Ray's Boom Boom Room

This large and lively spot on Frenchmen's street is always a good choice for a fun time out. This music hall and restaurant has three different stages, so there's always something playing and people on the dance floor. If you get hungry, the restaurant serves up delectable southern and Cajun favorites, from crawfish and gator to shrimp, grits and Po Boys.

This long, two-story room has plenty of dancing room, with a balcony overlooking the main floor and pool and air hockey tables upstairs. The booking policy is a bit disjointed, with early acts favoring traditional jazz (often with no cover) and main shows featuring hip-hop, DJs (Questlove took on the tables last Mardi Gras), local rock, or something else. It's all part of the Frenchmen Street...

It's tempting to walk by the inconspicuous sign amid the Frenchmen frenzy. Don't. Yuki Yamaguchi hews closely to the Japanese izakaya (neighborhood pub/noshery) tradition, offering an impressive array of imported sakes and shochu (a light distilled liquor) and serving traditional Japanese bar snacks and small plates of home-style dishes from her grandmother's recipes. She has an exceptional...

A fine addition to the already terrific Frenchmen club scene, this long two-story room is the epitome of New Orleans style. Music covers the gamut, with acts on both the small stage near the street-facing window and on the larger stage at the back. Food is served all day long, everything from raw oysters to BBQ, though that's not the reason to go there. That there is no phone is frustrating,...

Maison is a restaurant, bar, and live music venue on world famous Frenchmen Street in New Orleans.