The Davenport Lounge

Setting exudes class. Jeremy Davenport and his band offered up traditional jazz standards and provided an exquisite set of music. The music was the focus during the performance with little or no talking. A few couples took a turn on the dance floor which is in full view. Altogether charming environment. Drinks were expensive but there was no direct cost for entertainment and hey it’s the Ritz.

Overrated. I guess that’s it. Davenport himself is a fine musician but his band is jaded and bored. His choice of music is also fine for the more senior citizens. The room is always full and you can’t find many seats free. I think they should rename it to Davenport geriatrics lounge.

Although I have had lunch many times and have always enjoyed it the lunch yesterday was the best. I wad told Hyeonmi Buck was in the kitchen as usual on Sunday afternoon and had created a great catch of the day so i decided to give it a try and very happy I did. Bronzed filet of Drum on Focaccia bread with grilled Zucchini, Yellow Squash and Tomato then topped with fresh Mozzarella that is melted before the sandwich is assembled and it was accompanied by a side of pickled veg. The Drum was perfectly seasoned and cooked not over spiced so it would interfere with the flavor of the fish or vegetables but a compliment to it.

The atmosphere here is great. Live swing and big band playing with an excellent singer. The place is well decorated and has a great vibe. Unfortunately, the bar is under staffed at peak hours. It sometimes takes us 15 – 20 minutes to just order a drink and another 5 – 10 minutes to get it. The prices are a little high, even for the area; however, it is a hotel bar. I’d give it 5 stars if it had better, faster service during peak hours.

Awesome place. Spectacular courtyard. Jeremy Davenport is wonderful if you are fortunate enough to catch the show. This is NOLA at its finest. The bar is upscale but not too stuffy, as you think a Ritz Carlton lounge might. Friendly staff. This is on my list of most stops for a cocktail in the courtyard when I am in NOLA

The lounge is decent. Food is better than the bistro. Music is good. Waitress was nice but once again management seems to not be doing their job correctly.

The Davenport lounge offers live Jazz music on Wed/​Thurs. from 5:30 to 9:30pm and on Fridays from 9pm to 1am. It’s located in the lobby of the Ritz Carlton hotel.
The good:
A nice, dimly lit lounge atmosphere. No cover charge and pretty good music. The complimentary homemade potato chips are tasty. The restrooms are quite lovely!
The bad:
Service is slow and prices are outrageous. Also, to be the Ritz the couches and lounge chairs were worn and saggy.
It’s an okay place to stop by if you’re staying at the hotel, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to come here.

It’s the Ritz for goodness sake. With live jazz and excellent Vespers. Homemade chips and sordid nuts as munchers. A bar scene that is both lively and muted at the same time. There’s a restaurant right behind with red velvet cheaters booths, what fun.
This is one of my favorite bar scenes in NOLA. I rank it with Three Muses, Irvin Mayfield’s. Little Gem and the Roosevelt Bar. Come on down for a good time.

jeremy davenport is my favorite in nola. we always hit the davenport lounge on each visit which is around 3 – 4 times a year. love the venue in the ritz carlton too. great food great drinks, little pricey but worth it.

Our Servers Jerome and Lashawn is the best! Best customer service ever! Food choices by Jerome was on point! This is coming from someone just leaving Sandy Lane! Celebrated my 16^th year anniversary and my wife was blown away! Jeremy the Jazz musician is awesome! Ask for table #44!

Perfect place to enjoy a post dinner drink before calling it a night. Relaxed atmosphere, great music, and excellent service. They’ve got a small dancefloor as well for those looking to show off their ballroom steps.

This jazz lounge is in the Ritz Carlton. There’s no dress code, which is nice, but most people are in dressy casual clothes — men tend to wear slacks, & women wear casual dresses/​pants. The lounge itself was completely full, but we decided on a table in the restaurant. Per our request, we were seated so that we could clearly see the band, which was good.
I have to admit I didn’t like the band at all. As a former music major, I was looking for creativity. The band that played last Saturday night only played cover songs of popular tunes, nothing original or even out of the ordinary. I suppose this is what the public wants to hear, and I guess I shouldn’t complain due to lack of a cover charge, but I was disappointed. It was a far cry from the Green Dolphin in Chicago (now closed) when the band played upbeat tunes and nearly everyone was on the dance floor. The band at this jazz place played mainly slow tunes, great for if you’re staying at the hotel and need something to put you to sleep.
The service in the restaurant was terrible. The long island didn’t taste good. I sent it back, and it was taken off of my bill. I then asked for Stella Artois’ hard cider, and I was brought beer. There is definitely a different smell between cider and beer! We were charged $ 22 for a glass of scotch instead of the $ 20 listed on the menu. I would not recommend drinking here.
A long island iced tea costs $ 13 while a cranberry vodka costs $ 12. The beignets were good. At least they were better than Café du Monde (French Market location), although that’s not saying much. Free wifi’s available for two hours if you need it. Would I come here again? Probably not. I should check out the Frenchman area next time!

