The Golden Lantern

The owner is a dick… so thats a deal breaker. Depending on who is behind the bar, you will find attitude there too. Go to GranPres on Rampart, much friendlier and best drink prices. The owner is very friendly.

Fun low-​key gay bar in the French Quarter. I had higher expectations according to all the other ratings, but maybe we came on an off night. There was hardly anyone here! But at the same time, that’s what made it charming.
Strong, cheap drinks is a plus. There was also free food being served (for reasons unknown!) Stop in here at least once just to see it. Seems like an institution in the Nola gay scene.

Love the Bloody Mary and the staff! We make a trip to the Golden Lantern every trip to NOLA. The mix is perfect because it is not too thick or too hot. I love the green beans.

Had a great time last night. The show and the gin & tonics knocked me out!!! FUN!

Such a great place! The gay bars in Nola don’t care if you’re straight, they just want you to have a good time. The Golden Lantern is full of colorful locals, with great stories and you never feel like an outsider when you sit down to drink. It’s an open, and frequently raunchy, bar to just relax in and soak up the neighborhood. One of the best bloody marys around, and the staff is unpretentious and so much fun! Right down Royal off of Esplanade, and just a few steps from sandwich mecca, Verti Marte, this has become my bar of choice whenever I visit Nola. You won’t be disappointed, and it’s open ²⁴⁄₇ :)

⁴⁄₅ oh hello, jello.
so that normally doesn’t ever happen. except here. holla at that dolla jello shot bae. the saturday evening drag shows are entertaining — tip them well! the drinks seem to be well-​poured, and it’s a laid-​back environment. pretty casual on the quieter end of the quarter. a number of occasions have brought me here, and i think each time i’ve left pretty well satisfied with the time spent. the most recent was on my friend’s bachelorette crawl/​scavenger hunt, and their cute bartender posed for the «prom pic» one, and his head tilt was everything. bonus points.

This is a quirky French Quarter neighborhood bar with quite an interesting mix of locals, but all were friendly and fun and down-​to-​earth. The bartenders really knew how to make sure everyone had a good time. And this was just on a Tuesday! Just don’t ask for a craft cocktail, they don’t make ‘em (insert bartender’s annoyed glare). Oh yeah I almost forgot, this place was super dog friendly. I think the dogs got more attention than the people… I would say around ¹⁄₃ of the barstools were occupied by furry friends, sitting perfectly well-​mannered and upright at the bar just chillin. So if you are in the neighborhood and need a drink, whether with a few friends or all alone, don’t pass up this bar! You will have lots of instant friends (human and dog alike).

Fantastic and friendly bar. Clean and comfy. It’s a gay bar so it’s a lot more fun then the typical Bourbon St style place.

Rude bartender made us wait 5 minutes to get a drink even though he was not busy on Thursday, Aug. 30 at 6 pm. I was completely sober in case you were wondering. His attention was on the straight couples who had taken all the bar seats. Seriously straight Louianans, if you won’t give us equal rights, how about letting us have our own bars?

Love the bar and my peeps but way too inconsistent on dog treats… don’t leave a sista drooling on the bar!

Worst service EVER!!! Me and my husband stopped by for a drink and the bartender refused to serve us. Not only did he refuse to serve us, but he went out of his way to get drinks for everybody else in the bar except for us. Maybe it was because we were the only straight couple in the bar???

I loved this place. The bar tenders were super attentive and fun. It doesn’t matter if your gay or straight in the place. It’s truly is a mix of locals and tourists and the drinks are strong! I’m adding this place to my list of must visit when I come back to New Orleans.

I thought by its name I was going to a chinese restuarant. Ended up getting a great Martini w ice shards in it… My fav
Nice vibe in there, friendly mix gay straight
Neighborhood bar. Great drinks especially after you’ve noticed you got a ticket or towed. Head over to the Golden Lantern !!

No doubt about it, cheapest drinks in the Quarter. Friendly atmosphere, dog friendly, neighborhood bar that is actually clean (those of you who frequent neighborhood bars in the Quarter know what I’m talking about!). Keep up the good work.

I love this bar! I don’t live in New Orleans, but I travel there a few times a year for work. Each time I go to the Golden Lantern, I’m treated as if I’m a local. Scotty, the bartender is a class act. Quick with a drink and a smile, he made my most recent trip here feel like I was visiting my local hangout. The 10pm Saturday drag show is not to be missed!

This is a real gem, the rare neighborhood dive that welcomes outsiders. Really the staff and patrons are friendly and will come right over and start up conversations for no apparent reason. Sing alongs are common and so are conversations across the bar
The options for getting plastered are endless, from ordinary beers and mixed drinks to jello shots and premixed hurricanes. Prices are quite reasonable.
The only downside are drag shows, but you can more or less escape by staying in the other room, or just come on a night when they’re not «performing.»

This was a surprise. Walked in, not knowing it was a gay bar, but stayed and watched some if the saints bar because it was great. The people were friendly and they had cheap drinks. There was free chili, pulled pork and Spanish rice for the game and every time the saints scored, free shits were handed out! Great place to watch the game!

Not sure why it’s classified as a gay bar; everyone in there was hetero. Maybe an off night?
Anyhow, great little bar off the beaten path, cash only is a minor negative, but the feel of the place and the bartender were great and welcoming. Great bar and if I lived in NOLA, I’d go there often.

Can’t really say much about this place because I popped in and out so quickly that I didn’t even have a chance to order a drink.
So, why am I bothering to review it? Well, we stopped in to see what’s what and pretty much use the restroom. Although we weren’t paying for anything the staff was super friendly and nice and the people hanging out here seemed nice too.
I’m sure I’ll be back at some point.

This tiny little place could qualify as a dive bar but it is mainly known as a bar for the alternative sexual persuasion… Drinks were cheap and the booze service at the bar was quick, quick…
It was hilarious to see the lovelys my friend and I were with when we walked in and they saw the drag queens but the priceless expression was from my buddy (6’1″ roughly 230 lbs of big ol boy) who said and I quote «I feel like a prize bull on the auction block they way I’m getting sized up».
But everybody was friendly and welcoming and this was one helluva cool place to hang out and enjoy nice drinks and good music.
Now that I think about it, I was too busy laughing at my buddy to notice if I was getting the auction block treatment and if I wasn’t then I might be a bit offended cause I like to think I cut a bit of a figure myself.
Oh well, no big, cause like I said this was a cool place and if I find myself in the area again I’ll stop in for a drink.