Getting Off Bourbon Street And Into The Real New Orleans
Bourbon Street gets the attention but New Orleans locals have plenty of other places to party. A Louisiana friend took me out to several of her favorite bars beyond Bourbon Street, and I’ve explored plenty more on other visits. Here’s my firsthand guide to local nightlife from Frenchmen Street and the Warehouse District to Uptown and the Garden District. This article is being updated to keep the information current with the last update taking place in 2026.
By Kevin Wilkerson, Editor & Publiser, PubClub.com
When New Orleans locals go to party – and they DO party – rarely do they head to Bourbon Street.
Instead, they make the move to the many other bars about town. Some of these we’ve detailed in our guide to the French Quarter (click on the above link). But there are many other places surrounded by the neighborhoods of New Orleans. This is where to get to know the people of this city and live as they do.
But first, here’s a quick guide on where to be and when to be there.
Quick Guide To New Orleans Nightlife Beyond Bourbon Street
Here’s a quick list of some great off-Bourbon Street bars. I’ve included the best nights to go for the most fun, though in New Orleans nightlife, things can always change.
• Mondays – House of Blues, Decatur Street. It’s SIN (Service Industry Night) and on their night off, all the bartenders and waitresses have to go someplace. They choose the House of Blues. There is no live music, but the place rocks.
• Sundays and Tuesdays – Listed together because it’s the same place. The Maple Leaf is REAL Nawlens down-home fun. This large, rustic bar features some of the city’s top local bands. Take a taxi or Uber/Lyft as it’s beyond Uptown.
• Wednesdays – It’s Uptown night. Start after work at The Superior Grill, but be up the street at Samuel’s by 11. Superior Grill is an indoor-outdoor cantina that’s packed along the narrow bar pathway, on the patio and even spilling into the sidewalk. People like the margaritas at Superior Grill. Samuel’s is a cool bar in a classic Southern house. It has an old-style porch, a well-used wooden bar and a great crowd on Wednesdays.
• Thursday’s – Lucy’s and/or Dino’s Bar and Grill in the Warehouse District. Plus Vaughn’s Lounge.
• Fridays-Saturdays – It really doesn’t matter where these people start the night because those looking to hook up end up at Snake & Jake’s Xmas Club Lounge (7612 Oak St., 861-2802, near Tulane). We don’t mean to flat-out say this is a pickup bar, but take a look at the name and also note people don’t arrive until 3 a.m. Anyone going to a bar at that time of the night is up to no good. Before 3, it’s just a bar, nothing special. After 3, though, it becomes very special for some.
Frenchmen Street Bars & Live Music [MAP]
Just a short walk from far the end of the French Quarter (bordering the Esplanade) is a lovely, boutique-style neighborhood known as Faubourg Marigny. The street name to look for is Frenchman, and within its few blocks are classy yet comfortable shops, restaurants and bars. Frenchmen Street was considerably more off the tourist radar when I first started going there. Today it’s established as one of New Orleans’ major live-music districts.
As an indication of the crowd, this revitalized area is attracting Mercedes and BMWs into the parking areas. The best nights are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Live music can be found at d.b.a., an intimate bar. If you’ve been to New York and it sounds familiar, there’s a reason – it’s a spin-off of the club on First Avenue in lower Manhattan. This is a real happening bar.
Cafe Brasil, a hot Latin-spiced dance club is closed. But Cafe Negril (606 Frenchman Street) is rocking with jazz, funk, brass, rock, reggae and R&B,
Dat Dog is a hot dog stand on steroids with a happening balcony and bar. It’s a good place to watch sports.
For dinner and drinks, locals soak up the New Orleans-style seafood at Aldopho’s bar and restaurant.
The Warehouse District Bars & Nightlife [MAP]
Rebuilt warehouses on the edge of downtown have become a locals’ hotbed. There’s a half-dozen place, all within walking distance of one another. In true Nawlens tradition, all are casual.
The aforementioned Lucy’s (701 Tchoupitoulas Street, at Girod Street, 523 8995) has hot bartenders, only two of them who actually pour drinks (the others tend to stand around and look pretty). It’s mostly for after-work, Happy Hour happy times. The full name of this Tex-Mex place is Lucy’s Retired Surfers Bar and Restaurant.
On the other end of the bar spectrum is the Howlin’ Wolf, a howling 1,000-capacity live music venue (828 South Peters, 522-WOLF). The Rebirth Blues Band are among the popular local bands that play here.