Jeremy Davenport hails from STL, so we had to come by and check out him and his band while we were in town.
The atmosphere was calm, but still filled with energy. everyone was enjoying the music. The wait staff was very attentive and the homemade chips were an unexpected little bonus to our drinks.
Of course the Ritz-​Carlton is beautiful and was a treat within itself. Gorgeous patio area.
The one negative — my boyfriend ordered a double shot of Rémy Martin and it cost us a whooping $ 94! YES!!! $ 47 per shot! Talk about rolling with the big dogs! Free Jazz turned into a pricey evening, but we were on vacation and we had a blast!!!

Excellent, well chilled gin martinis, home made chips, comfortable and spacious venue and Jeremy Davenport make for a great night. We sat and listened to great jazz standards on super, ridiculously comfy sofas. The martinis were icy and filled to the brim with excellent quality gin.
Service is prompt. Patrons are relaxed, unpretentious lovers of jazz or just out for a date. Jeremy has a warm personality and is playful and fun along with being talented.
I say go!

The Davenport Lounge is a nice break from the casual and divey bars that adorn the French Quarter of New Orleans. Highly recommend going on a night with Jeremy Davenport playing. Amazing live music. Very loungey setting with cushy couches and oversized upholstered chairs around tables. Small dance floor immediately in front of the stage. Some areas have obstructed view due to columns, but generally it’s a great location to enjoy some traditional jazz. The lighting is kept fairly low for a more intimate feel I imagine, but really it’s a bit dark in some areas.
There is a limited menu (mainly appetizers and small plates to share) and a full service bar. The food is good and the cocktails are very well made (not watered down). Best mojitos in town! Service was fantastic — our cocktail waitress immediately brought out a gratis bowl of mixed nuts and fresh, house made kettle chips (still warm) for snacking while we looked over the bar menu. She checked on us regularly throughout the evening and made sure everything we ordered came out to our liking. Flatbreads and andouille sausage corn dogs were delicious.
Costs reflect typical French Quarter tourist prices ($ 12-​$ 16 for a cocktail, $ 12-​$ 15 for an appetizer). You may be paying an extra dollar or two because you’re in the Ritz Carlton. You get your money’s worth though — you’re paying for tasty food, decent sharing portions, and good booze — not 64oz of cheap liquor served in a plastic fish bowl you can wear around your neck as you stumble down Bourbon Street.
Dress appropriately. Jeans are welcome — there’s no true dress code — but don’t wear ratty jeans, sweaty t-​shirts, and flip flops. Most people are in business casual attire or even more dressed-​up.

They do a good job here, but WOWEEE, those prices are high…
We were headed to a Carnival ball in the Ritz on a Monday night in early January. Needless to say, the place was pretty much deserted (even though the BCS championship was on THE TV they have). There was no music that night. My wife ordered a pimms cup, and I just had a coke. We split the andouille corndogs. Somehow, the bill still ended up north of thirty bucks. YIKES!

When I worked downtown in a gallery, and had to wear dresses and heels all the time, I LOVED going down to The Davenport Lounge after work to act fancy with my Davenportini and listen to Jeremy Davenport and his band* play on Thursdays. The setting is extremely comfortable, and most every seat is a good seat to see the stage. I still find myself coming every now and then (parking validated with purchase, but I’m not sure if it was free or not) to start a night out in the Quarter. They occasionally have professional swing dancers (or at least I think they’re professional) out on the dance floor and they’ll show you a thing or two while making you look amazing to all your friends. ;)
I also came here on my birthday and if you tell the band, they’ll sing Happy Birthday and the kitchen will prepare a dessert (not sure if this is complimentary since I knew somebody who knew somebody) but it was such a fun, unique experience that we came back for my sister’s birthday too.
It doesn’t get as packed as other hotel bars with bands do, and the couches are a great alternative to your run-​of-​the-​mill 4 top. Though festival weekends, you may be hard pressed to find a soft spot.
*Davenport plays Thursdays 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Fridays & Saturdays from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

