Off the beaten path bars in New Orleans to escape Jazz Fest crowds

As Jazz Fest attendees know, when the New Orleans Fair Grounds close each evening around 7 p.m., the night is only getting started.

There’s an endless supply of bars and clubs in the city, but if you want to party like a local — or just enjoy a chill beer like one — here are a few places I’d recommend to avoid the festival crowds. This guide has everything from French Quarter cocktail bars to grimy Uptown dives. Just pick your poison.

Siberia

Address: 2227 St. Claude Ave., New Orleans.

Neighborhood: The Marigny.

This dimly-lit lounge hosts punk, indie and metal bands nearly every night of the week. They’ve got a rowdy lineup of post-Jazz Fest shows starting at $13, along with mouth-watering Cuban/Honduran food from pop-up Que Pasta Nola.

Snake and Jake’s Christmas Club Lounge

Address: 7612 Oak St., New Orleans.

Neighborhood: Uptown.

To call Snake and Jake’s a dive bar would be a promotion. It’s basically a tin-roofed shed lit up by Christmas lights — or, as the late great Anthony Bourdain once put it: “The alcoholic scum pit of the universe.”

For Uptown locals, there’s no more beloved spot to drink $4 beers, pet the bar’s resident black lab and have at least two strangers ask you to bum a cigarette.

Dos Jefes Cigar Bar

Address: 5535 Tchoupitoulas St.

Neighborhood: Uptown.

Speaking of cigarettes, you can actually light up inside of this jazz bar. No, I have no idea how it’s legal.

Hiding beneath a thick layer of smoke, however, is one of the city’s best places to sit and watch live music, with zero cover charge on a nightly rotation of incredible musicians. There are plenty of tables to sit at, no line for the pool table and a roomy back patio.

Anna’s

Address: 2601 Royal St., New Orleans.

Neighborhood: The Marigny.

To me, Anna’s is the perfect bar. They’ve got it all: cool neon signs, pool tables, cheap, delicious cocktails, and funky art on the walls. It’s got the relaxed atmosphere of a dive bar, with more glitter.

The upstairs is less crowded, with tables and couches to lounge in, and a rotating cast of food pop-ups in the kitchen. Make sure to check out the balcony for one of the neighborhood’s best people-watching spots.

Saturn Bar

Address: 3067 St. Claude Ave., New Orleans.

Neighborhood: The Marigny.

I don’t think I’ve ever danced quite like I have at Saturn Bar’s “Mod Night,” a monthly music party where the DJ plays exclusively ‘60s and ‘70s tunes and all the women are dressed like Twiggy.

Saturn Bar is known for hosting alternative bands and eclectic events that feel like house parties. If the dance floor gets too crowded, you can always head to the upstairs balcony to watch the madness from above.

The Will and the Way

Address: 719 Toulouse St., New Orleans.

Neighborhood: The French Quarter.

OK, so there’s no bar in the French Quarter that’s entirely off the beaten path, but The Will and the Way is still one of my favorite spots in the city.

No matter how packed the surrounding streets, from Mardi Gras to St. Paddy’s Day, I’ve always managed to snag a seat on the cozy courtyard patio. My go-to cocktail is their frozen pineapple daiquiri, but maybe post-fest, the “Jazz Dad” is more appropriate: a house cocktail made with sugarcane liquor, cinnamon oat-geat, lemon and lime.

Poor Boys Bar

Address: 1328 St. Bernard Ave., New Orleans.

Neighborhood: The Seventh Ward.

This LGBTQ+ friendly DJ spot is where you go to leave your worries on the dance floor, and maybe your credit card at the bar. Poor Boys is a true after-hours spot — like, if you find yourself up at 5 a.m. after Jazz Fest and can’t bring yourself to head home.

Not only has the owner gained Instagram fame by curating ridiculous memes, but the bar has its own resident bearded dragon named High Life. Where else would you want to close out the evening?