Loa Bar

Such a great bar! Carmine whipped me up a special drink this weekend because I wasn’t sure what I wanted. It was amazing! My boyfriend had one of the specialty cocktails off of the menu– delicious! Nick and Steve were also great and personable, such attentive bartenders! We love to visit this bar when we come for a visit from the Northshore! Thanks for a great start to our evening guys! This place is a little gem!

Some of the best & original cocktails I’ve had in a while. Please refrain from a bottled beer or ordinary mixed drink. Do me a favor, open up the menu or ask for one of their bartenders to whip up a cocktail. You will not be disappointed.

Usually one of my favorite bars when I visit NOLA however this visit the bartender was a condescending jerk!

Walk in to a candlelit bar, with a mixologist who knows his drinks. Monday thru Saturday features an extensive cocktail menu, with Sunday a more paired down menu. Your cocktail comes served in a glass from an older era. I’ve had mixed service experience since happening upon this place in 2011, but I always come back.
By far the most inventive cocktail menu. Also the hotel is one of my absolute favorites to stay at, so that’s a bonus too!

Gorgeous bar, very nice seating. Friendly bartenders. Delicious crafted cocktails, nice beer selection. Love everything about this place. I hope they will start to play more electronic music, I only heard drum’n’bass play once :)

Went to Loa bar this past weekend for drinks before heading out with friends.
We were going out around CBD so using Unilocal I looked up bars in the area and Loa came up. The reviews looked good so I figured I’d give it a try.
The bartender who served us was very nice. She was very attentive and came to check on us where we were sitting to make sure we had everything we needed. She didn’t come around too much though to where it came to be annoying.
The drinks were ok… Ordered a couple drinks off the menu but pretty common drinks. An Old Fashioned and a Kentucky Mule. The bartender definitely had a heavy pour when she made the drinks.
The décor was interesting… Felt like I was having drinks in an old Catholic church, but it is in The Renaissance so I suppose it fits.

Absolutely love this place usually. But tonight we (7 friends) came in at 1138 pm for ONE drink to end our night – when they close at 12 which we knew before going in – with 3 other customers in the bar who already has drinks, and we were denied any specialty mix drinks. Loa crafts amazing concoctions and we were happy to share this experience with friends who had not been able to yet. Beer, wine, and simple mixed drinks (jack and Coke, gin and tonic) were the only option. I’m absolutely appalled at the lack of service and frank rudeness. Highly recommended once, but not after the way we were treated this evening. I’m not sure what the bartender chick at the time was thinking, that we were tourists who were ignorant of the time? Congratulations on pissing off a LOCAL who recommends Loa to anyone wanting specialty drinks in NOLA. Not any more.

I don’t know what I did wrong here but I couldn’t get service. I tried sitting in the lounge and another table was getting table service but my friend and I were ignored. I tried at the bar twice. I was there ²⁰⁄₃₀ minutes and nothing. People who arrived after me were served. I’m kind of a professional fancy cocktail drinker so it was a bummer.

This place is amazing! The drinks and ambience is beyond incredible. I could spend all night here just drinking away at this cool bar. You won’t regret it! One of the best bars in nola!

This is one of my favorite bars in the city. Great atmosphere, an exciting craft cocktail menu that changes regularly, friendly and knowledgeable bar staff, and it’s usually not too crowded. This is a great spot for dates, after-​work cocktails, or pre-​dinner drinks with friends.

Absolutely fabulous drinks, the best white russian i may have ever had!

A few years back, I lived in the CBD and I would frequent LOA often. I just recently went back for and and am wondering why I ever quit going? Stephen was an EXCELLENT bartender and the ambiance is top notch. Definitely one of my favorite bars in the city.

I was fortunate to be staying at the IHH, so Loa was only ever an elevator ride down for me. I’d wanted to visit it on my previous NOLA trip, but didn’t have time, so this was particularly serendipitous.
It lived up to the hype. As a mixologist nut, my version of heaven is a fully stocked bar where I – and other freaks like me – can craft cocktails to our hearts’ content. I loved everything about Loa, from the gorgeously kitschy décor, to the super cute and friendly bartenders, to the drinks themselves. Since the menu changes everyday (devised by the bartenders), my selections probably won’t mean that much, but here they are:
The Standard — Cutty Sark Scotch, banana, thyme, Abbots bitters
Portrait of a Lady — Old Tom gin, Palot Cortado Sherry, Georgia white peach-​fenugreek
Mabon — Ramazotti, Baska Snaps, Cointreau, orange juice, egg white, cinnamon
Portrait was a particular favorite, given the combination of peach and fenugreek. Delicious! And if the menu should not be up to your tastes, the bartenders will definitely work with you to create a drink you like. #love

My new favorite place to get away while still being in-​town! These cocktails have great flavors and the ambience is always relaxing.

