Bamboula’s

NOTE: My original review was removed because certain people felt the need to whine to Unilocal because they didn’t agree with my assessment of this venue. So, I added a few more details, and hopefully the cry babies won’t win this time round. I’ve been going to see live music since I was 16 years old (I’m 47 now), and I’ve worked in the music industry just as long, so I feel qualified to tell you this: Bamboula’s kinda sucks. Like most of the clubs on Frenchmen, it’s a tourist’s fantasy of what a cool music venue should be. Like just about every place in town, it’s home to struggling, young jazz musicians playing 30s/​40s standards. Not to say there aren’t some talented musicians to be found on the stage here — there is A LOT of talent in NOLA — it’s just that you have to wade through the usual, middling rock & blues cover bands to get to something of substance. As for the food, the only thing I’ve eaten here was chips & salsa, and it was pretty mediocre. I just found the entire place to be dirty and unappealing in every way. Really, I’ve only been here once when I didn’t want to leave after ten minutes. Frenchmen is kinda like the Bourbon St. of live music — it’s not all horrible, and there are fun places like Spotted Cat (also WAY overpraised), but mostly it’s the same olé thing up and down the strip. And for the people that all of these joints cater to, I’m sure they’re more than happy with that.

This is a wonderful little bar with GREAT live bands! During our stay we stopped in here at least three times to listen to music and to eat one night. The first day we stopped in we grabbed a few drinks and listened to Vice Blues, a really great jazz band. They had so much energy and the singer, Chance, tap danced and got on the floor to swing dance. I eventually had the opportunity to swing dance with him while the band played and it was so much fun!!! We stopped in another night to listen to more music and grab dinner. The food was delicious (coconut shrimp and the catfish poboy) and the two bands that played (I dont remember the first, but the second band was Johnny Mastro & Mama’s Boys) were really good again! Great place and great atmosphere!

Super friendly staff, great music, and the crab cakes… You can share but they’re so good you’re going to want your own!

I think I heard the best bands here during my time in New Orleans, although not one venue that we went to had bad music.
I came here on Saturday and Sunday night, and on both the place was hopping. Be mentally prepared to stand to watch the bands. And if you do snag a seat odds are the view won’t be ideal. Both nights we weren’t up close, but it’s very loud so you’ll at least be able to hear the music.
On Sunday we were nearly at the second stage (which didn’t have a band at it). That night we snagged some fried pickles, and they were mighty tasty! Definitely pop in here if you’re on Frenchmen: the no-​cover charge was also a bonus (although most venues don’t seem to have a cover, but a few do).

The room itself, the ceiling especially, is beautiful and the music is great.
I had an incredibly rude bartender harass me for no reason, must have been a stressful night, but the manager, Nicholas, was very polite and professional, which honestly saved my opinion of the place. One of the better spots on Frenchmen st.

Great jazz on a cold winter Sugar Bowl afternoon. Scruffy fun none-​too pretentious crowd. Reasonable drinks. Friendly staff. Super fun band. Really kicked it up.

Live music with 2 person band including a guitar banjo and bazooka! At 2pm there were already music… earlier than some of the other scenes. One min drink with $ 10 to charge credit card. Got front table seat in front of the band.
Drinks ordered.
1. Dark and Stormy with gosling back seal rum, ginger beer. Lime garnish– mediocre. nothing special.
2. Purple haze beer– good however I didn’t see the purple hue at all! My husband did so I must be color blind.

Spent a lazy a Monday afternoon in this awesome live music bar. Bloody Mary was delicious, service was great but the best part was the Ben Fox trio. How the hell are these guys not famous by now? When in NOLA come here and if they aren’t here, find them.

We loved our visits to Bamboula’s to listen and dance to fabulous music in the evenings. Many people simply listen and drink at the bar or eat dinner, but others Dance Dance Dance!
We’ve heard great blues, rock and roll, soul, and New Orleans beats. Some you could try to catch
are Ed Wills, the Caesar Brothers, and Juju Child. All three are local and top flight live music.
There’s no cover charge, friendly people, good food, and strong drinks. Fantastic place to hear the real deal.

Lauren was an amazing waitress and Smoky Greenwell and his band were incredibly entertaining. We’d highly recommend this to anyone visiting the French Quarter and looking for a chill place to relax and listen to some nice blues music.

There was a wonderful band playing here when we arrived. The combination of jazz, blues and rock was pretty interesting. The older guy playing trumpet played two trumpets at a time and it was fun listening to the eclectic music. I would say the place has a nice ambience for having a few beers while listening to some good music.

