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Espresso martini from Fives.
Cory James Fontenot/Fives

Where to Drink Cocktails in New Orleans Right Now

The most exciting new places in New Orleans to knock back a drink

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Espresso martini from Fives.
| Cory James Fontenot/Fives

Welcome to the cocktail heatmap, a running guide to the newest destinations for classic cocktails, frozen drinks, and rare spirits in New Orleans. Consider this map a guide to the hottest spots for cocktails at the moment, so only places that have opened, undergone a major change, or added something noteworthy recently. Some of these spots are also restaurants, but if they have a strong cocktail menu and a bar where customers can just have drinks, they make the cut.

Check out Eater’s guide to New Orleans’s essential bars for more suggestions on the city's best watering holes, and to sample a New Orleans-born classic, here’s where to find the most iconic New Orleans cocktails.

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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.

Justini’s

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Justini’s is the brainchild of Jessica Robinson, who is honoring Black women with both menu items and in this Bywater space itself — with a brown sugar old fashioned named after local civil rights movement leader Oretha Castle Haley, and a lavender French 75 named after the late Dooky Chase chef and civil rights activist Leah Chase. The chic new hotspot, which also serves food, is open Tuesday through Thursday from noon to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday until midnight; and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; closed Mondays.

American Townhouse

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American Townhouse is the Quarter’s newest queer-owned bar and restaurant set in a renovated 1857 Greek Revival townhouse across from Armstrong Park. The bar is part of the Rampart Street Renaissance, home to a classic French Quarter courtyard and first-rate craft cocktails, not to mention strong bar food. Go for the Friday $5 martini happy hour and stay for the loaded waffle fries and kale Caesar.

Tiki Tock

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The recently reopened Frenchmen Hotel has a new bar to offer a respite from Frenchmen Street chaos, a tropical, tiki-themed spot that extends to the hotel’s rooftop. Walk through a cool clock-lined carriageway to find a funky backyard bar and sample extravagant drinks like a Parakeet: rum, Velvet Falernum, Le Verger Liqueur, lime, tiki spice syrup, and egg white. There’s also a show-stopping volcano bowl, the Mount Pelee, a few frozen options, and a few intricate non-alcoholic cocktails.

Katherine Kimball/Tiki Tock

High Grace NOLA

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This brand-new bar takes over the space formerly home to legendary French Quarter dive bar Johnny White’s. Calling itself an “upscale dive,” the St. Peter Street space has a new look thanks to blue-tinged lights and dark wood, along with a few neon signs and funky murals, but still has a classic dive bar feel. For some added excitement, High Grace is having fun lighting drinks on fire and topping them with mini rubber duckies.

There’s an exciting new cocktail bar in the heart of the French Quarter, so conspicuously positioned on the edge of Jackson Square that it's actually easy to miss. Elegant and old-school, Fives specializes in oysters and other small plates like beef tartare and crab claws, aka excellent drinking food, but cocktails steal the show. A beautiful, fully-stocked bar puts out classics, New Orleans cocktails, and specialty drinks including the Mama Don’t Smoke with aged rum, Amaro Ramazzotti, smoky Lapsang Souchong tea, and tobacco; the Gin Joint, with Chartreuse, celery, sage, and lemon; and the Columns Martini made with vodka, gin, dry vermouth, brine, and pickled vegetables. A dip into the savory cocktail trend is one good reason to visit.

Fives Bar.
Cory James Fontenot/Fives

The Will & The Way

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The Will and the Way is technically a revamp — the space was previously home to Longway Tavern before the restaurant group behind it, LeBlanc + Smith, decided to rethink the concept amid the pandemic. In addition to shifting the focus to wine and cocktails, the group has redone the inside to expand the centerpiece L-shaped bar, add texture and moody colors, and create additional “nooks and crannies,” for patrons to post up in. The beautiful courtyard remains a draw, and the new food and bar programs are backed by serious talent.

The Will and the Way

Calliope Beer Works

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This friendly spot in the former home of the neighborhood-driven Cowbell is not just a brewery — it serves wine, cocktails, and its own food menu as well — a refreshing break from monitoring the pop-up schedules of most local breweries. Calliope Beer Works, from Richard Szydlo, opened in August 2023 with stellar frozen cocktails as well as a few classics, like an Aviation and a melon daiquiri. The wine list highlights sustainability-focused producers (and is heavy on women-owned wines), and the food menu is eclectic. After a few months of serving guest beers, the brewpub launches its own lineup on November 11.

Baroness on Baronne

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The former lauded craft cocktail destination Victory Bar is now a 100 percent woman-owned cocktail lounge, Baroness on Baronne (or the Baroness for short). There’s new, romantic decor, moody lighting, and a menu stacked with fresh, creative house cocktails, well-done classics, and even a specialty shot, the Gas Masque, with Chartreuse and Stroh rum and lit on fire.

Observatory Eleven Bar

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It’s not exactly a rooftop bar, because it’s just inside, but the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the river sure feel on top of the world. Observatory 11 at the Westin is more than a convention hotel bar, thanks to the swank setting and the live music that gives it a true New Orleans sense of place.

