The Best Bars in Central Business District

Chandelier Bar is the glamorous hotel lobby bar at the foot of Canal Street, all marble, crystal, and gold fittings, with a chandelier big enough to have lent its name and its crystal to the martini glass. Cognac shows up in the cocktails, including a fortified sazerac, and the bartenders are nicer than the surroundings strictly require. The potato chips arrive free, so dinner can technically be skipped.

1. Esquire Martini of the Year: Chandelier Martini · The Best Martinis in America
2. Esquire The Best Bars in America
3. James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bar

The tiger-print carpet and floor-to-ceiling scarlet bookshelves are a clue: this was once a city hall library, and the Parisian team behind Candelaria and Le Mary Celeste had the good sense not to gut it. Now it's a French cocktail bar leaning heavily on vermouths and amaros, the kind of place where the aperitif hour has a way of quietly becoming midnight.

1. Esquire Dirty Boi · The Best Martinis in America
2. The 50 The 50 Discovery
3. Spirited Awards 2023 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Hotel Bar – U.S. Central

Low-lit and unhurried on Magazine Street at the edge of the Lower Garden District, Barrel Proof is a neighborhood whiskey and cocktail bar that lets its bottles do the talking. The bourbon list runs deep, the cocktail menu stays short and confident, and food comes from rotating pop-ups rather than a kitchen. A James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurateur, which is an unusual nod for a place this deliberately unshowy.

1. Eater These Are the Very Best Bars in New Orleans
2. The Infatuation The Best Bars In New Orleans
3. James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Robert LeBlanc - LeBlanc + Smith

1. James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service · Abigail Gullo
2. Spirited Awards 2023 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Hotel Bar – U.S. Central

1. Esquire The Seaworthy Martini · The Best Martinis in America

1. Esquire The Best Bars in America

Curried goat over sweet potato gnocchi is the dish that quietly explains Nina Compton's whole project here. This Caribbean-inflected restaurant sits inside a converted coffee warehouse in the Warehouse Arts District, all exposed brick and mosaic tile, and the menu pulls together her St. Lucia roots, New Orleans flavors, and stints in Florida kitchens. The bar holds its own, and the service runs warm enough that a James Beard Outstanding Hospitality semifinalist nod makes a certain sense.

1. Eater The All-Time Eater 38
2. James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Chef · Nina Compton
3. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

1. Spirited Awards 2026 · Top 10 Nominee · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar

1. Spirited Awards 2024 · Top 10 Nominee · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar

1. Difford's Guide 4 stars · Difford's Guide

1. Difford's Guide 3 stars · Difford's Guide

A cocktail bar off the lobby of the Loews Hotel, run by the Brennan family, the Commander's Palace dynasty that makes hospitality feel like a genetic condition. The signature Adelaide Swizzle comes with a "secret ingredient" the bartender will strongly imply is Falernum, plus a couple of theatrical pours he'll perform on request if you ask nicely and look like you mean it.

1. Difford's Guide 3.5 stars · Difford's Guide