Bayou Bar

This is a sleepy little bar attached to Pontchartrain Hotel. I came here recently for a knitting group that i just joined. I caught the tail end of happy hour recently. The specials are $ 3 wine by the glass, domestic (not local) beer and well drinks. They had the TVs down low, so we were able to chat easily. I’m going to enjoy my knitting group meet ups here.

I keep walking by this bar every morning, and finally stopped by the other night with my father (visiting from out of town), and my dude. I’m still working out how I feel about the bar — I think I need to go a few more times before I can say anything intelligent. This bar seemed pretty darn low-​key, and there seemed to be only one bartender and one bar back around, but on the other hand it was pretty quiet.
So I have to ding a star, and it’s almost sort of unfair since it wasn’t exactly the bar’s fault, but here goes. We arrived shortly after a Wild Turkey tasting had wound down. The representative was still around talking to some patrons, so I eavesdropped while ordering some drinks. He was promoting one of the honey bourbons as (paraphrased) «being very female driven, because women like sweet things.» While I know this is a very popular trope, I roll with a lot of women who love bourbon, scotch, and all manner of whiskies, and this type of thinking is a tad offensive to a lot of lady cocktail enthusiasts (disclaimer: there’s nothing wrong with sweet drinks, but please stop equating it with THE LAYDEEZ if you’re in an actual cocktail bar if you want my business).
Even though I happened to be ordering a Moscow Mule (what can I say, I must have been in a female driven mood that night), I almost wanted to march over to the dumb rep and guzzle my gentleman’s Knob Creek just to make my point. Instead, I just rolled my eyes and returned to our table. The end!

This place has definitely seen better days and most nights in here are pretty lackluster these days. There is some history here so it is worthwhile to visit but the drink prices are way out line with most of the other places in the area. I live nearby this place but the only times I end up here are when Armand St. Martin happens to be playing or when something like Marielle’s UYE happens.

I always had wanted to stay at the Ponchartrain hotel before it turned into a senior living community. Actually, now that’s it’s become a senior living community, I want to stay there *even more* because old people are awesome and have better stories to tell than hipsters.
The Bayou Bar (located inside the Ponchartrain) is the second best thing to living there (sadly, I’m a bit below the minimum age requirement). It allows for hangin’ with the oldies in a super old school swank-​ay environment. I saw a really cool lady come down with her poodle a couple weeks ago when I wast here for ladies night. Oh, yes. You bet your blue beehive that there’s still a real ladies night in town. It’s Thursdays at Bayou Bar! And you won’t find the bar packed with «poor» students nor hipsters neither (please don’t tell them about it. They may think it would be ironic to hang out there and then ruin it for the rest of us).
Since I’m prematurely old and cranky, I enjoy the fact that the bar isn’t packed. You can get drinks from the bartender in a timely manner, too. He might even fill you in on the hotel’s glorious past.
Yes, I’m a fan. Now get me my cane, bitches!

This is a great bar.
Located on the ground floor of the historic Pontchartrain Hotel, I would have never known about this bar if it weren’t for Unilocal (Thanks Marielle S.).
The bar has a very cool atmosphere. The wall and bar area is adorned with paintings of Louisiana bayou scenes done by a famous local artist. Apparently the large painting on the wall is insured for a million dollars. This seems a bit odd since people can sit next to it and rest their head on the wall, but it is a very cool painting.
The bar feels very fancy, because of the history surrounding it, but doesn’t feel pretentious. I think I would be comfortable here dressed up, or in casual clothes. Not many bars can accomplish the fancy, yet laid back vibe.
Service was very good. The bartender was friendly and showed great skill at making ultra fancy drinks. The selection of beer was admirable, including Nola Irish Channel Stout on draft.
I really liked this bar and hope to come back soon. If you are looking for a laid back, yet fancy bar with great history, check out the Bayou Bar. You won’t be disappointed.

I’ve been to this place a few times now and it’s more than a bar, it’s a really nice place to relax with friends. Sure, it’s an older crowd, but on Fridays they have Phil Melancon on the piano and you can’t resist having a good time as he sings classics from Nat King Cole and others from that classic era.
The hotel and the bar have an old Hollywood history. Celebrities such as Tennessee Williams, Frank Sinatra, Walt Disney, Truman Capote and many others have stayed (and drank) here when they were in New Orleans. The Bayou Bar definitely has an old, classic feel and it’s one of those New Orleans bars that makes you appreciate what the city has to offer.

I am so happy I stumbled upon this random hotel bar one night. The place was hopping with a full room of AARP members hooting and hollering along with a true character on the piano. After a couple of classic standards he broke out the ukulele and walked around the room strumming and singing. Then came the guest crooners who brought the room down with some spirited renditions of classic New Orleans and Mardi Gras songs. When we stopped by the piano before we left to ask when the gentleman behind the piano usually plays he even gave us free CDs. Awesome.
This place was a blast. The drinks were good but nothing special and the piano player is there most Friday nights. I certainly plan on going back.

The Bayou Bar has a storied history. Located on the first floor of the Pontchartrain Hotel on St. Charles Ave., the Bayou Bar was once the watering hole for such legends as Frank Sinatra and Frankie Lane. Now, the bar has been reopened and restored. I live around the corner, so I just had to try it out.
The bar area isn’t actually very large, but it’s very well-​appointed. Swamp murals adorn the walls and pillars. They had a very interesting cocktail menu, but I stuck with the house wine. It was very good, and the staff was about as attentive and friendly as I’ve ever found in New Orleans.
I was hungry, but wasn’t sure if they had a kitchen. I was told that they are now serving small plates starting at 7pm, with piano starting at 8pm. The menu is small, but the options are good. I first ordered the barbecue shrimp sandwich, which was fantastic. The shrimp were fresh, and the sauce was superb. My wife later joined me and we ordered the Italian cheese fries, the pepperoni pizza and the open-​faced beef debris sandwich. The pizza was good, but not great, but the cheese fries and the debris sandwich were excellent.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable experience. I will certainly be returning to the Bayou Bar.