Bars : USA : LA : New Orleans : Lafittie's Blacksmit Shop Bar
Bars : USA : LA : New Orleans : Lafittie's Blacksmit Shop
Bar
About Lafittie's Blacksmit Shop Bar
It's some steps away from the main action on Bourbon, but
you'll know Lafitte's when you see it. Dating from the 1770s, it's the oldest
building in the Quarter -- possibly in the Mississippi Valley (though that's
not documented) -- and it looks it. Legend has it that the privateer brothers
Pierre and Jean Lafitte used the smithy as a "blind" for their
lucrative trade in contraband (and, some say, slaves they'd captured on the
high seas). Like all legends, that's probably not true.
The owner managed to maintain the exposed-brick interior
when he rescued the building from deterioration in the 1940s (and later lost
it). At night when you step inside and it's entirely lit by candles, you can
understand why Offbeat magazine claims Lafitte's patented the word dank. In
other towns, this would be a tourist trap, a jukebox does overblare, and an
exterior renovation badly falsified the previous genuine
plaster-and-exposed-brick look. Yet it still feels authentic (Tennessee
Williams did drink here, after all), and it's almost always easy to get into,
even on Mardi Gras day. Definitely worth swinging by for atmosphere, but drink
only beer; their mixed drinks appall cocktail aficionados.
Lafittie's Blacksmit Shop Bar Review By John L. : Chicago, IL
Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop is AWESOME. During a long weekend
in NOLA, I spent a few hours here. As soon as I entered, staff approached and
took drink orders. That's right. I didn't even have to approach the bar. That's
quality service. I will say that it is dark as hell in there. Candles seem to
be the option. They say it is haunted but nothing happened to me. I didn't get
molested by a ghost or pushed into a wall. They also say that it is the oldest
bar in the union. Cool.
Spent my time sitting around the piano while the talented
Mike Hood killed and smoked. Being from the People's Republic of Chicago, it
was odd to see people smoking and drinking and having fun. Hood took lots of
requests and if he didn't know a song he seemed to look it up on an iPad. Gotta
love technology. He even knocked out a version of "Piano Man" for
some patron even though he expressed some displeasure at the idea. Hey, in the
end, he wasn't too cool to not play it. Make the people happy and they will
fill up your pitcher with tips I say.
Make this place YOUR stop when visiting New Orleans. Take
some time and look up the bar's history and its connection to the Battle of New
Orleans. Interesting.
Contact Lafittie's Blacksmit Shop Bar
Address 941 Bourbon St, New Orleans, LA 70116 | Phone (504)
593-9761
Contact Frommer's
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