d.b.a - New Orleans

Loud bar on the lovely Frenchmen Street. Live music in the evenings that make it hard to have a conversation, but that's to be expected. Okay if unremarkable selection of drafts and bottles, and they don't do half pints. Minimal service, bottles served without a glass. Okay if you're into the Nola bar scene but hardly worth a stop for a beerhunter.

Nice location surrounded by a bunch of other spots worth a spot for good music. A two-sided bar with one side devoted to the live music and the other more for conversations. A blugrass-y band was on while we were there- very entertaining. Beer selection was pretty good- offering local and regional suds with a few international beers, too. Service was underwhelming. Decent spot.

Great location. Besides that, there really isn’t much going on for this place. Decent selection of overpriced craft beers, overworked and rude staff, obnoxious clientele, and so loud you can’t talk to the person sitting next to you. I’d skip unless you are really desperate for a craft beer on Frenchmen street or its very early in the day.

Our group stopped in last Saturday just after they opened at 4pm and another group of 8 were already enjoying some nice beers. Good selection of beers. Local and from round country. Only half the bar was open to us since the crowd was small. Lots of other booze for the people who want more than beer.

Came here twice during Mardi Gras week to hear live music, and it’s great to be able to put back a decent beer or three while doing that. Not the best or most adventurous selection in the city, but better than you’d expect on Frenchmen Street.

Type. . . . . . . . . . ..Jazz Club with $10 Cover
Location. . . . . . . .Frenchmen St, Excellent
Prices. . . . . . . . . ..Higher, $7 Pours
Tap Selection. . . .Medium, 15-20 taps
Bottle Selection. .Decent, 20-
Samplers. . . . . . ...Possibly
Full Pours. . . . . . .Yes
Beer Level. . . . . ..Medium
Food Level. . . . ...N/A
Staff. . . . . . . . . . ..Snooty
Growlers. . . . . . ...No
Noise Level. . . . ..Loudest
Décor. . . . . . . . . ..Dark Wood, Low Light
Good for Kids. . ..No
Parking. . . . . . . ...None
Cash Only. . . . . ..No
Recommended. ..Possibly
Comments: Frenchmen St is probably the best place to go out in New Orleans, and the music is legit. There are about 10 or so worthy bars on the tiny street, but only d.b.a. really has craft beer. The selection is decent, good enough to keep a beer lover happy if already on Frenchmen St. But it isn’t good enough to go here for beer on its own. Only about 6 local taps from Nola, Parish, Abita and the rest is easy to find craft and macro-esque German and Belgian beers. So in short, come here for the music and ambiance instead of for the beer.

Pretty nice little bar on Frenchman Street just outside of the French Quarter. Parking was not hard at 5:00 on a weekday but I could see it being a challenge on a Saturday night. The building didn’t look like much from the outside but inside was nice. The bartender was definitely into the craft beer scene.

Visited February 18, 2014.

This is a pretty nice place on Frenchmen St which is way more fun (in my opinion) than Bourbon St. Where as on Bourbon St. you get a bunch of drunken garbage stumbling around and throwing beads, here you get live music at pretty much every stop. And DBA has good beer. In fact they have a lot of beer. So glad I got to visit this place. I’m opposed to cover charges in principle but I paid the $5 and enjoyed the band and some drinks.

On the subject of drinks they have about 20 taps flowing with about half of that being local beers. Naturally they have NOLA and Abita but they also had some Tin Roof, Bayou Teche, and Parish beers. Then there were some national brands like Stone and Brooklyn. For imports they had Chimay, Lindemans, Paulaner, Hoegaarden, and some crap like Harp. I also took the opportunity to tick some grappa and some calvados. The grappa was straight garbage. The calvados wasn’t good either but in comparison to the grappa it was great. Both were washed down by my Chimay Blue in the bottle. They have a large amount of import bottles listed on the chalk boards above the bar. They also have a separate menu for "microbrew cans".

Pretty sure these guys don’t serve food. The service was surprisingly friendly despite how full the place was. The bartender gave me some confused looks when I started ordering grappa and calvados. Calling them "old people drinks". I had a good time here and wouldn’t hesitate to stop back in if I ever make it back to New Orleans.

I love this place. In some ways it has the same vibe as the Anyc location, but offers so much more. The beer selection is very good worth good local choices. The best part is that it’s right on Frenchman St and features great live music in addition to the beer. For a city full of amazing drinking/music locations, this one just feels that much better.