New Orleans Dive Bar Guide
Patchwork of Neighborhood Dives
If there was ever a city made for history-steeped, authentic to the core dive bars, it has to be New Orleans. Few cities can match the confluence of cultural forces that exist within the city, forces that have left in their wake a patchwork of completely unique, true-to-their-neighborhood dive bars that makes visiting the city a new adventure time.
It’s hard to know where to begin, but one logical spot may be two New Orleans dives that are in the running for best dive bars in America, Jake & Snake’s Christmas Club Lounge and Vaughan’s Lounge. Both are far flung from the traditional tourist spots and both boast a history, a story and enough faded paint to build a brand new bar.
And it is the neighborhoods that create the experience in New Orleans, from the quasi-French Market hidden gems in the French Quarter (Aunt Tiki’s, The Abbey) to the supremely well-stocked Bywater (BJ's Lounge, Bar Redux) to a shotgun scattering of Garden District & Uptown selections (Out In The Cold, Ms. Mae’s The Club). Visiting the best dive bars in the city means visiting a host of New Orleans neighborhoods and any trip is better for it.
No, the tourists probably cannot be avoided (the Chart Room is a good way to try), given the magnet status of the city, but selections here provide a window into the parts of the city that aren’t tourist destinations but neighborhoods, dive bars serving decade after decade of New Orleans resident.
It’s hard to know where to begin, but one logical spot may be two New Orleans dives that are in the running for best dive bars in America, Jake & Snake’s Christmas Club Lounge and Vaughan’s Lounge. Both are far flung from the traditional tourist spots and both boast a history, a story and enough faded paint to build a brand new bar.
And it is the neighborhoods that create the experience in New Orleans, from the quasi-French Market hidden gems in the French Quarter (Aunt Tiki’s, The Abbey) to the supremely well-stocked Bywater (BJ's Lounge, Bar Redux) to a shotgun scattering of Garden District & Uptown selections (Out In The Cold, Ms. Mae’s The Club). Visiting the best dive bars in the city means visiting a host of New Orleans neighborhoods and any trip is better for it.
No, the tourists probably cannot be avoided (the Chart Room is a good way to try), given the magnet status of the city, but selections here provide a window into the parts of the city that aren’t tourist destinations but neighborhoods, dive bars serving decade after decade of New Orleans resident.
Dive Bar Map
New Orleans Dive Bar Reviews
Ranked Order
Snake & Jake's Christmas Club Lounge
Review Rating: 10 out of 10
Pray for your eyes to adjust to the red lights and embrace the best dive bar in New Orleans.
Vaughan's Lounge
Review Rating: 10 out of 10
Faded paint, rusted roof, timeless history, Bywater location, a powerful dive bar confluence of forces.
Brothers III Lounge
Review Rating: 10 out of 10
The ceiling tiles sag, the walls look a little suspect, but canary yellow is a siren song on Magazine.
Mayfair Lounge
Review Rating: 10 out of 10
The bar’s interior feels like a Mardi Gras float exploded all over the ceiling, in a good way.
Out In The Cold
Review Rating: 9 out of 10
Despite the controversial addition of a sign, the buzz-me-in romance is still alive in the Irish Channel.
Chart Room
Review Rating: 9 out of 10
Cash only French Quarter refuge from the roaming tourists and bachelorette parties 24/7.
Bar Redux
Review Rating: 8 out of 10
The dive bar at the end of the world, kind of, between abandoned buildings on the edge of the Bywater.
Aunt Tiki's
Review Rating: 8 out of 10
More visual stimulation per square foot than your average dive bar, a needed French Market distraction.
Igor's Lounge & Gameroom
Review Rating: 8 out of 10
Play some pool, have a Bloody Mary and do your laundry all along St. Charles.
Le Bon Temps Roule
Review Rating: 8 out of 10
The original floors are worth the rating alone for this corner neighborhood spot.
R Bar & Royal Street Inn
Review Rating: 8 out of 10
Ritzy hotel up top, $2 High Life in the dive bar below, the right kind of combination.
The Abbey
Review Rating: 8 out of 10
A black hole that absorbs the glaring New Orleans sun, duck in-ready dive near the French Market.
Port of Call
Review Rating: 8 out of 10
Somehow the combination of tiki drinks, great hamburgers and uncommon baked potatoes works.
BJ's Lounge
Review Rating: 8 out of 10
The wall art is best left to an in-person visit, the photo filled Bywater New Orleans dive.
Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop
Review Rating: 8 out of 10
Invaded by a frozen purple drink, but still the dimly-lit, very much blacksmith-feeling Bourbon king.
Corporation Bar
Review Rating: 7 out of 10
Cinder blocks near the convention center, the perfect place to skip a seminar or two.
Cooter Brown's
Review Rating: 7 out of 10
Because sculptures of celebrities drinking Little Kings is worth the trip along the Mississippi.
Parasol's
Review Rating: 7 out of 10
There may be no better neighborhood dive bar slash po boy one-two punch in the city.
Molly's At The Market
Review Rating: 7 out of 10
Because sometimes people need a beer more than they need a pile of beignets.
J&J's Sports Lounge
Review Rating: 7 out of 10
Where there’s a Blatz sign above the door and a Pabst sign in the Bywater window.
Black Penny
Review Rating: 7 out of 10
Renovated but in a way that accentuates the building on the edge of the French Quarter.
Pirate's Alley Cafe
Review Rating: 7 out of 10
It’s an alley, it’s cobblestone, it’s got a pirate theme, it’s near the French Quarter, it’s everything.
Vic's Kangaroo Cafe
Review Rating: 6 out of 10
Like a worldly, hole-in-the-wall coffee shop decided to start selling cold beer instead.
Ms. Mae's The Club
Review Rating: 6 out of 10
Uptown classic that has since gotten a facelift and a few coats of paint to save it from extinction.
Redd's Uptilly Tavern
Review Rating: 6 out of 10
Because you’re either a student at Tulane or you want to drink just like one.
Buffa's Bar & Restaurant
Review Rating: 6 out of 10
Renovated to remove the dive distinction, now home to live music steps from the French Quarter.
3rd Rock Tavern
Review Rating: 5 out of 10
Blacked out windows and cheap drinks for those near the New Orleans airport.
New Orleans Bar Crawls
The Bywater
The perfect dive bar neighborhood on the edge of the New Orleans map.
French Quarter
A worthwhile hunt for dive bar authenticity among the tourists.
Magazine St / Uptown
One of the main arteries of the city with some of the main dives too.
Carrollton
Deep history where the street cars start to stop.
New Orleans Dive Bars Not Yet Reviewed
Must Visit Recommendations
Unfortunately, we have not yet been to every single dive bar in the city, but there probably a few more punch cards on our livers, so we’ll make it there soon. In the meantime, the curated list of dives below comes highly recommended by a variety of friends, online sources and drunks.