All I can say is if you ever want to woo me then get dressed up and take me to the Jeremy Davenport lounge! I don’t care if we eat at McDonald’s first and drink cold drinks at the bar, just take me here!
Tres romantic with the dim lighting, overstuffed chairs, couches, tables etc. it feels intimate in your seating area. My two girlfriends wanted to check this joint out and I couldn’t believe that the valet parking is «free» after you order a drink from the bar (which I hear from my friend that the drinks were expensive and am grateful they bought me my glass of white wine although I offered to get the second round we were all drinker out after a filling dinner at Little Tokyo). And the band is free as well! Wow, we are lucky and Jeremy Davenport is a doll! My girlfriend spotted him as soon as we entered the bar and we approached him and he took pictures with us. Such a gracious gentleman! Plus when we were leaving (we’re getting old y’all) he even waved at us which made is feel really special! Swoon!
My only complaint is that I didn’t have anyone to dance with. Would love to put my ballroom dance class moves to good use! And by the way, if you dance here please keep it classy, there are people around you for goodness sake!
Now that I’m off my soapbox, it was a lovely way to end an evening with friends and family. Oh, and take a walk I to the courtyard too. There is the most lovely gazebo (see my pix) which would a beautiful place to get engaged or married and even a fountain outside as well. I believe there is a smoking room which I went to years ago with family. Ahh the Ritz Carlton, makes a gal feel pampered all over again!
Happy music Listening!

I made a reservation for a group of friends for afternoon tea, for one friend’s baby shower. I had confirmed that morning for 8 people, but 9 showed up. Luckily, the motto of the Ritz-​Carlton is do whatever it takes to please the customer, so they quickly added another chair and prepared another serving. (At first they did hem and haw a little, saying that they had prepared everything in advance, but I knew they would come through, I’m sure they made extra food for walk-​ins or whatever. Can’t see them turning away guests on a such a slow day when there are no tourists in town.)
The place was virtually empty, so it was nice to have a peaceful experience in a relaxed, elegant setting. The harpist played a great selection of Disney songs and my friends enjoyed her music.
The tea went by quickly… we sat down at 1pm and were done with our food by 2. Not sure if we were gobbling our food or what! We ended up lingering until 3 to do the bill, take pictures, open presents and talk.
We received a plate containing a good selection of light finger sandwiches (artichoke on toast, cucumber and cream cheese, salmon, egg salad in a pastry cup, and crawfish mousse in a puff pastry and one little pancake looking thing that I traded with a friend). They were good but a little too light for us… would be good to round out the plate with two or three ham or turkey finger sandwiches, just to make it a little more substantial for a meal.
The mimosa and the tea were excellent. The scones, lemon curd, strawberry preserves, cream and pastries were phenomenal. I never thought I’d say the words «there were too many pastries,» but there were… a chocolate covered raspberry, a macaron, an espresso caramel chocolate thing, a chocolate cake thing with cream, a cream puff, a fruit tart, and I swear a couple of other things that I ended up taking home in a giant styrofoam clamshell box (was kind of surprised at that, I would have thought that Ritz-​Carlton would provide a dainty cardboard take-​out container for leftover pastries… even a Chinese fried rice container would have been appropriate).
Would be a more satisfying meal to cut back on one or two of the chocolates or pastries and add a couple of sandwiches (or even some hot miniature quiches like the English Tea Room does, if you are listening, Ritz-​Carlton!).
All in all, a pleasant experience!

Drinks, dinner, dancing in a dimly lit atmosphere perfect for two young lovers dressed for a date… and a whole metric butt-​load of tourists in shorts and topsiders.
Okay to be fair this is at a hotel, in New Orleans, so it would be unfair to knock the tourists, in fact we got to talk to one nice couple who we ended up sharing a table with.
So back to classy, it’s definitely the type of place to dress up and the atmosphere does match that touch sophistication you would expect from the Ritz Carlton.
The menu has a few different takes on New Orleans with a tip of the fedora to the Red Bean and Brown Rice Hummus, which My Favorite Vegan wasn’t too sure about at first taste. But then she started assembling the components and she was hooked.
I went the Gumbo of the Day route with their seafood and andouille sausage gumbo and fried calamari. Both tasty with the gumbo having just the right amount of spiciness but I think the Red Bean Hummus was the clear winner.
So get there early to score a table or couch, enjoy some drinks, a bite to eat, and go ahead dress to impress while listening to Jeremy Davenport. The dance floor is big enough if you know what you’re doing considering there’s only a couple couples out there dancing.