Snake and Jake’s Christmas Club Lounge

This place is a damn disgrace… and its amazing.
I so wish there was one of these joints in every city. Not all the guests in our party felt the same way — but there was a HEAVY lean towards the idea of just spending hours there drinking $ 2 beers all night long.
While this is definitely uptown, and maybe a hike from anyone who is staying towards the quarter, marigny, garden district… it is WELL worth the trek. It is unlike anything else…

This is my favorite bar in America. I have lived in new Orleans for 4 years now, and began my time by experiencing bars and pubs in the neighborhood around me, but never quite made it to this place until last year. The rumors that float around concerning this place are as funny as they are scary.
This give the place a wonderful atmosphere, and one to be enjoyed at midnight or later, when the true goblins and ghouls surrounding the bar come out to play.
One enters the place and there is a couch and a few tables to the right and a bar to the left, all of which is lit by red christmas lights that cast enough light to function, but not enough to really give you vision enough to see across the bar if it is crowded.
Truly a place that you have to see if in New Orleans.

We threw a 32 bar Pub Crawl in New Orleans for my buddy’s Five-​O and ended here at 2 AM on a Monday night.
I had heard a little about this place hidden out by Tulane, and it was a must see (and drink) on our list of places. I can’t say it was what I expected but we certainly had a blast.
The place is dark, just Xmas lights from what I remember. limited seating and small. It’s literally a corrugated steel shack in a residential neighborhood. The Über driver even told us, «You don’t want to go there» which made me want to go even more!!!
I was told it was an old neighborhood style bar where locals hangout, stay out and occasionally play live music. Well, the locals turned out to be more college locals than the New Orleans locals, which was fine, but the flare I thought I would get, the vibe wasn’t what I was hopping for. And we got no live music.
Maybe it was because we brought the party (15 of us), maybe because it was it was the end of our three days in NoLa, maybe it was because it was 2 AM, but we truly had a time to remember. We danced, laughed, took over the couch, made friends with college kids, and just got a little crazy. That’s what is amazing about this place, it allows you to let your hair down and just say f-​it, gonna have fun!
Really, if you’re in NoLa and it’s late, really late, grab your friends and experience this place!

This is a dive bar. That is stating the obvious, but this place is a true dive bar, maybe the truest dive bar. It has everything one could desire in a dive bar…
Red lights
Few Windows
A smell of old beer and damp concrete
Rips in the stools
Regulars that have mastered the art of drinking
Bathrooms that ready for a grimy selfie, complete with scribbly graffiti
Bar tenders that have more stories than drink options
Strange décor
And a bar top that has prob been there since it opened
If this type of joint is not for you, don’t go. But if it is a place you can hang in this spot is not to be missed. There is something beautiful about a place where people can come to escape the woes of the day, have a drink, stare into space and discuss the complexities of the world with their best friend or a total stranger. At snake and jakes there is a feeling comfort because everyone is there to get a little weird and god damn it that’s ok.

First time I been here (which was 4 years ago), being the spoiled bar brat I was, I dismissed this place in an instant. However, after a friend convinced me to go here again, I started to like the place more and more. Sooner than you know it, I had convinced and persuaded all my friends to come here. A great place to go to if you are around the neighborhood and it’s 3am and all the bars around are close, but you still have a stomach for a drink. The drinks are cheap, and the year-​round Christmas lights really give it a unique feeling. Would definitely recommend this place if every bar in town is closed and you are still alone without a girl wrap around your arms.

Contrary to my hometown posts — I can ONLY rate my experiences in New Orleans based on comps from around the world. Dismiss me from the start as an out-​of-​towner if you will.
We were 150 feet away from Snake & Jakes when the vibe broadcast kicked off. A small & unassuming street presence, the Christmas Club was as inviting as it was indifferent.
Relatively early on a Monday eve (10:30pm), we rolled in and assumed the 1&2 slots counterclockwise of a long bar. A red 25w bulb burned unshaded on the counter and it invited us to order up.
The evening turned out to be a predictable 2X Jameson’s/Coke and EITHER a Rusty Nail OR a 2X Dewar’s/water/neat. Without Drambuie, this was a «Neat» stop.
Fairly subdued at this early hour but it was clearly going to ramp up slowly, based on the steady flow up until which time we left. While there, had the pleasure of meeting Proprietor David who gave us a bit of the history
Off the beaten path — this merits a special visit — a detour, if you will. Definitely unique.

