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Ten Spots Where the Three-Martini Lunch is Alive and Well

It’s more affordable than one may think

by Beth D'Addono and Stephanie Carter
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by Beth D'Addono and Stephanie Carter
Getty Images

Though some believe the three-martini lunch went the way of Gordon Gekko in the ‘80s, it didn’t. Day-drinking is a revered vocation in the Crescent City, and thanks to this line-up of stellar boozy lunch spots, it’s possible to get pleasantly pie-eyed without breaking the bank. Walk, stroll, streetcar, or stumble to all of these super watering holes and don’t forget to eat. The food is good too.

Here are ten restaurants that prove the three-martini lunch is alive and (very) well in New Orleans.

Don’t see a favorite spot to sip martinis during the day? Let us know by sending a tip or leaving a comment. Trust us — we want to know.

As usual, this list is grouped by neighborhood, not by ranking.

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Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices. Learn more about our editorial process. If you buy something or book a reservation from an Eater link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics policy.

Ralph's On The Park

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Shhhhhh. This City Park-view restaurant’s weekday lunch drink deal isn’t written down anywhere but it’s a doozy. Simply ask the server for a 10 cent martini and say, ‘keep ‘em coming,’ while slurping up dark, rich turtle soup laced with sherry or New Orleans barbecue shrimp on a brown buttered baguette. Rather than a three-drink limit, Ralph’s flags anybody once they reach a $1.20 bar bill.

900 City Park Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119
(504) 488-1000
(504) 488-1000
The balcony at Ralph’s overlooks live oak filled City Park
FACEBOOK

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Cafe B

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This clean-as-a-whistle, bright, and airy Metairie gem aims for efficiency with its 45-minute, two-course “quick lunch” for $19. Start with a salad or a soup and follow it up with Buffalo fried chicken salad, tuna Niçoise, or a turkey club. There’s a full a la carte menu for those with more time. Plus martinis are only $5 and made with Chopin vodka, so why not just make more time?

2700 Metairie Rd, Metairie, LA 70001
(504) 934-4700
(504) 934-4700
FACEBOOK

Muriel's Jackson Square

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Bloody Marys, vodka, or gin martinis and red and white wine pour for $4 during lunch at Muriel’s, located just off Jackson Square. The $18.95 two-course lunch special includes the likes of blackened catfish, étouffée, and pork chops, but the a la carte entree salads from chef Erik Veney are excellent. Try the Cobb with extra blue cheese dressing on the side.

3206, 801 Chartres St, New Orleans, LA 70116
(504) 568-1885
(504) 568-1885
Yelp/ Krista M

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Antoine's Restaurant

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This 175-year old restaurant captures the old New Orleans vibe with 14 stately dining rooms, many named for Mardi Gras krewes and dressed with photos of Mardi Gras royalty and memorabilia, including crowns and scepters of long-ago Carnival balls. Six days a week, diners take a seat for three-course Creole lunch for $20.18 (like the current year). Expect dishes like charbroiled oysters, drum amandine, and German chocolate cake. Plus, add a martini or three into the mix for a quarter a piece. One per course, makes sense right?

713 St Louis St, New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 581-4422
(504) 581-4422
FACEBOOK

Also featured in:

SoBou Restaurant

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This sly den of gastronomic sleight of hand in the W Hotel showcases chef Juan Carlos at his creative best. Munch the likes of cracklin’ crusted pork belly steam buns and cane-marinated mirliton while slurping down up to three vodka or gin martinis for just 25 cents each on weekdays between 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Why just three? As the menu says “‘Cause that’s enough.”

310 Chartres St, New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 552-4095
(504) 552-4095
FACEBOOK

Also featured in:

Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse

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New Orlean’s is a city full of traditions and Friday lunch is an important one. Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse sees that and raises it $1 martinis from 11:30 to 2:30 p.m. on Fridays. Order the two-course prix fixe for $19.98 (the year the restaurant opened) or a la carte (barbecue shrimp and grits, steak salad, and other options). Note: The limit is three $1 martinis (or other classic cocktail), no more and no less than what it takes for a three-martini lunch.

