The craft beer destination in New Orleans, operating with a tap list depth and cellar programme that would be impressive in Portland or Brussels, let alone a city whose drinking culture is built on cocktails and frozen daiquiris. The upstairs balcony overlooking St. Charles Avenue and the passing streetcar is one of the finest drinking perches in the city — a cold beer, the oak canopy, the clang of the streetcar below. The regulars are beer enthusiasts in the genuine sense: people who will discuss Belgian lambics and Louisiana hazy IPAs with equal passion and without condescension.
Location
Garden District, New Orleans
Map
Insider Intel
Whatever is limited release on the rotating taps — the Avenue Pub gets rare allocations that other bars in the city cannot access. Ask the bartender what just went on and trust their enthusiasm. The upstairs taps tend toward Belgian and sour styles; the downstairs bar covers the American craft range. If you want to go deep, ask about the cellar selections — aged bottles that reward patience.
Late evening on the upstairs balcony, watching the St. Charles streetcar pass below while drinking something from the rare-beer rotation. The bar keeps late hours, which means a midnight Belgian tripel is entirely reasonable. Saturday afternoons draw the beer-enthusiast crowd for new tap releases.
The upstairs and downstairs bars have different tap lists and different atmospheres — upstairs is the balcony and the Belgian/sour focus, downstairs is the main bar and the broader selection. The balcony is first-come and the best seats go early on nice evenings. The Garden District / St. Charles Avenue location is walkable from the streetcar. Cash and card accepted. The depth of the beer programme is genuinely unusual for the South.