Size Matters
There are so many ways to categorize the ample bars in New Orleans. One could group them by the neighborhood that they're in or by whether they are "neighborhood" bars. One could distinguish between the types of drinks that are served or what spirits they specialize in.
We will list bars not by age, area, or drink but by the literal length of the bar tops. The measurements of the following bar tops excluded walk-through areas and obstructions including columns and food service areas.
Parlay's in Lakeview is often uttered by locals when asked what they believe to be the longest bar in New Orleans. The 40-year-old neighborhood gem is the longest linear bar on this list with an overall length of 692 inches. Most of the bar stools are taken up by dedicated regulars who have frequented Parlay's for at least part of the bar's 40 year history, and one must pass by all of them to get into the back part of the building. "I don't think anyone's ever alone here. Some of the regular customers won't give you space to be alone. I've been here for 18 years. I've gotten to know so many people and made so many friends. Everybody makes friends with everybody. It's a fun place to come and meet people," Bar Manager Brenna Hoppmeyer said.
Hoppmeyer recalled several instances of people meeting for the first time at Parlay's and going on to marry and start families, leading to multiple generations of customers. "Having worked here for almost 20 years, one thing I have noticed is the generations of people that come in. The parents are regulars, and their kids are regulars. A lot of people met here, but they don't come in much anymore because they got married and had kids. But we see them every so often."
Parlay's bar was not always a linear shape. Unnatural and natural disasters have reshaped it into what it is now. "Before I started working here, the bar was wavy. Supposedly, it was completely lifted up and floated away during Hurricane Katrina. The bar burned down in 2020, and they rebuilt this bar top with wood from Rock 'n' Bowl's lanes, and they added a few more feet. After the fire, when they were tearing everything down, you could see the different layers of wallpaper and paint. Some of the wallpaper had cocktail glasses on them," Hoppmeyer explained. Photos of the flood and the fire are posted at the ends of the bar.
Finn McCool's in Mid-City is not far behind Parlay's for linear bars with a length of 662 inches. Whiskey-drinkers love the stately 608-inch bar of Barrel Proof in the Garden District. Long linear bars then move to the French Quarter and Marigny with the following contenders: Coyote Ugly (588 inches), The John (576 inches), Cosimo's (550 inches).
A bar top can be very long if it forms a complete shape like a rectangle or circle, and the building that houses it doesn't need to be very large. The longest shaped bars surpassed the lengths of the longest linear bars because of this. The Rendon Inn in Broadmoor is the longest bar top overall with an impressive length of 973 inches. It wasn't until 2005 when the Rendon Inn could boast of this length. "Rendon Inn opened right after Prohibition, and it's been here ever since. The bar used to be linear until Hurricane Katrina. After Katrina, the remodel is what turned it into a center bar with patio access," explained Jeff Rizzo, who purchased the Rendon Inn and the adjoined event space The Hangar in 2021.
Rendon Inn is a "hidden Uptown gem" that has become more of a restaurant thanks to Rizzo's enticing menu, which mirrors that of his Metairie bar Shenanigan's. Back in the 1980s, the patrons were not focused on elevated bar food. Rizzo said, "Back in its heyday, the Rendon Inn was a very popular place with their biggest nights being Wednesdays, and it was called Drinkin' with Lincoln. It was $5 to get in for all you can drink all night."
Two French Quarter bars hold the spot of second and third longest bars overall, as well as being the second and third longest shaped bars. The local-loved watering hole BMAC'S French Quarter Bar and Courtyard bar is 771 inches, and the hidden away high-end cocktail bar Bombay Club is 746 inches, and the hidden away. Bombay Club's bar top is merely 4.5 feet longer than Parlay's bar.
Not to be outperformed, some bars are neither mostly a straight line nor are they a complete shape. These angular bars are quite interesting to look at and may be more conducive to conversation than other bar shapes as you can choose where to sit along it and how to face people near and far. The District in the Warehouse District has an L-shaped bar top of 591 inches. The Beach Corner's bar top in Mid-City recently received a brand new 556 inch bar top that accentuates the V-shape of the bar with some rounded spots.
Wit's Inn's bar top in Mid-City is hard to describe with so many ins and outs, but it all adds up to 492 inches of seating space. The Schooner Saloon in the French Quarter has an aptly-shaped bar that resembles a hook that is a total of 475 inches.
It's not the length of the bar that makes a bar special. The people that frequent it, the bartenders that welcome you in, and the conversations that are had between all of them is where the true magic is.
Longest Linear Bars
(bars where most of the bar is one straight line)Parlay's - 692" (Fourth Longest Overall)
Finn McCools - 662" (Fifth Longest Overall)
Barrel Proof - 608" (Sixth Longest Overall)
Coyote Ugly - 588"
The John - 576"
Cosimo's - 550"
Markey's - 534"
Vic's - 499"
Evangeline Lounge - 446"
Basin - 420"
Brothers 3 - 349"
Longest Shaped Bars
(complete square, rectangle, or circle)Rendon Inn - 973" (Longest Overall)
BMAC'S - 771" (Second Longest overall)
Bombay Club - 746" (Third Longest overall)
Longest Angular Bars
(incomplete shapes or linear with several angles or curves)District Lounge - 591" (Seventh Longest Overall)
Beach Corner - 556"
Wit's Inn - 492"
Schooner Saloon - 475"
Cooter Brown's - 471"
Santos - 455"
