Must-see nightlife in Louisiana

  • Twelve Mile Limit

    New Orleans

    Twelve Mile is simply a great bar. It’s staffed by people who have the skill, both behind the bar and in the kitchen, to work in four-star spots, but who…

  • Cure

    New Orleans

    This stylish purveyor of cocktails and spirits flickers like an ultramodern apothecary shop, a place where mysterious elixirs are expertly mixed to soothe…

  • Pal’s

    New Orleans

    This great neighborhood bar is a little more convivial for the older generation, although it’s definitely an all-ages crowd. The men’s bathroom,…

  • Hayride Scandal

    Louisiana

    This cocktail bar is one of the best things to happen to the Baton Rouge bar scene since the invention of Abita. There's a sepia-toned, dark-wood vibe at…

  • Bouligny Tavern

    New Orleans

    Sexy lighting, Mad Men decor, inventive cocktails and an extensive wine list – it all comes together in a lively, flattering tableau. A fashionable…

  • Station

    New Orleans

    There are plenty of cafes in Mid-City, but Station is a significant caffeinated cut above the rest. The coffee is simply thoughtfully curated and brewed…

  • Treo

    New Orleans

    My Whole Life Is Thunder. Shochu Wanna Party. The Rubio. Treo knows how to name a cocktail – and, more importantly, how to mix one. Tipplers have a choice…

  • Monkey Hill Bar

    New Orleans

    Toward the quiet end of Magazine St, Monkey Hill looks and feels like a neighborhood bar, but it’s also one of the best happy-hour spots (3pm to 7pm…

  • Avenue Pub

    New Orleans

    From the street, this scruffy pub looks like a nothing-special neighborhood dive. But with more than 40 beers on tap and another 135-odd in bottles, plus…

  • Le Bon Temps Roulé

    New Orleans

    A neighborhood bar – a very good one at that – with a mostly college and post-college crowd attracted by two pool tables and a commendable beer selection…

  • Bulldog

    New Orleans

    With 40 or so brews on tap and more than 100 by the bottle or can – from Louisiana and Mexico to Italy and points beyond – the Bulldog works hard to keep…

  • Second Line Brewing

    New Orleans

    Located at the end of some old railroad tracks, Second Line has turned a light industrial warehouse into a kicking brewery with a courtyard and kid…

  • Alto

    New Orleans

    If you want a good view of the city, or a good view of a bunch of millennials enjoying a good view of the city, head to the Ace Hotel's rooftop bar. There…

  • Birdman Coffee & Books

    Louisiana

    Birdman is the spot for strong coffee, acoustic live music several times a month, delicious baked goods and local art – both via paintings and exposure to…

  • Cooter Brown’s Tavern & Oyster Bar

    New Orleans

    Cooter’s scores points with locals because it served as a community gathering place in the aftermath of Katrina. College kids, local characters and Uptown…

  • Columns Hotel

    New Orleans

    With its antebellum trappings – a raised front porch, white Doric columns, a flanking live oak – the Columns Hotel harks back to a simpler era. Here we’re…

  • Mid-City Yacht Club

    New Orleans

    The Yacht Club is so much a part of the neighborhood that one of the owners took his boat out to save flooded Katrina victims (hence the name of the bar,…

  • St Joe's

    New Orleans

    New Orleanians have voted St Joe's the best in town several times. Patrons come to this dark-but-inviting place for the Japanese lantern decor, the well…

  • NOLA Brewing

    New Orleans

    This cavernous brewery welcomes guests throughout the weekend for a free brewery tour that kicks off with sloshy cups of craft brew and a food truck or…

  • Piscobar

    New Orleans

    One of the more haute and hip options in downtown New Orleans, the downstairs bar at the Catahoula specializes in pisco-based cocktails, in case it wasn't…

  • CellarDoor

    New Orleans

    Although the CellarDoor is technically a gastropub, we tend to skip the New Southern food menu and lean into the excellent, extensive cocktail list and…

  • Urban South

    New Orleans

    In an industrial dystopia of warehouses and concrete jungle, you'll find a big, booming beer hall packed with happy folks and, yes, laughing kids. Urban…

  • Finn McCool’s

    New Orleans

    Want a surreal New Orleans experience? Arrive at 6am when premier league soccer or big international rugby games are playing. You'll see a mix of European…

  • Saint Bar & Lounge

    New Orleans

    The Saint? Of what? How about a great backyard beer garden enclosed in duck blinds and filled with tattooed young professionals, Tulane students, good…

  • Capdeville

    New Orleans

    The compact Capdeville is an upscale pub with retro roots – check out that jukebox and the album covers – on the 1st floor of the Intellectual Property…

  • Rue de la Course

    New Orleans

    The setting alone – a cavernous former bank building on the corner of Carrollton Ave and Oak St – is reason enough to step inside for a look-see. With the…

  • Rendezvous

    New Orleans

    Dartboard, pool table, a long and dark bar, old-looking mirrors on the wall and a few video poker machines. And Billy Squier’s The Stroke on the speakers…

  • Café at Rouler

    New Orleans

    This cafe serves as an excellent CBD meet-up corner and is popular with the local cycling community – unsurprising, as it's connected to a bicycle shop…

  • Fair Grinds

    New Orleans

    Like many of the best indie coffee shops, Fair Grinds is comfy, hip and unpretentious. And, of course, it serves a good cup of joe. It also showcases…

  • Tout de Suite Cafe

    New Orleans

    Wander over from the Algiers ferry stop for sandwiches and cookies and some excellent breakfast goods – sign us up for the almond crusted brioche French…

  • Half Moon

    New Orleans

    On an interesting corner, just half a block from Magazine St, the Half Moon beckons with a cool neighborhood vibe. This dive bar is good for a beer, short…

  • Igor’s Lounge

    New Orleans

    Play pool, tap your foot to the rock on the speakers and do your laundry? Yep, and you know it’s time to leave this dive if the sinuous bar counter starts…

  • Great Raft Brewing

    Louisiana

    Shreveport boasts one of the finest, most underrated regional breweries in the nation: Great Raft Brewing. Drop by the tasting room and give the…

  • Barcadia

    New Orleans

    This sprawling, high-energy bar celebrates the games of your youth in a big and flashy way. There's life-size Jenga, towering Connect Four, air hockey,…

  • Oak Wine Bar

    New Orleans

    With a setting both swanky and spare, Oak's vibe is hard to place, but if you'd like a glass of wine or a specialty cocktail in a nondivey setting, this…

  • Swizzle Stick Bar

    New Orleans

    This swell bar is the tipsy companion to Café Adelaide, and its good-time vibe seems poised to spill into the lobby of the adjoining Loews Hotel. A dash…

  • Barrel Proof

    New Orleans

    Do you like whiskey? We sincerely hope so, because there are almost 300 to pick from here, including smoky, smooth and sublime. The crowd is young…

  • Courtyard Brewery

    New Orleans

    Beyond its home-brewed products, Courtyard also carries a few dozen beers from around the world, and hosts a regular, rotating slate of food trucks. Pets…

  • Handsome Willy's

    New Orleans

    Willy's is one of the oddest bars in New Orleans, a neighborhood-style dive in a patch of empty parking lots that lacks a neighborhood. It's consistently…

  • Verret's Lounge

    New Orleans

    This is the kind of old-school dive where you'd expect to find a bunch of retirees propping up the bar. Instead, the clientele is a younger (not student…