Bar: The Chart Room
Location: 300 Chartres St, New Orleans, LA 70130
Score: 8.9/10
Disclaimer: Do not go to New Orleans during late June, it will be as hot as Satan’s sack and incredibly humid. While this may be common sense to most, my friends and I met in New Orleans this past year during this time. While it was seriously hotter than you could imagine it was a great experience and most of our first time to NOLA. When going to NOLA the main attraction is Bourbon Street and rightfully so. It is truly an indescribable street where you have no clue what you will see. After a long day of drinking and venturing around New Orleans, we found ourselves in front of a bar called the Chart Room. What attracted us to the Chart Room was the open feel of the bar, as the doors were proped opened, lending itself to a welcoming feel. When we walked in, I immediately knew this was a great decision. It just had a feeling to the bar that is hard to describe. A watering hole for locals, the place was filled with tons of New Orleans characters, and everyone was having a good time. Right away, we noticed it was a cash-only bar, which is typical in New Orleans. Luckily, they had an ATM for people to use. Along with the ATM they had a few digital poker machines for people to play with if they pleased. As far as the music goes, they relied on a jukebox, which is always preferred as most of the music played was right up my alley. The decor of the bar was typical of an old dive, wood furniture, wood ceilings, wood everything. The coolest part of the bar was the bench seating that they had around the outer part of the bar on the wall. This bar was easily able to accommodate the remaining friends of mine who stayed out.
At this point in our night, it was 2 am. The plan was to enjoy a beer at the Chart Room and make our way back to our hotel. Then, I saw something I had never seen before. Miller High Life………on draft. That’s right, the champagne of beers, coming straight from the tap. I pinched myself twice as I thought I was dreaming and was very happy to encounter this unicorn in the wild. Still to this day, I have never seen High Life on draft, again. At this point, I damn near sprinted to the bar and ordered 10 draft High Lifes for my friends and I. Then my jaw truly dropped as they were $2 a piece for a 12oz draft. A shocking price that essentially forced us to stay well past 2 am. I mean $2 High Lifes? How do you walk away from this? At this point, it was about 3:30 am and we decided to call it quits. What started as going to a bar on a whim, turned into a memorable night. Carrying over trays of High Life for my friends in one of my favorite cities. The Chart Room is as welcoming as any bar you can find. Even though it is a couple blocks from Bourbon, I urge you to visit this establishment.
Decor: Behind the bar was littered with random signage including more old dollar bills. The place let the old wooden ceilings and bar to the talking.
Price: $2 High Lifes. I did not drink anything else, cause why would I? But I am sure other beers are cheap.
Service: Great service, bartender did a great job catering to my group of ten people. Very polite and attentive.
Atmosphere: This place has a very different atmsphere than Bourbon. People are still trying to get after it, but without the complete madness of Bourbon st.
Cleanliness: The place was very clean as were most New Orleans bars. The bathroom had your classic writing all over the walls, I still laugh everytime I see a “call for a good time” written on a bathroom wall. A joke that will never go out of style.
Bonus points: Cash-only bar!