Frenchmen Street runs three blocks through the Faubourg Marigny and holds more live music per square foot than anywhere else in New Orleans. The brass bands start around nine and run past midnight most nights, and the kitchens below keep pace with them. These three spots keep food moving while the music does.
Dat Dog
Dat Dog started as a 475-square-foot shack on Freret Street in 2011 before expanding to a second-floor Frenchmen Street location that became the chain’s most popular outpost. The balcony above 601 Frenchmen has become one of the better-known perches on the strip, elevated above the street traffic and close enough to hear every set from the venues below without paying a cover.
The menu runs sausages, hot dogs, and andouille links topped with combinations that lean New Orleans: Crawfish étouffée, debris gravy, boudin, and remoulade all make appearances on the topping list. The Irish Channel dog and the Bacon Werewolf have their own regular followings. Everything moves fast and comes out hot, which is the specific requirement at midnight on a Friday when the second set is starting.
Dat Dog Frenchmen is at 601 Frenchmen Street, open Monday through Thursday and Sunday from 11 am to midnight, and Friday and Saturday from 11 am to 3 am. Call (504) 309-3362 or order ahead at datdog.com.
Bamboula’s
Bamboula’s at 514 Frenchmen Street operates as a live music venue and full-service kitchen simultaneously, which puts it in a specific category on the strip. Most venues on Frenchmen run bars with minimal food. Bamboula’s runs a complete Cajun and Creole menu alongside a rotating lineup of jazz, brass, and Latin bands with no cover charge most nights.
The charbroiled oysters draw specific praise from regulars, as do the goat cheese croquettes and the jambalaya. The Caesar salad with cold poached egg and anchovies has quietly built a following among the dinner crowd that arrives before the late sets start. The spinach and artichoke dip gets called out by reviewers often enough to warrant ordering. The room is wide and open, the drinks are priced reasonably for the strip, and the kitchen runs deep into the night on weekends.
Bamboula’s is at 514 Frenchmen Street, open Monday through Thursday and Sunday from noon to midnight, and Friday and Saturday from 11 am to 2 am. Call (504) 944-8461 or check the current lineup at bamboulasnola.com.
Marigny Brasserie
The Marigny Brasserie sits at the corner of Royal and Frenchmen Streets, a local favorite that operates as a proper restaurant first and a music venue second. French doors open directly onto the sidewalk, and the clean-lined dining room runs seasonal Cajun and Creole dishes prepared with local ingredients: traditional chicken and sausage gumbo, wedge salads, gourmet mac and cheese, house-cured beet salads, and an oven-roasted chicken that comes with a crawfish fritter. The bread pudding has its own reputation.
Happy hour runs 5 pm to 7 pm daily, and the kitchen stays open until 11 pm on weeknights and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. The wine list is better than the surroundings suggest, and the live big band music that plays most nights makes it the most formally musical dining experience on the block.
The Marigny Brasserie is at 640 Frenchmen Street, open Monday through Thursday from 5 pm to 11 pm, Friday and Saturday from 5 pm to midnight, and Sunday from noon to 11 pm. Call (504) 945-4472 or reserve at marignybrasserie.com.