If you are visiting NOLA this is a must go!!! Best fun little dive bar!!! amazing service! Great convo! Ask for Juan! He’s only there after 1am!!! Ask for him and say zack sent you! Juan is a kind soul, amazing energy. You will not be disappointed!!!

If you don’t like snake and jakes I probably won’t like you.
I live a block from here so k find myself here a lot. It’s a dive bar, obviously but it’s just dicey enough that it feels cool. The couch is a little gross but I’ve spent many a night there with $ 3 vodka crans.
The décor is weird in a cool way and I personally want to find a way to obtain the giant Santa light up

Been meaning to come to this place for the last two years, and last night, we made it happen…
The bar is tucked away in a residential neighborhood off Oak street, and it without question ranks in my top 3 dive bars I’ve been to!
*Drinks are very inexpensive!*
*The crowd was a mix of welcoming locals (a few we found out had ownership in snake and jakes), some funny Tulane students, some young adults out for a good time, and a few tourists (us)*
***The kicker was how awesome the bartender was! Juan was MAN; he was quick with your drink, very interesting to talk to, and played his iPod like a world-​class DJ :) ***
Check this place out, and cross your fingers Juan is working that night (although something tells me there are other great bartenders who work there, too)!

If you haven’t been to Snake and Jake’s, you haven’t truly lived.
Unlike any other bar on the planet, and a staple for ultra-​late nights. Just swing by — you’ll be glad you did and you’ll probably have a hell of a story to tell afterwards.

First time into the classic Riverbend dive where its Christmas year round. This place reminds me of a bar my cousins had years ago called Lil’ Peoples Bar which essentially is a garage turned into a bar. There were many of these in many neighborhoods around the city at one time but have mostly vanished. This place features cheap beer and cheap booze with old school charm that just gets better the later you arrive, Naturally Nawlins.

Favorite bar in town. Mainly locals. Same round of drinks was a different price each time we ordered. It really does feel like the roof could cave in at any time. More of a 4am spot than an 11pm spot.

I’m sorry I haven’t reviewed this place.
Imagine your dad wants to build his garage into a man cave but your dad has no carpentry skills.
The end result?
A garage turned into a bar illuminated by old Christmas lights and held up with 2x4s that If you knock one out the foundation will come collapsing as I’ve learned the hard way as my buddy held the ceiling up while a bouncer replaced the wood column to hold it up.
The roof a mixture of aluminum and army fish net.
The house wine? Schlitz malt liquor.
The lighting is dim. The drinks are cheap. The black out come free with the purchase of 7 or more shots.
It used to be so hard to see in here as I would arrive at 4 am drunk into a cloud of smoke so thick you would swear it was a giant spider web. What did I just kick? A dog? omg.
It’s also per friendly and now smoke free.
Don’t sit on the couches.

So many of my memories are trapped in the blackout of Snake and Jake’s. Snake and Jake’s is a New Orleans experience that, like many other experiences will find you when you’re ready. For me, the first experience with Snake and Jake’s was being lost with my friends after one (two or three) too many beers and seeing what appeared to be a Christmas-​decorated shack in the middle of September. We had heard rumblings of Snake and Jake’s, the diviest dive in New Orleans, but never had the notion to go. But there we were and in we went. The smoke hung thick in the air and the leftover nicotine woke us from our haze. Several cheap Schlitzes later and we were in love.
But now the Schlitzes are a little pricier ($ 2) and the nicotine stays outside. You can actually see from the front door to the back of the bar so some of the late-​night anonymity is gone. But four years later the 2 AM question, «Snakes?» is always a yes for me.

I wanted to like this place but there just wasn’t anything to it. Anthony Bourdain has chatted the place up, and many consider it the diviest bar in America (since Mars Bar closed).
First of all, I didn’t find it all that dirty (besides the bathrooms). Which is fine, it’s not like I need a bar to be filthy to have a good time. Music was good. Décor is great. Dark with red lights and Christmas lights all over the place. A super comfortable green couch that you can just melt into.
I didn’t know when I made it a destination that it was a college bar, which may explain why the crowd was kinda lame. We came before midnight on a Monday hoping to avoid the craziness and drink with some regulars. If anything things were too mellow despite every seat at the bar being taken, and absolutely no one was talking to anyone outside of their little group. Even the crowds outside smoking weren’t up for mingling. The place was pretty boring, at least on the night I went. And it’s so out of the way that I can’t see myself making a point of coming back while in NOLA.

