Okay Bar

Perfect place to gather with friends and have a memorable evening. Lots of areas to hang out. Full bar and really good pop-up food places

Okay Bar, you're so humble. Ugh, I dream about this bar. I stumbled upon it after a shit time at St. Roch. Found it on google and fell in love with the windows.About a ten minute walk from Franklin, we ended walking in behind a guy who immediately asked the bartender to close his tab from last night. (Happened 3 more times that night lol)It was a Thursday. If that's not a green flag -- idk what is.The place looks just as cool in real life, unfortunately they were doing construction so one side of the bar is covered in black tarp while the rest looks sexy af.For a while, we sat in silence and then ended up chatting to the bartender. He was very chill. Chatted us up, answered questions. Kepy the drinks flowing. Try their OKAY Negroni. I'm never going back to the classic.After about an hour of just us, a couple came in through the back and seemed to know the bartender. It seemed like a first date, they stayed for a while and then bounced.OK does what a lot of NOLA bars do-- a rotating kitchen staff. We had the Burger Nerd's chicken burger/chop cheese. 10/10We eventually ended up staying for almost 7 hours. Meeting casual regulars, checking out the fucking awesome backyard and backroom. Talking music, bar scenes, and lifestyles (not the condom). The guy that came in earlier on his date came back! And we ended up chatting with him.The bartender eventually told us his name, Brian. (Absolute King) And told us it was a quiet night and we should come back on Friday.And BOY we did.We showed up for a DJ set with SincJack and Mr. LegWork (the guy who came in on a date lol) Brian remembered us and introduced us to a couple more regulars. We had Hottie's Tamales that night -- the tacos/quesadillas are a must.Like almost every bar outside the French Quarter, it starts popping off at 10pm.The vibe and the love of this bar is real. People are friendly and know each other and remember each other. At one point someone walked in and was like, "Oh crap. I recorded a sex scene with your ex girlfriend 2 years ago." and the other guys was like,"....OHH YEAHHH!! WHAT UP MAN!!!" They ended up talking the WHOLE NIGHT.Everyone did actually. 90% of the in the bar was sitting outside, ordering drinks for each other, and TALKING. It was incredible. My heart sings for it now. I wish this place was in NYC. We ended up heading to a different bar with some of the people we met there, and Brian and both DJs vouched for them saying we were in good hands. LIKE COMMUNITY. We did end up having a great night and trip just because our first night at Okay. Such a welcoming vibe and wholesome experience. I miss these guys and the energy here.I think a lot of yelpers come here expecting to be spoon fed -- you bring good energy to a bar, and the bar will love you back.Also, shout out to Michael Ball - I haven't met you but I heard you're a legend and I've experience the true power of fernet.I love you Brian. I love you OK. I'm coming back just for ya'll.PS: omg - other bartender dude, stop trying to make nutcrackers a thing. WHY R U APPROPRIATING MY NYC CULTUREEEE?? Pssst - Everyone knows daiquiris are superior to nutcrackers anyway.

I came in with a friend, who had a large group of friends he knew, all locals, hanging out in the backyard. And that was cool, and the back room that's set up like a 70's living room is cool. Clean bathrooms. They have tacos. Maybe it was nothing, but the bartender never said two words to me. I got my drinks just fine, but we never spoke, barely made eye contact, no smiles. The few dudes sitting at the bar had a similar vibe so maybe something serious was being discussed. I'd come back, but overall, ya know, it was just okay.

Came here a few days ago with friends to check it out, as someone who doesn't like to go to a lot of bars because of safety reasons I really enjoyed the fact that they advocated themselves as a "safe place for women" so I decided to go. Not even 20 minutes after getting there I was sitting in the back where I watched a guy smash his girlfriends head into a brick wall after an argument they were having. The bar was notified right away and instead of actually helping the girl they instead kicked both of them out so he could just continue going in on her on the street. Acting like it wasn't their problem. If you're going to sit there and advocate you're a "safe space for women" be a fucking safe space for women.

The tacos were great! I'm a saucy broad sooo I was def here for all the sauciness of them! The gold fish were epic appetizers to get us started and the lighting for the mini photoshoot was extraordinary! I think we all left with new profile pictures and full bellies!

Cool dive bar. Very chill atmosphere. They've got a kitchen that pumps out tacos and they are super delicious. I'll be back.

My friends and I were visiting New Orleans, and the only place that was open and close to air Bnb was this bar. We thought it might be "okay", but we had no idea how rude the bartender would be. We walked in and tried to order a few drinks. We thought the bartender was ready because he asked what we wanted. But, he replied with an attitude and told us he was the only one there and that we should slow down! Also, this bar was not packed at ALL, so it was evident this bartender just didn't care for us "outsiders" (he saw our IDs). We just shook it off ordered our drinks and tacos. The tacos were good and cheap, but I wouldn't be surprised if he spit in it. He was so unnecessarily rude. I wouldn't tell anyone to go there. I gave it two stars because of the price for the drinks and the tacos weren't bad either.

Strong drinks, served great tacos until 2am. Good music, real chill. The owners were super friendly, interactive and cool af. Definitely coming back. Update: came back 2 weeks later, same great experience. Got the goldfish in the goblet...classy af.

The bar down streams Game of Thrones every Sunday night at 9 on a wide scree TV; otherwise, they're playing foreign programs and films on a smaller TV above the kitchen entrance and play piped in 60s songs by The Beach Boys and more modern schtick. They sell a few cig brands at $8 a pack and they have a cigarette machine and Wurlitzer. Five kinds of tacos, mostly spicy, 2 for $7 or 3 for $9. Beers start at $2 and max out at $6, wine by the glass, shots and mixed drinks. C'mon down. Outdoor patio for smokers and night owl conversationalist. Spooky, retro living tool to chill out.

It is strange banning someone from a bar for wanting a clean glass of water. Even a bottle water cost a company about fifteen cents. If the bar isn't making enough money on certain days of the week, then close the bar and have a vending machine or close the bar on those days entirely, or charge more for the cover. A water filter costs about one dollar a month. Water out a sink can make people with sensitive stomachs sick. Maybe someone came from another bar where they already drank or maybe someone is trying to get away from drinking all together. The fact that this bar is so hostile about sobriety says a lot. Most bars just give out water. They certainly don't obligate you to spend $10 on water with a massive tip. It is water. Yes, yes, but it is water. Literally, just water, the fact that I have to put this is absolutely asinine, but the bartender was rude, confrontational and ruined my night. The whole thing is strange considering I've spent somewhere around $700 at this location. I've biked for miles in heavy rain or 120 degree weather with no tip and still, never got confrontational with someone. But man... Handing someone a glass of clean water was too much for one bartender to handle.