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Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Bar

941 Bourbon Street,
New Orleans, LA, USA
(Map)

(504) 523-0066

[Click here for a picture of the pub]

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Review

Lafitte's, on the corner of Bourbon and St Phillip Street is a small stagger from the hustle and bustle of the majority of the nightlife in the French Quarter, but for an establishment at this end of Bourbon, pulls in a large crowd. New Orleans gives you the opportunity of a shorter stumble from one pub to the next than many other places on earth, and if that is what you are after, then this pub is just too far away from everything. On the other hand, it is approximately half way between the busier end of Bourbon and the Marigny district, with its more dignified restaurants and cafes. Go for a nice meal on Frenchman Street and then head back to the bright lights via Lafitte's.

Jean Lafitte was a privateer but apparently ran the blacksmith shop with his brother as a front. The building is authentic 18th Century, and it shows. It is one of the few remaining examples of French architecture in the town, the majority of the rest of the French Quarter having burnt down and been rebuilt with Spanish stylings. The place really does look more like a blacksmiths than a pub.

The dark probably does this pub a lot of favours - when we returned to it in the cold light of day we were surprised how delapidated it actually was. Authenticity is one thing, but they could make a stab at preservation too. Then again other trendier places might pay for the mock delapidation effect. So when it gets dark, they keep it that way - no electric lighting to help you find your beer. no ugly wiring to spoil the wooden beam ceiling, and tealights instead provide the only indication of the position of rickety tables as you navigate the bar area, and the place takes on more of a rustic than a condemned air. According to some award advertised at the bar, this is the "most romantic bar" in New Orleans. You might be led to believe that in the quest for authenticity, they haven't even bothered with electricity yet, were it not for the air-conditioning generating an authentic-feeling dank.

When you are deprived of one of your senses the intensity of the other senses is suppoed to be magnified, so another charming feature is a honky-tonk piano in the rear bar area with an old seadog resembling Uncle Albert playing requests from the heaving crowd gathered around.

For those who want to stay outside, there is a beer garden alongside the pub, with real trees and a real garden bar, although nobody was serving at the time we visited. The garden is also better lit that the inside, with fairy lights strung around and the ubiquitous neon beer signs. TV is also available on the small screen outside, and make sure you check out the lovers sculpture, complete with tan lines.

I am reliably informed that the women's toilet follows the authenticity theme, with a wooden door falling off its hinges, and of course, no lock available. But hey, the rear bar is as dark as the rest of the pub and the customers would need to turn away from the pianist to catch any other live entertainment as the door swings open. If you really can't face the humiliation, there is a festival style "Nature Calls" Porta-potty in the beer garden outside. The men's room is an altogether different affair with a rarity among toilet stalls in the US - a door that actually fits its frame without leaving gaps all around. However, at only five feet tall, it does feel like being back in primary school.

Nearby:

Pubs:

The Ragin' Rooster	228 Bourbon Street
Utopia	227 Bourbon Street
Cat's Meow	701 Bourbon Street
Silky O'Sullivan's	311 Decatur Street
Pat O'Brien's	718 St. Peter Street

Public Transport:

User Comments:

dmulholland100	Friday, 24th September 2004
As a New Orleans native, I have to say the Blacksmith's is one of my all-time favorite drinking establishments. It's dark, intimate, friendly and in the summer it's great to sit outside.