Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro

Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro is a jazz club and restaurant on Frenchmen Street, the music strip in the Faubourg Marigny just downriver from the French Quarter. It occupies a building that dates back to the 1800s, with a dining room and a separate music room. It is a good choice if you want to hear a full, ticketed set rather than wander between bars.

The music room has two shows every night, at 7.30pm and 9.30pm. The programme is built around jazz, and well-known New Orleans names such as the singer Charmaine Neville appear in its listings. Tickets are sold for each set through the events page on the website. Buying in advance is wise for popular performers and at weekends, when the room fills.

The dining room serves dinner from 5pm to 10pm from Sunday to Thursday and until 11pm on Friday and Saturday, so you can eat before the early show or after it. Combining dinner and a set makes an easy evening out in the Marigny, and the club is now open seven nights a week again.

Snug Harbor suits jazz fans, couples on an evening out and visitors who want a planned evening of music rather than a bar crawl. Be considerate of other listeners during the sets. The later set suits night owls who want to visit other Frenchmen Street venues first.

Planning ahead helps. Look at the events page a few days before your visit to see who is playing, then book the set that fits your evening, adding a dinner table in the dining room before or after the music. If one set sells out, the other may still have space. Because the club is open seven nights a week, it is also a good option for a Monday or Tuesday, when some venues are quieter or closed.

The club is at 626 Frenchmen Street, among several other music venues, so you can easily make a night of it, moving on to other clubs after your set. The French Quarter is a short walk away, and Hotel Peter and Paul and other Marigny hotels are close by. As on any busy nightlife street, use a taxi or ride-share late at night if you are going further afield.