The Best Places to Drink and Do in Central City Historic District & Uptown Historic District

The Columns is a hotel bar on Saint Charles with chandeliers the size of small cars and antique furniture that makes a glass of house wine feel like an occasion. Esquire has put its martini on a list of the country's best. The porch is the move on a slow afternoon, with a drink in hand and the streetcar rolling past every few minutes like a very slow parade. Dress nicely, but nobody will check.

1. Esquire Columns Martini · The Best Martinis in America
2. The Infatuation The Best Bars In New Orleans

The turquoise Garden District mansion has been turning out Modern New Orleans Creole since Ella Brennan and a young Emeril Lagasse were essentially inventing the genre together. Fine dining in the grand sense, white tablecloths and all, though the room skews festive rather than stiff. Meg Bickford runs the kitchen now, keeping the cooking by turns classicist and a little bodacious. Wine Enthusiast put the cellar in its Hall of Fame, and the weekday lunch martinis go for a quarter.

1. AAA Four Diamonds
2. Esquire La-Ti-Da · The Best Martinis in America
3. Wine Enthusiast The Wine Restaurant Hall of Fame

1. The Infatuation The Best Bars In New Orleans
2. Spirited Awards 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Hotel Bar – U.S. Central
3. Spirited Awards 2023 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Hotel Bar – U.S. Central

The building is roughly the size and shape of a railway car, wedged next to a gas station on Saint Charles with fairy lights strung through the overhanging trees. Delachaise is a wine and beer bar where the front terrace somehow becomes exactly where you want to be, watching the street roll by. Over 40 wines by the glass keep the options interesting without the prices getting precious about it.

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