Chemin à la Mer

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A new cocktail menu is enough to warrant a revisit, or a first-time visit, to Donald Link’s Four Seasons Hotel restaurant, just a little over a year old. Designed to complement a food menu drawn from Link’s travels tracing the roots and pathways of Creole cuisine through the Caribbean and Europe, the new drinks menu leans heavily on refreshing aperitifs, low-ABV cocktails, and European-style concoctions. Try a Parisian Cobbler made with Lillet, cassis, citrus, elderflower, and local strawberries, best enjoyed in the restaurant’s Purple Grackle lounge.

A Parisian Cobbler from Chemin à la Mer.
Chemin à la Mer

Mister Oso

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Downtown’s newest taco spot is sure to attract a similar crowd to its predecessor, Barcadia, thanks to its lively, splashy atmosphere, a strong happy hour, and its crowd-pleasing food and drinks menu. The bar is focused on colorful, vibrant agave drinks, with an extensive menu of margaritas, mojitos, palomas, and more. Try a Fig & Mischief for something a little different, with its notes of cinnamon, fig, and lemon to go with tequila and whiskey, a pineapple old fashioned, or a tropical twist on a Sazerac, made with tequila, mezcal, cognac, and cinnamon.

The Bower Bar

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This is Mark Latter and company’s revamp of the short-lived Claret Wine Bar space, an extension of the existing Bower on Magazine Street. While it serves food from the Bower kitchen, the focus here is drinks — the 20-seat bar serves sophisticated cocktails like the Hydrix bourbon, mint-infused contratto, amaro, and aquafaba. The swanky bar shares an outdoor space with both of its sister spots, the Bower and Birdy’s.

Pigeon and Whale

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At this Freret Street restaurant showcasing seafood from the Atlantic Ocean, customers can try four — that’s right, four — types of Negronis: amber, white, yellow, and red, all excellent. Beyond those deliciously bitter-but-balanced concoctions, there’s a slew of cheekily-named, intricate drinks, like the Catwalk in the Club with bourbon, Gran Classico, and Cocchi Teatro or the Juice Box, made with gin, Boomsma, and St. Germaine, poured out a glass juice box. Bartenders can also whip up a delightful non-alcoholic spritz, perfect for sipping at the bar alongside caviar service or oysters on the half shell.

Hungry Eyes

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At new restaurant Hungry Eyes, drinks play a central role, from classic martinis to inventive cocktails to fresh wines. It’s an ’80s-themed spot from the Turkey and the Wolf Team, headed up by acclaimed chef Mason Hereford, and is the group’s first foray into dinner and drinks. They call the menu “drinking food,” built to compliment offerings like an espresso martini on tap, a pandan old-fashioned made with rum and bourbon, and an Ube Baby Baby made with coconut, pineapple, and rum. It doesn’t take reservations, so expect a bit of a wait, but it can be spent next door at Second Vine Wine. Sitting at the bar makes for a particularly enjoyable experience.

The bar at Hungry Eyes.
Randy Schmidt/Eater NOLA

Justini’s

Justini’s is the brainchild of Jessica Robinson, who is honoring Black women with both menu items and in this Bywater space itself — with a brown sugar old fashioned named after local civil rights movement leader Oretha Castle Haley, and a lavender French 75 named after the late Dooky Chase chef and civil rights activist Leah Chase. The chic new hotspot, which also serves food, is open Tuesday through Thursday from noon to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday until midnight; and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; closed Mondays.

American Townhouse

American Townhouse is the Quarter’s newest queer-owned bar and restaurant set in a renovated 1857 Greek Revival townhouse across from Armstrong Park. The bar is part of the Rampart Street Renaissance, home to a classic French Quarter courtyard and first-rate craft cocktails, not to mention strong bar food. Go for the Friday $5 martini happy hour and stay for the loaded waffle fries and kale Caesar.

Tiki Tock

The recently reopened Frenchmen Hotel has a new bar to offer a respite from Frenchmen Street chaos, a tropical, tiki-themed spot that extends to the hotel’s rooftop. Walk through a cool clock-lined carriageway to find a funky backyard bar and sample extravagant drinks like a Parakeet: rum, Velvet Falernum, Le Verger Liqueur, lime, tiki spice syrup, and egg white. There’s also a show-stopping volcano bowl, the Mount Pelee, a few frozen options, and a few intricate non-alcoholic cocktails.

Katherine Kimball/Tiki Tock

High Grace NOLA

This brand-new bar takes over the space formerly home to legendary French Quarter dive bar Johnny White’s. Calling itself an “upscale dive,” the St. Peter Street space has a new look thanks to blue-tinged lights and dark wood, along with a few neon signs and funky murals, but still has a classic dive bar feel. For some added excitement, High Grace is having fun lighting drinks on fire and topping them with mini rubber duckies.

