The Hermes Bar at Antoine’s: Casual New Orleans Charm

I’ve started to dread checking in at upscale restaurants. That’s because I know that even though I went through the trouble to make reservations at least 24 hours in advance and showed up to the restaurant on time, I will usually get offered the “opportunity to hang out for a few minutes at the bar.” Fifteen minutes later, I’ll still be relegated to a crowded dimly-lit purgatory, bitter that I just paid $7 for a local beer and that it took ten minutes to flag down the only bartender on a Friday night.

So, yeah. I wasn’t particularly overwhelmed with joy when a friend visiting from out of town (who had never been to the French Quarter before) wanted to go into the relatively new Hermes Bar at Antoine’s Restaurant because, upon seeing Antoine’s, he “knew what that was.” Keep in mind, this was as we were walking down Rue Saint Louis to hit a seedy bar where I could spit on the floor and call every bartender “Jack.”

But when we walked inside of The Hermes Bar, it felt like Prohibition-era New Orleans was taking shots of Southern Comfort. Aside from serving as a considerable homage to the oldest, continuous night parade during Carnival season, the bar modernizes a version of an elegant saloon, with chandeliers, checkerboard tile floors, and a foot-level brass rail running the length of the bar. It’s clear that the distinctive French Quarter look has been carefully cultivated to instill in patrons a sense of nostalgia.

The bar has a separate menu than the restaurant, although some Antoine’s staples including Shrimp Remoulade, Crabmeat Ravigote, and the original Oysters Rockefeller make the cut. And they’ve also introduced a Po-Boy specifically for The Hermes Bar: Antoine’s Oyster Foch Po-Boy comes dressed with pate, fried oysters, and the distinct Colbert sauce. It’s a heavy sandwich, rich with the contrasting textures of the breaded oysters and the smooth pate. But the portion size would please even Goldilocks: not too big, not too small, just right.

Of course, what would any New Orleans establishment be without a lavish drink special? The Hermes Bar takes pity on those of us with lighter wallets, serving up a fantastic happy hour daily from 4-8 pm with $2 domestic beer, $3 imports, and $4 house brands. But if you’re looking for something special, take a look at the wine list. That’s because the wine cellar at Antoine’s is seemingly as long as a football field. I mean, it’s not really a cellar per se because basements in this town are water holes; it’s more of a climate-controlled hallway lined wall-to-wall with bottles that have vintages older than Woodstock.

So what did I learn besides finding out that I need to temper my Ignatius Reilly-like judgments? Well, I also discovered that Antoine’s treats The Hermes Bar like a separate entity from the restaurant, where you can catch a beer in a t-shirt or some Champagne in a cocktail dress. And isn’t that how every bar inside of a restaurant should be?

Tagged as: Antoine's Restaurant, French Quarter, Hermes Bar, Hermes Bar at Antoine's, New Orleans bar