One of the first things I heard when I told friends that I was going to New Orleans was, «you have to go to Frenchman Street.» I heeded that advice (obviously…) We were walking down the short stretch of Frenchman and across from the legendary Spotted Cat was Bamboula’s. It was late afternoon and the doors were open and some really great sounding music completely lured us in. And we ended up staying… for three hours, through 2 more sets of Russell Welch’s Hot Quartet (SO, SO GOOD!) The bloody marys were delicious! The wait staff couldn’t have been nicer. We liked Bamboula’s so much we stopped by 2 more times in the next 2 days. All of the music I’ve heard was great. And while it wasn’t a place I’d thought of eating at, we split an oyster po’boy that was scrumptious.
The music is free, which is a HUGE plus, but remember to tip the band!

This place is awesome!!!
Great live music
Dancing
Good drinks/​Bartenders
Good prices
Amazing food
Super sweet waitress
Come check this place out! You won’t be sorry! Great vibe, lots of fun!!!

This was our first stop in this magical town! We arrived early afternoon, and we had such a good time, we made sure to come back for a second round before we left.
First off – décor is just so cute and welcoming, I love the details of the flooring to the ceiling… And you can’t overlook the mural!
Live music was playing, couples were dancing the overall ambiance was magical, absolutely magical! I fell in love with New Orleans and it began with this place.
The food was pretty good too! We had the coconut shrimp (amazing) and the crab cakes were decent. The service wasn’t the fastest but, the entertainment definitely made up for it.
We came back for a second time Saturday night, and the music was just as great and cherry on top for me was how clean the bathroom was! It was definitely the cleanest on the block (super duper plus for me!)

Was there on a Sunday afternoon. I was walking down Frenchmen St, hanging out, and as I walked by Bamboula’s, I just heard a band playing jazz, so I decided to walk in and listen for a while. Music was really good, I had a great time there.
However the place is a little bit dark inside for a Sunday afternoon, I feel like a little bit more light would have been more than welcome.
Good points though, the drinks are cheap, both beers and cocktails. I didn’t try any of their food but the plates of other people looked good.

My favourite Frenchmen spot wasn’t doing it for me, so I left and started walking in search of music that matched my mood. That’s the beautiful thing about Frenchmen Street, all you have to do is walk until you hear the music that feeds your soul. That’s how I found Bamboulas. This was a great bar/​venue with no cover, plenty of space, fab music and decently priced drinks. Check out their website for the music calendar and put it on your list to check out on your next visit!

Live bands. Friendly service
It would be nice if they had more of a variety of IPAs
Didn’t try their food

We were taking it easy on Frenchman Street on a Sunday evening and after a few laps around, we wanted to park somewhere and listen to some music. On location and venue, it looked like a potential home-​run spot that was in between sets.
The venue is dressed in a light colored wood and had seats close to the stage and tucked away, and all in all feels like a cool music venue with a bit of NOLA soul.
Flash forward a few minutes to the actual band coming on stage and it became abundantly clear why there were so many open seats. From the first squealing hack on the guitar it was obvious that this was a ‘dad band’ that was pieced together. These guys had whatever the opposite of band chemistry is. They sort of just picked away at the guitar, treating a 10 minute song like one intense solo.
It looked like someone pulled the fire alarm with the mass exodus towards the doors, and when we walked by later, it was as sparse as a cool bar could be on a busy night.
I’d definitely give Bamboula’s a chance again, but would pre-​screen the music outside before heading in.

Sweet potato fries and Bloody Mary’s for jazz on Sunday afternoon? Must be Bamboula’s on Frenchmen in NOLA! Great place to chill and relax.

This place probably deserves 3.5 stars. It’s a nice bar to have a beer and listen to some music. We came around 6 pm, which is probably not the peak of the evening, but we got to listen to a young jazz trio that was pretty good. The staff was not particularly friendly.

Not a great experience. The place looked pretty good and I saw coconut shrimp on the menu, so I went in. The band was good and the place is new and clean but the food is not at all good and I was not too happy with one of the servers.
So, the woman who took our drinks order asked what my party wanted. I’d already had a drink elsewhere that was pretty strong and didn’t want alcohol. I was ordering food, so I forgot I was in a bar, not a restaurant, and said, «just water for me.» I don’t hear so well and the music was pretty loud, so I turned my attention back to the musicians when the server started yelling, «Ma’am, Ma’am!» at me. When that got my attention, she informed me there was a one drink minimum. Fine. I ordered a soda water with a squeeze of lime. The waitress didn’t have to take that tone.
Needless to say, I was less than happy when the shrimp came. The guy who brought the shrimp seemed nice enough, unlike the drinks waitress, but then there was the food. It was FIVE, count them, FIVE shrimp which were undoubtedly frozen, not fresh, extremely greasy, and with a very thick, overcooked crust on them. This cost over $ 10. I will not be darkening the door of this establishment again and take it as a sign of the deterioration of Frenchmen Street, which has become Bourbon Street Jr. Why two stars? The decent band and the clean bathroom.