Fives

There’s an exciting new cocktail bar in the heart of the French Quarter, so conspicuously positioned on the edge of Jackson Square that it's actually easy to miss. Elegant and old-school, Fives specializes in oysters and other small plates like beef tartare and crab claws, aka excellent drinking food, but cocktails steal the show. A beautiful, fully-stocked bar puts out classics, New Orleans cocktails, and specialty drinks including the Mama Don’t Smoke with aged rum, Amaro Ramazzotti, smoky Lapsang Souchong tea, and tobacco; the Gin Joint, with Chartreuse, celery, sage, and lemon; and the Columns Martini made with vodka, gin, dry vermouth, brine, and pickled vegetables. A dip into the savory cocktail trend is one good reason to visit.

Fives Bar.
Cory James Fontenot/Fives

The Will & The Way

The Will and the Way is technically a revamp — the space was previously home to Longway Tavern before the restaurant group behind it, LeBlanc + Smith, decided to rethink the concept amid the pandemic. In addition to shifting the focus to wine and cocktails, the group has redone the inside to expand the centerpiece L-shaped bar, add texture and moody colors, and create additional “nooks and crannies,” for patrons to post up in. The beautiful courtyard remains a draw, and the new food and bar programs are backed by serious talent.

The Will and the Way

Calliope Beer Works

This friendly spot in the former home of the neighborhood-driven Cowbell is not just a brewery — it serves wine, cocktails, and its own food menu as well — a refreshing break from monitoring the pop-up schedules of most local breweries. Calliope Beer Works, from Richard Szydlo, opened in August 2023 with stellar frozen cocktails as well as a few classics, like an Aviation and a melon daiquiri. The wine list highlights sustainability-focused producers (and is heavy on women-owned wines), and the food menu is eclectic. After a few months of serving guest beers, the brewpub launches its own lineup on November 11.

Baroness on Baronne

The former lauded craft cocktail destination Victory Bar is now a 100 percent woman-owned cocktail lounge, Baroness on Baronne (or the Baroness for short). There’s new, romantic decor, moody lighting, and a menu stacked with fresh, creative house cocktails, well-done classics, and even a specialty shot, the Gas Masque, with Chartreuse and Stroh rum and lit on fire.

Observatory Eleven Bar

It’s not exactly a rooftop bar, because it’s just inside, but the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the river sure feel on top of the world. Observatory 11 at the Westin is more than a convention hotel bar, thanks to the swank setting and the live music that gives it a true New Orleans sense of place.

Chemin à la Mer

A new cocktail menu is enough to warrant a revisit, or a first-time visit, to Donald Link’s Four Seasons Hotel restaurant, just a little over a year old. Designed to complement a food menu drawn from Link’s travels tracing the roots and pathways of Creole cuisine through the Caribbean and Europe, the new drinks menu leans heavily on refreshing aperitifs, low-ABV cocktails, and European-style concoctions. Try a Parisian Cobbler made with Lillet, cassis, citrus, elderflower, and local strawberries, best enjoyed in the restaurant’s Purple Grackle lounge.

A Parisian Cobbler from Chemin à la Mer.
Chemin à la Mer

Mister Oso

Downtown’s newest taco spot is sure to attract a similar crowd to its predecessor, Barcadia, thanks to its lively, splashy atmosphere, a strong happy hour, and its crowd-pleasing food and drinks menu. The bar is focused on colorful, vibrant agave drinks, with an extensive menu of margaritas, mojitos, palomas, and more. Try a Fig & Mischief for something a little different, with its notes of cinnamon, fig, and lemon to go with tequila and whiskey, a pineapple old fashioned, or a tropical twist on a Sazerac, made with tequila, mezcal, cognac, and cinnamon.

The Bower Bar

This is Mark Latter and company’s revamp of the short-lived Claret Wine Bar space, an extension of the existing Bower on Magazine Street. While it serves food from the Bower kitchen, the focus here is drinks — the 20-seat bar serves sophisticated cocktails like the Hydrix bourbon, mint-infused contratto, amaro, and aquafaba. The swanky bar shares an outdoor space with both of its sister spots, the Bower and Birdy’s.

Pigeon and Whale

At this Freret Street restaurant showcasing seafood from the Atlantic Ocean, customers can try four — that’s right, four — types of Negronis: amber, white, yellow, and red, all excellent. Beyond those deliciously bitter-but-balanced concoctions, there’s a slew of cheekily-named, intricate drinks, like the Catwalk in the Club with bourbon, Gran Classico, and Cocchi Teatro or the Juice Box, made with gin, Boomsma, and St. Germaine, poured out a glass juice box. Bartenders can also whip up a delightful non-alcoholic spritz, perfect for sipping at the bar alongside caviar service or oysters on the half shell.

Hungry Eyes

At new restaurant Hungry Eyes, drinks play a central role, from classic martinis to inventive cocktails to fresh wines. It’s an ’80s-themed spot from the Turkey and the Wolf Team, headed up by acclaimed chef Mason Hereford, and is the group’s first foray into dinner and drinks. They call the menu “drinking food,” built to compliment offerings like an espresso martini on tap, a pandan old-fashioned made with rum and bourbon, and an Ube Baby Baby made with coconut, pineapple, and rum. It doesn’t take reservations, so expect a bit of a wait, but it can be spent next door at Second Vine Wine. Sitting at the bar makes for a particularly enjoyable experience.

The bar at Hungry Eyes.
Randy Schmidt/Eater NOLA

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