By early evening the heat has started to lift off the river, and people are drifting toward the water and the old streets behind it. A red stick gave the place its name, and the city still turns toward the Mississippi at dusk, when the levee paths fill and the downtown blocks begin to fill with diners and drinkers.
Baton Rouge is a capital city and a university city at once, so its nightlife splits along those lines. Downtown suits a quieter evening of restaurants, theaters and low-key bars, while the streets around LSU run younger and louder. It is a good city for visitors who want a real, unpolished Southern night out rather than a packaged entertainment district, and it rewards those who decide in advance which of those two moods they are after.
Where to go out in Baton Rouge
1. Downtown Baton Rouge
The historic core sits on the bluff above the Mississippi, with the Shaw Center for the Arts at its center. The center holds the Manship Theatre and the LSU Museum of Art, and its onsite dining includes Tsunamis, Capitol City Grill, PJ's Coffee and Stroubes. An evening here can start with an exhibition or a performance and end over dinner without moving far.
This is the area for a composed night out: arts, food and a drink, rather than a long crawl. Note that the Shaw Center is described as the city's newest major performing arts complex, so check what is actually scheduled before you build an evening around it.
2. Third Street and the downtown bar strip
Downtown also holds the city's low-key drinking rooms. O'Hara's Irish Pub on Third Street is described as a low-key downtown bar with an eclectic mix of college kids, professionals and everyone in between. That mix is a fair summary of the downtown crowd generally.
Choose this if you want conversation and a short walk between stops. Because downtown venues are spread among restaurants and cultural buildings, it suits an early start rather than a late one.
3. The LSU area and Tigerland
South of campus, Tigerland is a group of bars on Bob Pettit Boulevard serving the college bar scene, with student favorites such as Freds, The House and JL's Place named among them. The same source notes it is a place where drunken bar fights occur, so treat it as loud, cheap and energetic rather than relaxed.
This is the choice for anyone who wants the full student night out. If that is not your mood, the campus area still has plenty to offer earlier in the evening.
4. The Chimes and the Highland Road area
The Chimes Restaurant and Oyster Bar on Highland Road is the established beer destination, with what the source calls the largest selection of beer, bottled and on tap, in the capital area and possibly the state. It keeps long hours, opening at 11AM and running to 2AM Monday through Saturday, and to 11PM on Sunday. Ask about "Drinking around the world".
One caution from the source: there are several reports of bottled beer being served past its prime, though anything on draft seems fine. A newer sister location, The Chimes East, sits on Coursey Boulevard between Airline Highway and Sherwood Forest Boulevard, with the same hours.
5. Restaurant bars
The Metro Council has outlawed many drink specials in establishments classified as bars, so the source's own advice is that if you want to save money, you should drink in restaurants rather than bars. The city's blue laws were repealed in 2007, but restrictions on drink specials remain in effect.
This is the practical route for a budget-conscious evening: eat, and drink with the meal. It also suits visitors who prefer a table to a bar stool.
6. Beer-focused bars away from campus
The Bulldog on Perkins Road, between Acadian and College and behind Red Zephlin Pizza, is described as a good place to socialize with friends over a wide range of beers, with passable food and cocktails as well. It opens at 11:30AM and runs to 2AM, and the source warns that you should have valid ID because they will card.
Churchill's on Citiplace Court styles itself "Premium Cigars & Elixirs" and frequently has live music and tastings. Both suit a group that wants to sit, talk and work through a beer list rather than stand in a crowd.
7. Campus evenings and LSU tailgating
On LSU home game days, tailgating around the campus and Tiger Stadium is a night out in itself, with crowds the source describes as remarkably large and friendly. Plan to arrive hours before kickoff to park within a reasonable distance, and expect to walk.
The source notes it is tradition to be friendly and open with fellow fans, and that asking for a burger or gumbo from other tailgaters is accepted practice. This is the one night in Baton Rouge that is genuinely its own thing, and it is worth timing a trip around if football interests you.
8. Theaters and performance venues
Beyond the Shaw Center, Swine Palace Productions performs in LSU's Reilly Theatre, a theater-in-the-round, and is described as the city's premier professional theater company. Independence Park also holds the Independence Park Theater.
An evening built around a performance works well as a quieter alternative to the bar districts, particularly downtown, where you can pair a show with dinner nearby.
How a night out unfolds
The sources give only limited guidance on timing. The Chimes and The Chimes East run from 11AM to 2AM Monday through Saturday and to 11PM on Sunday, and The Bulldog runs from 11:30AM to 2AM, which suggests that 2AM is the usual outer limit for a night out in the city. The Red Stick Farmers Market, by contrast, is a Saturday morning affair, from 8AM to noon on Fifth Street between Main and North Street, so it belongs to the start of a day rather than the end of one. For LSU home games, the source advises arriving hours before kickoff to park within a reasonable distance, which shapes the whole afternoon and evening around the game.
Festivals and events worth timing a trip around
- LSU home game tailgating — during the college football season; arrive hours early.
- Red Stick Farmers Market — Saturday mornings, 8AM to noon, on Fifth Street between Main and North Street.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a legal drinking age or other rule I should know about?
The sources do not state a drinking age, but they do note that The Bulldog will card and that you should have valid ID. They also state that the Metro Council has outlawed many drink specials in establishments classified as bars, and that while blue laws were repealed in 2007, restrictions on drink specials remain in effect.
Where should I go if I want a quieter drink rather than a college crowd?
Downtown is the better fit. O'Hara's Irish Pub on Third Street is described as low-key, with a mix of college kids, professionals and everyone in between, and downtown also has the Shaw Center's restaurants and bars.
Where do students go out?
Tigerland, a group of bars on Bob Pettit Boulevard just south of LSU, is the college bar scene, with student favorites such as Freds, The House and JL's Place named among them. The source also notes that drunken bar fights occur there.
Can I save money on drinks?
The source's advice is to drink in restaurants rather than bars, because many drink specials in bar-classified establishments have been outlawed. It does not give prices for anything.
Decide whether you want the downtown evening or the campus one, check what is on at the theaters and whether the Tigers are playing at home, and plan your night around that.