Uptown & Garden District Bars [MAP]
The locals’ scene is far different from the frenzy on Bourbon Street. Generally speaking, locals enjoy drinking in a more toned-down atmosphere.
But that doesn’t mean the bars are not lively. Take The Columns Hotel, for example.
Walking into The Columns is like stepping into the 1800s. It’s a plantation-style house with creaking wooden floors and a quiet reception desk guarding an old staircase leading up to the rooms. Its signature white columns on the porch just invite people to stop by and sip mint juleps on a warm day or evening. This is where the movie “Pretty Baby” was filmed.
The bar has a fireplace, booths, a circular couch and lots of locals happily getting buzzed. It once had “Big Mike” Smith behind the bar and locals loved him so much he was named New Orleans’ Best Bartender five years running. The bar can get quite loud with laughter. Tuesdays are one of its best nights. The Columns (3811 St. Charles Ave, 899-9308) is a bit difficult to find as it blends into the other great houses in this largely residential area. It is two blocks, and on the other side of the street from the Superior Grill. Just look for those white columns.
Superior Grill (3636 St. Charles, 900-4200) boasts a large tequila selection. What the Superior Grill does have is a superior crowd. It’s big night is Wednesday and it used to be THE pick-up place in town for the professional crowd. It’s a bit fished out now, but is still packed with potential.
Around the corner is one of New Orleans’ classic bars, The Mayfair Lounge, with a doorbell to gain entrance (no address available but it’s the yellow sign just down from Superior). Miss Gerty the wild and elderly owner who passed away 2022 at the age of 92, would dance with you, tell you all about the party here and on the street when the Mardi Gras parade rolls by and would even do one of her signature shots with you. Mardi Gras beads hang from the ceiling, it has a juke box and possesses enough character – and characters – to enliven any trip to the city. This is where residents always bring their friends who are visiting New Orleans.
In the newly hip area of Magazine Street is Le Bon Temps Rouler (4801 Magazine St, 895-8117). The name is French for “let the good times roll.” It’s a straight-up bar with live music. It’s nothing fancy, but that’s hardly a requirement in this town for a fun bar.
The previously mentioned Maple Leaf (8316 Oak St., 866-9359) is a hot, sweaty dance club and bar that brings people in by the swarms to listen to favorite local bands. The look of the place is something best described as early fishing cottage. Sometimes, bands don’t start until 3 a.m., so around 2, there’s a steady stream of people walking through the door. There’s a patio on the side and a super-dark one in the back, plus a “hanging-out” bar in the rear. But it’s on the dance floor where the place cuts loose.
For more music, the Mid City Lanes Rock ‘n Bowl (4133 S. Carrollton, 482-3133) has live music combined with bowling. Best for groups; not awesome for meeting people.
Then there’s F&M’s Patio Bar (4841 Tchoupitoulas, 895-6784) a rowdy bar where people dance on pool tables late, late at night. It also serves good food well into the night.
Every cool town must have a least one truly off-the-wall bar, and in New Orleans it’s Kermit’s Treme Mother-In-Law Lounge (formerly the Ernie K-Doe Mother in Law Lounge) run by New Orleans trumpeter Kermit Ruffins. Erine K-Doe wrote the Mother in Law song, making him a true one-hit wonder. When he died he received a true jazz funeral. The bar, which is in his old house, is still going, however. You drink in the living room and pay for the drinks by leaving “what you think you owe” in a jar on the counter. It has live R&B and soul and is located at 1500 N. Claiborne, 947-1078.
LGBTQ+ Nightlife Beyond Bourbon Street
For guys, the few blocks on Bourbon Street just past the Tropical Isle are the center of New Orleans’ gay life. For women, The Rainbow Room is all lesbian. There’s not much to it, a dive, but it’s about the only place in town for females seeking females, or so my local sources tell me.
Kevin Wilkerson is the founder of PubClub.com, an award-winning journalist and nightlife expert who has covered destinations, events and nightlife for more than two decades. While working as a newspaper reporter, he received an Associated Press award for investigative journalism. He has been to New Orleans several times, often taken around by a local.
Next Stops on the New Orleans Party Bus
• New Orleans Complete City Guide
• PubClubbing In The Bourbon Street Bars!
• How I Spent $30 In 30 Seconds On Bourbon Street
• Post Party Sightseeing Guide