkable

A Sazerac history crawl

Three rooms with a real claim on the drink New Orleans invented, from the hotel bar that owns the name to the courtyard where the bitters were born.

6:00pm
Sazerac Bar at The Roosevelt CBD
The room with the name. Order the Sazerac under the 1938 murals.
7:30pm
Peychaud's French Quarter
Walk to the courtyard bar on the site where Antoine Peychaud once lived and mixed his bitters.
About 8 minutes on foot.
9:00pm
21st Amendment at La Louisiane French Quarter
End in an 1881 room with nightly live jazz, a short walk off Bourbon.
About 6 minutes on foot.

Weeknights work best · 3 stops · all walkable

CBD, after work

The Warehouse District's quieter, more local answer to the Quarter: an oyster happy hour, a hidden-door lounge, and a bar built around a record collection.

5:00pm
Seaworthy CBD
Oyster Happy Hour runs 4 to 6pm. Start here before the dinner crowd lands.
6:30pm
Salon Salon CBD
One block over, through a door that's meant to be hard to find.
About 2 minutes on foot.
8:00pm
Junebug CBD
Finish among 400-plus records of funk and soul, in the old Jazz City recording studios.
About 6 minutes on foot.

Tuesday to Sunday works best · 3 stops · all walkable

Bywater, low and slow

St. Claude Avenue's newer wave of bars, resident-first and in no hurry, finishing at a 200-year-old house with a pool out back.

6:00pm
NightBloom Bywater
A late-night cocktail bar from the Bacchanal wine bar team, open since 5pm but better after dark.
7:30pm
JusTini's Bywater
A short walk to a menu named for the women who shaped this neighbourhood.
About 4 minutes on foot.
9:00pm
The Country Club Bywater
Close the night at a 200-year-old Bywater house, bar and kitchen both still going.
About 8 minutes on foot.

By neighbourhood

Every bar

French Quarter

Bourbon Street's tourist crush sits a block or two from the Quarter's real cocktail history: a rotating bar, a Creole cottage turned 50 Best contender, courtyard speakeasies behind unmarked doors.

Craft cocktails$$$ French QuarterJewel of the SouthA 19th-century Creole cottage with a courtyard, run as a classic New Orleans tavern.Book on OpenTable Craft cocktails$$ French QuarterBar ToniqueA small candlelit room with a dark-oak bar, exposed brick, a mirrored back bar and an open fireplace.Walk-ins only Dive with good drinks$ French QuarterOld Absinthe HouseA dark 1806 corner saloon on Bourbon Street, original fixtures, heavy foot traffic at the door.Walk-ins only Restaurant bar$$$ French QuarterArnaud's French 75 BarA clubby, dark-wood lounge off Arnaud's Creole dining room, in a building dating to the late 1800s.Walk-ins only Hotel bar$$$ French QuarterCarousel Bar & LoungeA carousel-themed room inside Hotel Monteleone, built around a circular bar that physically rotates, live music nightly.Walk-ins only Craft cocktails$$$ French QuarterCane & TableA weathered, colonial-Caribbean room with an airy courtyard patio, rum-forward drinks, Cuban-meets-Cajun food.Book on Resy Hotel bar$$$ French QuarterPeychaud'sA small, backlit cocktail room inside The Celestine hotel, opening onto a quiet courtyard.Walk-ins only Speakeasy$$$ French Quarter21st Amendment at La LouisianeA small Prohibition-themed room inside the 1881 La Louisiane building, vintage photography on the walls, live jazz nightly.Walk-ins only Craft cocktails$$ French QuarterDovetail BarA coffee shop and cocktail bar sharing one room in the lobby of the boutique Schaeffer Hotel, a 1923 building with original cypress beams.Walk-ins only Dive with good drinks$ French QuarterErin RoseA no-frills Irish pub just off Bourbon Street, a jukebox, a pool table, locals mixed with tourists in the know.Walk-ins only Craft cocktails$$ French QuarterManolitoA tiny tiled Cuban-inspired bar modeled on Havana's El Floridita, staff trained in Cuban bartending technique.Walk-ins only Tiki$$ French QuarterBeachbum Berry's Latitude 29A dim tiki bar inside the Bienville House Hotel, vintage mugs and tropical ephemera on every surface.Book on Resy

CBD

The Warehouse District's old banks and boutique hotels, turned into the industry's own after-work rooms — quieter and dressier than the Quarter, a short walk from it.

