On June 27, a friend and I went on a road trip from Houston to Chicago, making a stop in New Orleans. We walked Bourbon Street and wanted to find a low key establishment to hang out for a while. We walked past Cafe Lafitte and decided to try it out, promptly going to the upstairs. It was on the earlier side of the night, and the downstairs bar had about 10-15 people in it. The upstairs bar was completely empty, and the balcony had just one person on it. We came into the bar with a drink from another bar - clear cup, about 2/3 empty. The bartender, Keith, greeted us, and my friend and I stepped onto the balcony. The bar manager, Benjamin, swiftly ran outside and, without greeting us, coldly told us that we have to purchase a drink in order to "use" the balcony. We told him it wasn't a problem at all and we were just about done with the drink that we came in with, showing him there were about two sips left. My friend and I continued conversing when about three minutes passed and our new best friend Benjamin walked over and said, "Guys, I'm serious. You need to buy a drink or leave."

I understand that it would be extremely rude of us to bring in a full drink from another bar and use this bar for their balcony, but we made it very evident that we only had about two sips left in our drink and we were going to go in the bar and purchase another in just a moment, a point we had to reiterate again. After going inside, Keith, the bartender, apologized for Benjamin's highly unprofessional behavior, and began talking to us as if we were old friends, not newly acquired enemies to the bar. Keith was very friendly and accommodating and we bought a couple drinks from him over the next hour or so. When my friend and I stepped back out onto the balcony, a balcony we NOW had access to since the bar had our $8...a bartender from a different bar came up and talked to us. He works at Good Friends, a bar just off Bourbon Street, and he, too, was extremely friendly. If anything, I'd recommend Good Friends over Cafe Lafitte in Exile. As a bar manager, Benjamin should have been friendlier and not scared away two customers, as the bar that night at that time was dead. Rather than rudely hound on us like we were hoodlums, try being a little more proactive in your approach Benny. Take notes from Keith and bartender Chris from Good Friends. You could learn a thing or two from them.

We will not be visiting Cafe Lafitte in Exile again.