The Other Bar

I really like The Other Bar. The drinks are cheap and service is fast because it’s never too crowded. There are tons of games, like Jenga and Skee Ball, which obviously makes the experience more enjoyable. Also, it’s conveniently located near Dat Dog, Cure, etc. so you can easily incorporate The Other Bar into a bar hop down Freret.

Great canned beer selection. All the beer is canned! so heads up if you’re weird about that. There is a full bar, so it’s not like all they have is canned beer — just no draft beer. It’s staffed with friendly and capable bartenders that routinely play good tunes. You’ll see some reviews saying there’s no A/​C; I live in the neighborhood and will say that was the case temporarily, but that issue was resolved quite a while ago. They also have free skee-​ball, which is pretty legit if you ask me. It gets a little crazy with the Tulane/​Loyola crowd after 10 on the weekends, but the vibe of the bar tends to attract a much more tolerable subset of the college crowd, so there’s that. When it’s not packed, though, it’s a great place to chill out, unwind, and shoot the breeze with randos. There are also plenty of tables, so it’s also a great place to hang out with friends after stuffing your faces with any of the tasty vittles available on Freret. Hit it up!

I would say this is just a glorified version of tailgating, but with a roof. The beer served are all canned or bottled and come out of various coolers around the room. The space is small, hot and not air conditioned. The prices are high considering what you ask for. At first the Pabst I ordered was $ 3. At the end of the night I was being charged $ 4. The first can of beer I was served had what appeared to be old, dried beer on the lid. I didn’t notice it inside the dimly lit bar, or on the sidewalk outside where it was cooler. In fact, it wasn’t until I was next door in the Comedy Theatre space with the lights up that I noticed I had my lips on a terribly unsavory can of beer. Pretty lucky I didn’t get sick. Lastly, since there was a minimum on tabs paid with a card I had to order extra beers since I refused to pay $ 6 for a shot of Jameson. I won’t be back.

Dick bartender

Quite a nice variety of canned beverages and any essential liquors are available here. Enjoy the indie/​alternative playlist and casual rec-​room environment. Bring your friend and have a Skeeball battle gratis. Tip the friendly staff generously. Skews younger and crowded but not too crowded on weekends.

So, it’s a college bar. At least that’s what the bartender told us. She said that most of the college kids were studying for finals (don’t miss that) so that’s why there weren’t a lot of college kids when we stopped in.
I really dig this place. Nice little beer selection and a good crowd. Not too divey but not too fancy either. We stopped in here because my date had been bragging about his skee ball skills and this place has one of those old school skee ball games, which you can play for free. Not to brag, but I totally dominated at this game. Yep, all those years of training at Chuck E. Cheese (I went when it was called Showbiz Pizza) really paid off.
I’ll be back for the skee ball alone. No smoking, which is always a win in this gal’s book.

Umm… free skee ball and real cocktails and a good price?
Yeah, I’m there. Mostly if I want a good cocktail and I’m being poor, I drink at home. But sometimes you want to go out in the world and socialize and, y’know, play skeeball. And this spot is an excellent place to do all of the above.
The drinks are mostly well made… warm vodka? uh no. And I wouldn’t ask for anything too fancy, but their premade punches (and Pimm’s cups) are solid. The price point is good and it’s very casual, although not pajamas casual.
There are board games and skeeball and that ring/​hook game who’s name I don’t know.
Nice addition to the Freret corridor.
OH! And I get to add this to my list of slaphappy bars since I saw a girl slap her date here. It was pretty funny. I wonder what he did.

Remember that basement you used to drink in at that friend’s house who’s parents didn’t really care. Yea, that’s what The Other Bar feels like.

I have a weak spot for bars that seem like old rumpus rooms, so I love this place! I like the furniture and the games. So triumphant to get that ring on the hook! The artwork feels like I’m hanging out in a friend’s room in high school in the ‘90s, wondering if the Sbarro guy still sells «soda» so we can really enjoy Liquid Television like it was meant to be enjoyed (I say this specifically because they have a poster for The Maxx. Remember that show? Didn’t the bad guy kind of look like Walter White deep into his Heisenbergitude?)

Its a fun place to hang out, play some board games, etc. Yes, the bartenders have personalities. This is a good thing! It’s a great bar for the area: a cool hangout for older college students and locals. Chill environment, cool hipsters, and a great change up to the typical bar/​venue that most bars are in nola.
Only 4 stars because the Freret area has no to-​go-​cups and maintains a curfew. Next stop Snake and Jakes if it gets past midnight…

Their Pimm’s Cup… shockingly good! And I was mesmerized by skee ball here. That’s a remarkable thing for me to admit.
They have cocktails. They have an array of bar games. They have comfy places to sit. I sure as hell wouldn’t classify The Other Bar as a dive, but it appears most Unilocalers do, so we’ll leave it at that.
Note: the bartender served my boyfriend an unchilled shot of vodka. If that would have happened before I ordered a drink, I probably wouldn’t have ordered anything. I just can’t imagine any bartender in their right mind serving a warm shot of vodka.
While not a destination bar (I live on the other side of town), The Other Bar provides a great option if I’m on Freret and not in a Cure kinda mood.

