Peychaud's at The Celestine — Restaurant in New Orleans

Peychaud’s is a great respite from the mayhem of the French Quarter - on a nice day, definitely grab a seat on the back patio, which is bathed in cool shade.

The drink list is a tour through many New Orleans’ classics with a number of other options available. Pretty sure the bartenders can make anything you want though, so no need to limit yourself to the menu. We had a Milk Punch (with Bourbon, although Brandy was an option, too) and Vieux Carré. Both were excellent!

My only disappointment was the 20% JUNK FEE applied automatically to the tab. While the waitress made it very clear when she delivered the check that it included the forced “tip”, I find this trend of JUNK FEES to be insulting, unnecessary, and a terrible practice. Pay your staff a living hourly wage OR allow customers to tip at their own discretion, otherwise you’re no better than the airlines. I’m curious to know what would have been my recourse if the service was slow, rude, and generally unacceptable? As I noted, the service was great and I would have actually tipped more than 20% had there not been a mandated tip done for me, but if the service was bad would I have been forced to pony up 20%?

That said, I will be back and will recommend Peychaud’s to friends, but hope to see the forced tip...

You would never believe, lounging in the courtyard next to the fountain, that this place is half a block off Bourbon Street. This beautiful little cocktail bar with its peaceful courtyard, is an oasis of calm in a busy city. That the oasis comes with absolutely delectable cocktails only makes it that much more delightful. We were there for several hours, quietly nursing a succession of drinks and talking, and honestly only left because we were tired.

Anything on the menu will be delightful, we particularly recommend the punch and the Irish coffee, but if you're just not feeling anything, ask the bartender for something special to suit the mood. I also had a Bijou (Oh yes, they still have Chartreuse) and a Corpse reviver, which were truly delightful and which went really well with the food from the Will and the Way next door (they'll deliver appetizers if you order off a specific spot of their menu). I will absolutely be back the next...

I was a tourist in town for the first time. Was super excited to try this place. I had gotten In everywhere else on my trip because I had shown my states immunization record for my Covid vaccine and I showed my verification on my Walgreens app. The cdc states on their website these are allowed in place of the physical card. These two verifications got me in EVERYWHERE else the three days prior. But a tall man with glasses and long gray hair at this place refused to let me in unless it was a physical copy of my card. I lost my card on my travel to NOLA. Everywhere else allowed virtual verification due to the fact many ppl do not have their cards on them. But this man was rude and refused. I suggest fixing that problem as you will lose a significant amount of business for absolutely no reason. Beautiful place and I’m sure amazing cocktails. But a one star for not even being allowed to find out the quality...