Located in the International House Hotel in the CBD, LOA is conveniently within walking distance from our place in the Warehouse District. Everything from the lighting, to velvet damask, oddodities and elixir bottles at the bar… this place is a bit eccentric & very cozy/​sexy. All that aside, this place has the absolute best cocktails in the city. The Mezcal & Rhubarb cocktail they’re currently mixing up is my favorite. I cannot remember the name, let’s just call it «The Damanda»

Great bar to get artisan cocktails. Bartenders are great and fun, Brian is the man to see… super knowledgeable. With the addition of live music on Fridays it’s a fabulous atmosphere away from the craziness of the French Quarter. The bar area is dimly lit with beautiful art, vases, and statues representing a multitude of themes.
Don’t come here asking for a Corona or a shot of Patron please. Bourbon is only a few blocks away for that.

I consider this place a hidden gem in the downtown New Orleans area. I was introduced by my significant other, and always find myself venturing back when I am in the mood for craft cocktails and a laid back environment.

I’ve been to Loa several times now, and I have to say that I am always delighted by the beautifully designed (and very romantic) space and inventive cocktail menu. The bartenders are extremely knowledgeable and personable, happy to share their passion for the craft. Plus, their menu is updated with new creations all the time, so each visit you can try something new.
My date and I had a great experience last night in which our bartender gave us some insight into how he had developed some of the menu’s cocktails, including us getting to sample some of the interesting tincture and ingredients he’d created for them. Truly delightful.

Interesting cocktail list and a nice vibe, TOTALLY ruined by a jerk of a bartender. When we entered, the bar was relatively empty and we grabbed two seats at the bar, because we love to watch mixologists make their magic. Bartender’s generally love us because we aren’t demanding, we respect their craft and we tip well. Alan was on duty that night. The first bad sign was that we had to ask his name and introduce ourselves. Again – it was relatively empty – yet he seemed to be bothered by our attempt at friendliness. We blew it off, assuming that he was just not a talkative guy. We placed our orders (we told him what we liked and he suggested items on the existing menu. Cool.) Were they what we’d hoped for? One was, the other, not quite. But it was decent. The problem? He never even checked back to see how we liked them. So we decided to go off menu for our next round and tell him what we wanted more/​less of and let him take it from there (that’s what mixologists do, right??). Well, that never happened bc around this time several people entered the bar and he started taking their orders. Cool. We waited. And waited. And waited. And that’s when we saw that he WAS in fact talkative, engaging and quite friendly. Just not with us. Finally, we jumped in (after realizing that he was walking up and down the bar checking to see if anyone wanted anything but completely ignoring our raised hand and empty glasses). We finally said, «Alan, when you have a moment, we’d like to place an order.» His response – a head nod (not a word) and then he went on to serve two separate parties who walked up AFTER we’d said something to him. Again, in full charming personality mode. We were there first, we were sitting DIRECTLY in front of him, we were ordering from his cocktail menu (of which he appeared to be particularly proud), yet we were the only ones who were being actively ignored. Oh – and we were the only African American patrons in the bar area (there were a few others when we arrived but they were seated in the lounge area and left soon after we arrived). You do the math. I’ve looked at the other reviews and am pleased to see that we weren’t the only ones who experienced rude treatment – but the fact that we were the only ones receiving it last night was pretty salient.
Finally when all the other people had cleared out (they’d ordered beer and wine and finished quickly) he returns to us and says «So what can I get you?» Our response (after 20 minutes of begging for his attention)? The check.

Just maybe my eye sight is failing me… Loa Bar is definitely a cool place to have a cocktail in New Orleans but the inside is just so dark and I could barely see what’s on the menu, the decoration or even to admire the colour of my drinks.
The drinks we ordered were A-​OK, easily on the palate as most of them has fruit and herbs as part of the ingredients especially from the Today, Tomorrow and Always list.
The velvet covered seats are quite comfy and the dim atmosphere is perfect if you on a date.
I won’t consider Loa Bar as a destination but it is ok if you are in the area and looking for a night cap.
I was ready for a nap!