I love the Other Bar and am there constantly — think 3 or 4 nights a week.
Carmine, Dane, Jesse, Mike, and Diana are all fantastic bartenders. The prices are reasonable — though there’s no draft beer and cans can be a little bit expensive — and the drinks are stiff. The liquor selection is fantastic (so many kinds of rum) and there’s tons of craft beers to be had — plus the standard PBR and Schlitz tallboys.
There’s no smoking for those of you who don’t like that, and there’s free skee-​ball and other games. The ambiance is sort of hipster-​esque — so frat boys are out of place (and you can tell when they do come in, which is rare). It’s kind of hidden — there’s not much signage — and it’s never too crowded.
Give it a go. It’s a great addition to the Freret neighborhood. You want to drink at Other Bar.

They were open during the Freret Street fair so I stopped in to grab a rum punch. I also sampled the bourbon lemonade. Quick service. Both drinks were inexpensive and good. This seems like a cool place to hang out. I would be interested in stopping by on a normal day to see what it is like.

Have you ever watched How I Met Your Mother? Well if so, this bar is like MacLaren’s with a hipster twang. On the weekdays the bartender knows most of his customers because they either live or work around the area and come in a lot. Everyone in there is usually friendly, and even if they aren’t you can just crack open a $ 4 blue moon and play some free skeetball.
They have lots of game options — board games, pac man, this weird game where you have to get a circle onto a metal hook (which is way harder than it looks). It’s the perfect bar to go to if you are trying to chill with some friends and grab a few drinks.
Sometimes on the weekends it will get a little rowdy when all the college kids get kicked out of a house party and relocate here. When this happens, other bar transforms into a kind of hectic place but that’s okay because it can be a nice change of pace.
All-​in-​all, if you are looking for a chill bar with a cool atmosphere, other bar is for you.

This is the bar closest to my house. Which is a blessing and curse. People are friendly, and the bartenders are nice, and just the right amount of snarky. I don’t know why I don’t go here more often. I like that they have skeeball and the ring game for everyone to play with. lots of great seating options too. On my recent visit, they charged me $ 6 for Crispin, and $ 4 for a Tin Roof Blonde.
I would describe this place as a casual bar because its too clean to be a dive, and though some people dress like hipsters, they’re all clean and showered. I would call this place casual, but that would be too banal.
Either way, I would come back.

I keep seeing reviews call this a dive bar. Has the term «dive bar» lost so much meaning now? This is NOT a dive bar, even if it’s dressed as one. If you think this is a dive bar you haven’t been to someplace that is actually sketchy.
Other Bar has some of the decorations of a dive bar but is actually a great place where you won’t feel like need a shower when you leave. It’s conveniently located across from Dat Dog and just down from Liberty Cheesesteak, so you’ve got drunk food options for dinner. Unfortunately chances of a late night snack are slim.
Drink wise there’s a solid selection of beer (both domestics and craft stuff) and cocktails. Prices are low without being rock bottom. They even have Pine Belt, which is a beer that doesn’t have local distribution. The Dark and Stormy in particular seems to be a favorite in house.
Lastly, no review would be completely without mentioning the free to play Ski Ball machine. What better way to settle a drunken argument or bet than ski ball? What’ s your high score?

A nice addition to the continually growing Freret Street. At 11 on a Friday night, the bar wasn’t too crowded. It’s a small place, so I wouldn’t want to be there if it was packed. They offer random board games at the tables and free skeeball, free skeeball people! If you don’t have a spot in your heart for this game, I feel like you missed something during childhood. (note: they only have one machine… be prepared to wait)
Had a Shiner Oktoberfest in a can, I love a good seasonal! It seems to be the college Loyola/​Tulane crowd that hangs out here. That’s fine… until it’s not. Chalk that up to too many run-​ins with rude college kids. I went to college, I still had manners… let me get off this soap box.
Chill bar, in great location. Stop in after dining out at one of the many restaurants on Freret!

This place is awesome. They carry ginger beer– a staple for all of my drinks so I love this place.
Just don’t twerk on the walls…

Very fun dive bar right across from Dat Dog on Freret. Very fun and casual atmosphere, they served mixed drinks and bottled beer. Some random times the bartenders make little tapas dishes, but they don’t have a kitchen. What they do have is free Pacman and skeeball, as well as some board games and that thing where you try to swing a metal ring onto a hook.
It never seems painfully crowded, music is usually low and whatever the bartender picks out.
Random thought: if at the end of Shawshank Redemption they showed Andy Dufresne’s house in Zihuatanejo, I think the inside would look like this bar.

I almost don’t want to leave a review because I like this place so much. We walked in after eating at Dat Dog because we were intrigued… This bar has skeeball (free), an old piano in unusually good condition (I mean, it’s not perfect but it’s not half bad).
The place looks like it’s decorated by stuff they got from Bloomin Deals. Seriously. UNO, mancala with makeshift pieces and playing cards. $ 2 16-​oz PBR. I’ll be back soon. I noticed a cocktail menu that was reasonably priced. I’ll have to try that out
There was a sign for happy hour from 4 to 8 everyday, but the sign didn’t say what the specials were. I’ll find out soon!