Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Bar

Still a favorite of ours. If you sit there long enough you can literally watch the bar breath people. Inhale, a huge influx of people. 10 minutes later, the bar exhales and a large group hit the street.

They have Touchtunes. The bathrooms have been redone which is nice.

The Purple Drank aka the Voodoo Daiquiri is a must have. Yeah, it's Everclear and god knows what else, but it's not as sugary sweet as other daiquiris. Their Hurricanes are really lovely, again not as sugary as the ones at other establishments.

Bourbon Street's go-to bar for overly sweet drinks like the famous VooDoo Daiquiri (grape syrup, ever clear, bourbon), Purple Drank, Purple Daiquiri, Left Drinks and Buzz.

Though the ambience is quite dark and haunted (building is from the 1770's), the atmosphere is anything but dreary. Always jammed pack with day drinkers and sippers.

I believe this bar may be the oldest in the USA?

Bathrooms have been redone recently.

The bar has TouchTunes.

Please do NOT come here if you are a singer or hoping to sing at a piano bar!

I am first soprano from nyc and I was so excited to come to this piano bar.

I first asked a security guard outside a few nights ago just to check if anyone could sing if they tip and what genres are typically done etc-- he said anyone can sing any genre!

So I came here on a Sunday night and ordered 2 drinks ($19- tipped $6 so $25 total).

First the waiter was a little rude to me. I had a few like 2-3 questions and he was like "another question?!" And I'm like "sorry do u not like them?!" He was like, "I'm pretty busy." I shrugged it off- whatever! I asked again what genres are played here, he said any!

Then I went to the piano section. I tipped $5 to sing one song. I was a bit indecisive to choose a song. When I finally did, the pianist thought he would be singing it. I said no, I'd like to sing! He informed me if I wanted to sing I'd have to tip $20 at minimum. I was shocked! As someone who sings almost every week in nyc piano bars I'd never heard of this!! How could a singer sing 4-5 songs in a night? Would they have to pay like $100 for songs PLUS like $100+ for 3-4 drinks?!

I mean I had spent $25 on two drinks and tipped over 20 percent to the bartender already... I find it really strange and unfair that I'd be charged $15 extra to sing. I mean I'm actually asking the pianist to do LESS than I would be if I were asking him to both sing and play!

I mean essentially, it's a form of elitism- the bar employees are assuming customers will be terrible singers or deemed unworthy of singing for a fair price so they want to dissuade people from singing so they're deliberately setting a much higher price. I mean don't call yourself a piano bar that lets customers sing then...

I was disappointed. I told him I can't afford to pay $20 tip per song.

If $20 is the minimum to sing, they need to have their bartenders and security and all staff know! I wasted $25 buying two drinks hoping to sing and being let down. Also IF you set a minimum price to sing, it's not a "tip". A tip is an extra amount that is typically decided on by the customer.

Great singers and especially singers of color (like myself) are probably going to be excluded from singing here due to this ridiculous price gouging.

The pianist said $20 was very reasonable and other bars have it as "$100 to sing a song" in New Orleans... I doubt that but if that's the case everyone please sing in nyc- where you can afford to buy drinks, tip bartenders, sing a few songs etc.!

Best Hurricane I've had yet, they use Passion Fruit juice for a nice flavor. It's the oldest bar in the USA sine 1772.

Lafitte's is located on Bourbon well past the busier blocks. It has a very New Orleans history and is considered to be the oldest structure used as a bar in the USA. David, Gayle, and I came here at the urging of a native family friend.

The iconic Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop is located in the French Quarter at 941 Bourbon Street, right at the corner of St. Philip Street. According to local experts, it is considered to be the oldest structure used as a bar in the United States.

We came by twice, during early evening prime time and sometime in a quieter morning. During the former "witching hour" we tried their signature Voodoo Daiquiri, otherwise known as the Purple Drink. Maybe there's Bourbon in there somewhere, but the taste had me thinking a lot of sugar and Everclear. So in the traditional sense, Daiquiri may be a bit of a misnomer. In any case, even one shared is enough.

As we were enjoying our adult beverage, we were also having fun within the happy crowd, both inside and out. For all the commotion, bar service was down-to-earth efficient. We'd love to come by again, hear some stories, and maybe run into some more interesting people.

Get the purple drink! So yummy. No clue what it's made front but tastes like a jolly rancher.
Bartender was quick and friendly.

This was my personal choice. Id been wanting to come here since I saw the movie "The Buccaneer" I got passionate about everything to do with Jean Lafitte and when I found out his blacksmith shop was turned into a bar, I had to get all the guys to check it out.

It's very old inside but things are up to date and the drinks are really good. We had a couple of rounds and took the ambiance in. Fun times can be had at New Orleans's oldest bar dating back to 1772

Absolutely loved this historic bar! The vibe was very cool even though it was touristy and the bar tender made all the drinks just right. Feels like you're having a drink with history in this historic building. Last, the piano bar was so cool and very intimate. Definitely recommend visiting this bar if you're on Bourbon St.

Busy, busy, busy but the Voodoo drink is worth it. Even if you don't like frozen drinks. Their claim to fame is being the oldest bar in USA est. 1772.

Iconic - you have to go here once. Just had a Bloody Mary and hubby had a beer. We enjoyed this place for a midday break from lots of walking around the Quarter. Service wasn't super friendly. Bartender was a bit flippant when I ordered and asked if my Bloody could be made "spicy" - she looked pissed and said "It is!" in a tone that was rude for Louisiana people for sure. We enjoyed some good music and people watched from our window table. Didn't feel like a second drink was warranted.