The 25 Best Bars in New Orleans

Think beyond Bourbon Street.

Not Available Lead
Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Not Available Lead

In case you haven't heard, New Orleans is a fantastic drinking town. Arguably the best in the world, in fact. Unfortunately, the perception that many have of New Orleans is that everyone goes to Bourbon Street, gets blackout drunk, and loses all control of their faculties. Sure, there are people who regularly do that in New Orleans; they're called tourists.

The local drinker, however, is a seasoned veteran at the art of imbibing, capable of having their first drink of the day with breakfast and maintaining the ability to deftly argue with a stranger about where to get the best po-boy in town twelve hours later. Additionally, the local drinker doesn't just drink all day at Mardi Gras—the local drinker drinks all day on your average Tuesday. New Orleanians just know how to drink better than most others do.

A big part of knowing how to drink is knowing where to drink. With a couple of rare exceptions, people who live in New Orleans do not step foot into the dens of filth, despair, and douchebaggery one finds on Bourbon Street. We view it with the same disdain a New Yorker would view Times Square. 

Here are the places where the average tourist would never go: the 25 Best Bars in New Orleans. Happy drinking.

Written by Brett Michael Dykes (@thecajunboy)

RELATED: The 25 Douchiest Bars in New Orleans
RELATED:  The 10 Best New NYC Bars of 2012

25. Allways Lounge and Theatre

Not Available Interstitial

24. Pal's Lounge

Not Available Interstitial

23. Saturn Bar

Not Available Interstitial

22. Sainte Marie

Not Available Interstitial

21. Tracey's

Not Available Interstitial

20. Crown and Anchor English Pub

Not Available Interstitial

19. Cure

Not Available Interstitial

18. Half Moon

Not Available Interstitial

17. Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop

Not Available Interstitial

16. Apple Barrel Bar

Not Available Interstitial

15. Molly's at the Market

Not Available Interstitial

14. Mimi's in the Marigny

Not Available Interstitial

13. Old Absinthe House

Not Available Interstitial

12. Snake and Jake's

Not Available Interstitial

11. Bridge Lounge

Not Available Interstitial

10. The Rusty Nail

Not Available Interstitial

9. Port of Call

Not Available Interstitial

8. Kajun's Pub

Not Available Interstitial

7. Parasol's

Not Available Interstitial

6. The Saint Bar and Lounge

Not Available Interstitial

5. Capdeville

Not Available Interstitial

4. Arnaud's French 75

Not Available Interstitial

3. Bacchanal Wine

Not Available Interstitial

2. Sylvain

Not Available Interstitial

1. Bar Tonique

Not Available Interstitial

Latest in Pop Culture