Oak is a classy spot Uptown wine bar with nearly a hundred hand-selected bottles and crafty bartenders in a clean and crisp atmosphere. Low key but buzzing, you can catch live music here on the weekend and still be able to converse with your company.

Not to be confused with its sister restaurant Delachaise, this charming wine bar and bistro all the way Uptown on Maple Street is a haven. It serves fresh food like Gulf seafood bouillabaisse, grilled octopus, and North African boulettes, and offers an extensive global wine list.

Snake and Jakes is basically a shack lit up with Christmas lights and known as New Orleans’s most legendary dive bar. This is a late night bar through and through, staying lively until the early hours of the morning and not opening again until much later.

Now in its new digs in the heart of the Garden District after closing in the Marigny, Troy Gant is keeping this gem going Uptown. The Magazine Street shop offers frequent wine tastings, reasonably priced selection, and a warm, friendly atmosphere. A private room in the back can be reserved for parties, like at the old shop, and surely offers the same great times.

Just a street car ride away from the French Quarter, this small club on Canal Street has great live music almost every night — and artists here receive 100% of the proceeds. Dark and moody, it’s one of the best music venues in the city, and you never know who might pop up here. Great sandwiches as well. As of Spring 2022 the bar is up for sale, so fingers crossed it stays as is under potential new owners.

This beloved Treme gathering place beckons with live music from brass brands, strong drinks and frequent two-for-one specials, Saints game watch parties, DJs, and liveliness.

Treme Hideaway is a neighborhood gathering spot with a unique and soulful atmosphere where local and national artists alike perform regularly. There are great chargrilled oysters, crawfish, and basically all things shellfish.

Perhaps the Warehouse District’s top hidden gem, Vyoone’s is run by two dynamic local women who mix French-Creole cuisine and beautiful hospitality in a pretty setting. Sit in a lush back courtyard or reserve a private space upstairs for larger parties.

This vibrant South 7th Ward spot is a good ole’ Southern juke joint with a New Orleans twist. With an age requirement of 30, it’s a great place to catch music, nightlife, charbroiled oysters, and good drinks with a mature crowd.

This Frenchmen Street club just outside the French Quarter has been providing some of the best live jazz to locals and visitors for over 30 years. It has a casual dining area, bar, and stage, with the best seats upstairs on the balcony. 

Caesar’s is a West Bank hang, a nightclub also known for its food, especially seafood Tuesdays with boiled crabs, crawfish, and more. It’s lively and packed with a mature crowd — a winning combo.

Yes, everyone in the know knows about the Ninth Ward’s trendy N7, but once there it feels like a hidden gem regardless. Tucked away on Montegut Street behind an unmarked, high wooden fence, N7 serves French-meets-Japanese small plates inside a funky dining room or a gorgeous bulb-lit patio. You’d never know it was once a tire shop.

This iconic Ninth Ward bar was established in 1959 and has been known throughout the years as the place to be for live music on Thursday Nights — once Kermit Ruffins, the night is now Corey Henry and the Treme Funktet’s. Vaughan’s delivers cheap drinks, good music, and the kind of welcome that you hope for at a hangout.