Ehh im torn. This was a cool spot, really cheap drinks. and it had a homey feel to say. but idk, i didnt really get too impressed by it. The people are friendly and interesting for the most part. Service could be better, come on its packed and you know many idiots like myself will travel far to come here — so theres only one person serving at the bar? get outta here. however the cheap drinks are what drew me in. There was one or two creepy men here, but i guess thats expected but after spending a week in NOLA, i wasnt really that annoyed by the men until i came here. anyway the bathrooms, theyre dumps. pure dumps.but theres toilet paper and it works. theres just no lock on the door ladies. or a handle. peoople outside are chill and friendly. even the bouncer is too. deff make a trip here but i wasnt all that into it, maybe i came on bad night?

Snake and Jake’s ended up being on the list of places to visit while I visited the city with my sister. It was definitely an experience, though judging from others reviews I may have gone too early to really experience the magic and terror of this place.
We arrived around 9pm on a Sunday, missing all the crazies and drunks, but not experiencing the true character perhaps. Regardless, I’ll take emptier and chill over loud and crowded, especially somewhere like this.
$ 2 Schlitz is what we had, very similar to Rainier and PBR. It’s dark inside, yes, but I didn’t have an issue with that as the red lights provided enough light to see. We left when two large roaches made their descent; my sister was not interested in hanging around.

Oy, I’m exhausted just thinking about Snakes.
I was never as fascinated by the novelty of Snakes as other people were, probably because I’m from Buffalo so I’m all too familiar with dive bars that stay open late and have low ceilings… But Snakes is definitely a great time when you’re wasted at 3am and have nothing else to do. I love that I don’t have to put on a cute outfit or even brush my hair before coming here because it’s pitch black inside and you’ll usually end up rolling around on the ground with one of the dogs that hangs out here anyway.
The service can either be really funny and nice or really rude, depending on the night. I once had a loud and hilarious bartender who challenged me to an Irish car bomb race, but on another occasion, I got into a screaming match with a bouncer who refused to accept my legitimately real 21 year old drivers license. So, eh, ya never know.

Jen L’s review reminded me that I had never reviewed this bar built on bad decisions and broken dreams.
Most dive bars aren’t too bad. Most dive bars have their selling points. Brothers 3 has two good jukeboxes. Henry’s has a surprisingly good beer selection. Snake and Jake’s has… a dark dank bar and a sofa that might give you ebola.
Maybe it’s because I wasn’t a Tulane or Loyola kid, but I didn’t discover Snake and Jake’s until my late 20’s. By then, my eyes had opened onto the reality of what this place really is and any charm that I would have found here was long gone.
The people are nice enough but it’s so dark. I like a dark bar, but it’s so dark here that I feel uncomfortable. Is that part of the charm? Hey, whatever floats your boat. And the bathrooms. Ohhhhh the bathrooms. They are pretty much pitch dark, which can only be a blessing. God only knows what it looks like in the light.
The biggest problem that I’ve encountered here is by the time people get here, the night is over. It’s done. You don’t need to be drinking anymore, you need to be at home sleeping. People tend to be obnoxious and start waving their cigarettes around in tight quarters. That’s another thing– the smoke. The point is nearly moot, but the ventilation in this joint is non existent. Really, the smoking ban will only help this place.
It’s one of those places you want to visit at least once, just to say you did. Go once. Have a beer, watch out for flailing cigarettes, don’t use the bathroom and, for the love of God, do NOT sit on that sofa.

Let’s review Katie A’s favorite bar…
Yes it’s a real dive, although it’s looking much better than when the front of the building fell off. The drug dealers on the far corner have mostly moved on. And you’re in the university area so expect ridiculous fratty behavior. But then again I mostly hung out at Snake & Jake’s in the late 90s so my measure of grunginess is a little different.
BUT, Katie is correct, if you either come here early (before 10) or in the summer (when the students are mostly gone) or very late (after 3), then you will have a good time.
Do not expect fanciness or premium liquors. Do expect cheap drinks and furniture that might collapse.
Depending on your company and the level of idiocy around you (on a scale from amusing to WTF), a good time can be had.