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New Orleans

Cane and Table

time
Mon - Thurs: 3pm - 12am
  • Mon - Thurs: 3pm - 12am
  • Sat - Sun: 10:30am - 12am

Cane & Table is a rum-based bar serving cocktails and eclectic plates in an environment that evokes Old Havana. If you're looking to escape Bourbon street, but want to stay close enough to its tempting allure, look no further. 

OUR ARTICLE

BY: Ryan Kirk Contributing writer

The eyes of a sailor gaze out and over this rum-inspired New Orleans cocktail bar. Constricted by a frame and made of paint, he is merely a watcher on the wall. It’s a painting of an old sea captain whose long white beard was measured by his days away from land. While he now calls home to a plastered brick wall above a fireplace, he is still at a captain at heart, valiantly guiding the passengers of Cane and Table through a night of Spanish and Caribbean-influenced drinks.

We imagine that Mr. Hemingway would have no problem pulling up a seat, ordering a daiquiri, and feeling like he was right back at his winter residence, Finca Vigía.

While rum is their chosen spoil, Cane and Table shouldn’t be confused for a tiki bar. You won’t find the carvings of false idols, pirates in a smugglers’ cove, or the remnants of a lost lake. Their approach to rum is what they have dubbed “proto-tiki” – a mixture of vices that have inspired the tiki movement, gaining inspiration from every island and nation that produces the Caribbean cane.

This is not to say that they are not enthusiasts of the ever-popular long-lasting tiki fad. The theory that the experience is just as important as the cocktail is evident throughout Cane and Table. They are just providing a prequel to the tiki movement that started in 1934 by exposing us to a 500-year history of the Caribbean party.

The inside is met with an Old Havana vibe. The walls, plastered in white brick, resemble the combination of age, sea salt, and rum. A beautiful white marble counter sits on top of a painted green bar, providing a canvas for the cocktail artists on the other side of the counter. Pineapples, aged wooden barrels, and an early-1900s-looking chandelier help give Cane and Table the feel of a USA-embargoed paradise. We imagine that Mr. Hemingway would have no problem pulling up a seat, ordering a daiquiri, and feeling like he was right back at his winter residence, Finca Vigía.

Like any great island, Cane and Table isn’t too easy to find — when stopping by, make sure and keep a sharp eye out, as the outside is intentionally unassuming and can easily be overlooked. Upon entrance, you’ll quickly understand why Cane and Table is one of our favorite bars in ol’ Storyville. We recommend you belly up at the bar and grab our CYTIES favorite, the El Presidente: 12 Blanc Vermouth, White Rum, Grenadine, and Curaçao. It’ll have you trying to make your own executive orders before the bartenders can yell for last call.

As one drink turns into two, two into three, and so on and so forth, make sure you turn back to the painting of the old captain every once in a while. Give him a familiar head nod, maybe raise your glass and shout out a toast. Because who knows, he might have been the brave soul who brought over the first case of rum to begin with and got this whole damn party started.

FIELD TIPS

If you can catch a seat at the bar, speak up, the local bartenders here will give you the best advice in the city

CYTIES cocktail recommendation: Luck I’ve had – An aromatic, strong pull served Sazerac style. Two powerful spirits—mezcal and white armagnac

Keep a sharp eye out – the entrance is intentionally unassuming

Brunch is clutch for Saturday and Sunday: Coconut French Toast. done