716 Iberville St, New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 522-2467
(504) 522-2467
FACEBOOK

Also featured in:

Mr. B's Bistro

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Another impeccably run restaurant from a member of the Brennan family (Cindy Brennan in this case), this bustling French Quarter spot is filled with big names in New Orleans business during weekday lunch. They’re slurping glistening bowls of gumbo ya ya and dunking French bread into bowls of New Orleans-style barbecue shrimp — and wearing bibs while doing it. It helps that Mr. B’s pours $1.50 martinis (and bloody Marys) during weekday lunch. Order as many as you like; nobody is counting.

201 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 523-2078
(504) 523-2078
Gumbo ya ya at Mr. B’s is filled with chicken and andouille sausage
FACEBOOK

Also featured in:

The Grill Room

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A dozen dozen (that’s 144) roses stand at the entrance to the elegant Windsor Court Hotel every single day, as if to say, “We don’t do anything halfway.” In recent years, the Windsor Court’s food team has put in overtime building menus that put it on the map of places to go eat, whether you’re staying at the hotel or not. Though dinner boasts an excellent choose-your-own-adventure style “tasting menu” with dishes like a divine lobster Newburg, lunch is predictably no slouch. A power lunch with the approachable sensibility of the “meat and three” plate lunch (with “meats” like crab cakes and “sides” like crawfish pasta) and at only $19.84 (the hotel opened in 1984) with the option of $2 martinis, it’s also a bargain. Of note: Limit three martinis. It’s a three martini lunch, remember? Also, the martinis are made with Plymouth or Tito’s and olives and onions marinated at the hotel.

300 Gravier St, New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 522-1994
(504) 522-1994
It’s an elegant meat-and-three, three-martini lunch at the Windsor Court
FACEBOOK

Also featured in:

Vincent's

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Free is good. That’s the deal at this popular Louisiana-Italian eatery Uptown on the St. Charles Avenue street car line, one free martini with a lunch entree. The 80-year old locals’ hang-out is small and dark with a slight air of mafioso. Comfortable, burgundy leather chairs and a long, dark wood bar make it a perfect spot to dine on the veal Roberto and wash it down with ice cold vodka.

7839 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70118
(504) 866-9313
(504) 866-9313
FACEBOOK

Also featured in:

Commander's Palace

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Though dinner is a popular time to dine at the iconic turquoise palace in the Garden District, lunch delivers the same experience at half the price — especially when twenty-five cent martinis make the rounds. Opt for two or three courses, $18-$34, and order a trifecta of martinis — three is the limit. Still thirsty? Order a French red or white for $5.99 a glass.

1403 Washington Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 899-8221
(504) 899-8221
FACEBOOK

Also featured in:

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Ralph's On The Park

900 City Park Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119

Shhhhhh. This City Park-view restaurant’s weekday lunch drink deal isn’t written down anywhere but it’s a doozy. Simply ask the server for a 10 cent martini and say, ‘keep ‘em coming,’ while slurping up dark, rich turtle soup laced with sherry or New Orleans barbecue shrimp on a brown buttered baguette. Rather than a three-drink limit, Ralph’s flags anybody once they reach a $1.20 bar bill.

900 City Park Ave, New Orleans, LA 70119
(504) 488-1000
(504) 488-1000
The balcony at Ralph’s overlooks live oak filled City Park
FACEBOOK

Cafe B

2700 Metairie Rd, Metairie, LA 70001

This clean-as-a-whistle, bright, and airy Metairie gem aims for efficiency with its 45-minute, two-course “quick lunch” for $19. Start with a salad or a soup and follow it up with Buffalo fried chicken salad, tuna Niçoise, or a turkey club. There’s a full a la carte menu for those with more time. Plus martinis are only $5 and made with Chopin vodka, so why not just make more time?

2700 Metairie Rd, Metairie, LA 70001
(504) 934-4700
(504) 934-4700
FACEBOOK

Muriel's Jackson Square

3206, 801 Chartres St, New Orleans, LA 70116

Bloody Marys, vodka, or gin martinis and red and white wine pour for $4 during lunch at Muriel’s, located just off Jackson Square. The $18.95 two-course lunch special includes the likes of blackened catfish, étouffée, and pork chops, but the a la carte entree salads from chef Erik Veney are excellent. Try the Cobb with extra blue cheese dressing on the side.