Hotel bar$$$ CBDSazerac Bar at The RooseveltAn Art Deco hotel bar, African walnut panelling and a pair of 1938 Paul Ninas murals flanking a long bar.Walk-ins only Hotel bar$$ CBDPeacock RoomAn ornate French-salon lounge inside Kimpton Hotel Fontenot, vintage furnishings, mosaic-tiled floors.Book on OpenTable Restaurant bar$$$ CBDSeaworthyA bright, white-tiled oyster bar inside the Ace Hotel's 1832 Creole cottage, a raw bar paired with a serious drinks list.Book on OpenTable Lounge$$$ CBDSalon SalonA French-inspired bar in a former library inside the Maison Métier hotel, entered through what feels like a secret door.Walk-ins only Lounge$$$ CBDJunebugA vinyl-and-cocktail bar in the former Jazz City Recording Studios, built around turntables and a deep record collection.Walk-ins only

Garden District

Magazine Street's shotgun houses hold the whiskey dens and streetcar-line hotel bars; it runs straight into Uptown with no real seam.

Craft cocktails$$ Garden DistrictBarrel ProofA cabin-like Magazine Street whiskey bar, polished wood, cowhide rugs, bottles floor to ceiling.Walk-ins only Rooftop$$$ Garden DistrictHot TinAn 11th-floor rooftop on top of the Pontchartrain Hotel, done up like a 1940s artist's loft with 270-degree views.Walk-ins only Hotel bar$$$ Garden DistrictColumns Hotel BarAn 1883 mansion's bar on the St. Charles streetcar line, original mahogany, a wraparound porch and garden seating.Book on Resy

Uptown

St. Charles Avenue mansions and Freret Street's restaurant row, where the regulars outnumber the tourists most nights.

Craft cocktails$$$ UptownCureA converted firehouse on Freret Street, exposed brick and a long back bar under a wood-panelled ceiling.Book on Resy Restaurant bar$$ UptownSunniesA 1970s Palm Springs-styled poolside bar built around a heated saltwater pool on Freret Street.Book ahead Hotel bar$$$ UptownThe ChloeA small lobby bar inside a restored 19th-century Uptown mansion turned boutique hotel, with a lively front porch.Book on OpenTable Wine & cocktails$$ UptownThe DelachaiseA candlelit wine bar and bistro on the streetcar line with 350-plus wines by the bottle and a full bar.Walk-ins only

Marigny

Frenchmen Street's live-music strip pulls the crowds; a couple of slower, older rooms sit just off it.

Hotel bar$$$ MarignyThe Elysian BarA cozy bar and restaurant inside a restored rectory and courtyard at Hotel Peter & Paul, itself a converted 19th-century church and convent.Book on Resy Lounge$ MarignyThe R BarA no-pretense neighborhood bar on the ground floor of the Royal Street Inn, a loaded jukebox and a relaxed Marigny crowd.Walk-ins only

Bywater

St. Claude Avenue's newest wave of bars, low-key and resident-first, a streetcar ride or a long walk from downtown.

Craft cocktails$$ BywaterNightBloomA dim, chill late-night cocktail bar at St. Claude and Clouet from the team behind Bacchanal.Walk-ins only Craft cocktails$$ BywaterJusTini'sA small Bywater bar with cozy alcoves and chandeliers, signature drinks named for Black women activists and local figures.Book on OpenTable Restaurant bar$$ BywaterThe Country ClubA 200-year-old Bywater house turned restaurant, bar and clothing-optional pool club, a laid-back LGBTQ-friendly fixture.Book ahead

Good to know

Questions

What's the best bar in New Orleans for classic cocktails?

Jewel of the South and Arnaud's French 75 Bar, both from bartender Chris Hannah, are the two most awarded rooms for classic technique. For the Sazerac specifically, the Sazerac Bar at The Roosevelt is the city's own namesake room, and Peychaud's sits on the site where Antoine Peychaud, inventor of the bitters in the drink, once lived.

Where can I drink a Sazerac in New Orleans?

Sazerac Bar at The Roosevelt is the obvious stop, with 1938 murals and real civil-rights-era history behind the name. Peychaud's, a block off Bourbon Street inside The Celestine, has the closer historical tie. Our own Sazerac recipe is built the traditional way if you want to make one at home before or after.

Are New Orleans's best bars walkable from the French Quarter?

Within the Quarter, yes — Carousel Bar to Arnaud's French 75 Bar is about one short block, and most French Quarter stops on this list are within ten minutes of each other on foot. The CBD bars are a five-to-fifteen-minute walk from the Quarter's edge. Garden District, Uptown, Marigny and Bywater are each their own pocket, better reached by streetcar, bike or a short rideshare, then walked once you're there.

Do I need a reservation?

Some do: Cure, Cane & Table, Jewel of the South, Elysian Bar and JusTini's get busy enough on weekends to book ahead. Most of the rest, including Carousel Bar, Bar Tonique, Arnaud's French 75 Bar and the neighbourhood bars in Bywater and the Marigny, are walk-in only.

What time do bars close in New Orleans?

There's no mandatory closing time. Louisiana sets no statewide last call, and New Orleans doesn't set one either, so a bar can legally stay open around the clock. In practice most of the bars on this list close somewhere between 1am and 2am on a weeknight and later on weekends, though a handful of Bourbon Street bars genuinely never close.

Every bar here was checked against its own site or listing in November 2026. Bars change hours and menus often, so check before a big night.