3206, 801 Chartres St, New Orleans, LA 70116
(504) 568-1885
(504) 568-1885
Yelp/ Krista M

Antoine's Restaurant

713 St Louis St, New Orleans, LA 70130

This 175-year old restaurant captures the old New Orleans vibe with 14 stately dining rooms, many named for Mardi Gras krewes and dressed with photos of Mardi Gras royalty and memorabilia, including crowns and scepters of long-ago Carnival balls. Six days a week, diners take a seat for three-course Creole lunch for $20.18 (like the current year). Expect dishes like charbroiled oysters, drum amandine, and German chocolate cake. Plus, add a martini or three into the mix for a quarter a piece. One per course, makes sense right?

713 St Louis St, New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 581-4422
(504) 581-4422
FACEBOOK

SoBou Restaurant

310 Chartres St, New Orleans, LA 70130

This sly den of gastronomic sleight of hand in the W Hotel showcases chef Juan Carlos at his creative best. Munch the likes of cracklin’ crusted pork belly steam buns and cane-marinated mirliton while slurping down up to three vodka or gin martinis for just 25 cents each on weekdays between 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Why just three? As the menu says “‘Cause that’s enough.”

310 Chartres St, New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 552-4095
(504) 552-4095
FACEBOOK

Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse

716 Iberville St, New Orleans, LA 70130

New Orlean’s is a city full of traditions and Friday lunch is an important one. Dickie Brennan’s Steakhouse sees that and raises it $1 martinis from 11:30 to 2:30 p.m. on Fridays. Order the two-course prix fixe for $19.98 (the year the restaurant opened) or a la carte (barbecue shrimp and grits, steak salad, and other options). Note: The limit is three $1 martinis (or other classic cocktail), no more and no less than what it takes for a three-martini lunch.

716 Iberville St, New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 522-2467
(504) 522-2467
FACEBOOK

Mr. B's Bistro

201 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70130

Another impeccably run restaurant from a member of the Brennan family (Cindy Brennan in this case), this bustling French Quarter spot is filled with big names in New Orleans business during weekday lunch. They’re slurping glistening bowls of gumbo ya ya and dunking French bread into bowls of New Orleans-style barbecue shrimp — and wearing bibs while doing it. It helps that Mr. B’s pours $1.50 martinis (and bloody Marys) during weekday lunch. Order as many as you like; nobody is counting.

201 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 523-2078
(504) 523-2078
Gumbo ya ya at Mr. B’s is filled with chicken and andouille sausage
FACEBOOK

The Grill Room

300 Gravier St, New Orleans, LA 70130

A dozen dozen (that’s 144) roses stand at the entrance to the elegant Windsor Court Hotel every single day, as if to say, “We don’t do anything halfway.” In recent years, the Windsor Court’s food team has put in overtime building menus that put it on the map of places to go eat, whether you’re staying at the hotel or not. Though dinner boasts an excellent choose-your-own-adventure style “tasting menu” with dishes like a divine lobster Newburg, lunch is predictably no slouch. A power lunch with the approachable sensibility of the “meat and three” plate lunch (with “meats” like crab cakes and “sides” like crawfish pasta) and at only $19.84 (the hotel opened in 1984) with the option of $2 martinis, it’s also a bargain. Of note: Limit three martinis. It’s a three martini lunch, remember? Also, the martinis are made with Plymouth or Tito’s and olives and onions marinated at the hotel.

300 Gravier St, New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 522-1994
(504) 522-1994
It’s an elegant meat-and-three, three-martini lunch at the Windsor Court
FACEBOOK

Vincent's

7839 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70118

Free is good. That’s the deal at this popular Louisiana-Italian eatery Uptown on the St. Charles Avenue street car line, one free martini with a lunch entree. The 80-year old locals’ hang-out is small and dark with a slight air of mafioso. Comfortable, burgundy leather chairs and a long, dark wood bar make it a perfect spot to dine on the veal Roberto and wash it down with ice cold vodka.

7839 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70118
(504) 866-9313
(504) 866-9313
FACEBOOK

Commander's Palace

1403 Washington Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130

Though dinner is a popular time to dine at the iconic turquoise palace in the Garden District, lunch delivers the same experience at half the price — especially when twenty-five cent martinis make the rounds. Opt for two or three courses, $18-$34, and order a trifecta of martinis — three is the limit. Still thirsty? Order a French red or white for $5.99 a glass.

1403 Washington Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 899-8221
(504) 899-8221
FACEBOOK

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