New Orleans鈥� bars can stay open around the clock, which makes it possible to completely rearrange your schedule to whatever suits your night-owl soul. Only problem is, while the drinks keep flowing, most restaurants close at 10pm. If you鈥檙e likely to experience an undeniable hunger sometime past midnight, it鈥檚 a good idea to commit the following late-night eateries to memory.

颁辞蝉颈尘辞鈥檚

French Quarter 鈥� 1201 Burgundy St; mains $5-10; 4pm-2am Mon & Tue, to 5am Wed & Thu, 2pm-5am Fri & Sat, 2pm-2an Sun

Unlike so many bars in the Quarter, 颁辞蝉颈尘辞鈥檚 is a genuine neighborhood place, where you鈥檒l rub elbows with more locals than tourists. While this is first and foremost a bar, the attached kitchen cranks out some mean grub, from sandwiches to bowls of fried green beans to finger-licking chicken wings. Have a seat outside and you can watch a good crowd of Quarter characters stumble on by.

Clover Grill

French Quarter 鈥� 900 Bourbon St; meals $3-8; 24hr

You don鈥檛 have to be gay to eat at the Clover Grill 鈥� much of the clientele base is loyal straight folk who live around the corner 鈥� but there is a gay customer base thanks to nearby gay bars. It鈥檚 all slightly surreal, given this place otherwise resembles a 鈥�50s diner, but out on the street there鈥檚 usually a 21st-century gay dance party kicking off, either on the pavement itself, or in the bars that line this rainbow flag heavy end of Bourbon St. The food is solid diner fare like burger and eggs and chicken fried steak and strong cups of coffee: just what you need to soak up the activities of the evening.

Coop's Place

French Quarter 鈥� 1109 Decatur St; mains $8-17.50; 11am-whenever

Coop鈥檚 gets all credit for maintaining high standards in the midst of the Quarter, where restaurants know they can get away with serving tourists pap. This could almost be an authentic Cajun dive, but more rocked out. Make no mistake: it鈥檚 a grotty, chaotic place, and the layout is annoying. But it鈥檚 worth it for the food: rabbit jambalaya, chicken with shrimp and tasso (in a cream sauce 鈥� there鈥檚 no such thing as 鈥榯oo heavy鈥� in New Orleans). This is rural, rustic and rich food served at an honest price. Coop鈥檚 closes when it wants to.

Trolley Stop

Garden, Lower Garden & Central City 鈥� 1923 St Charles Ave; meals $5-12; 24hr

When last we stopped in at this 24-hour 鈥� in the wee hours, of course 鈥� we were called about every variation of 鈥榖aby,鈥� 鈥榙arling,鈥� 鈥榮weetie,鈥� 鈥榟oneychile鈥� and 鈥榮ugar鈥� out there. We only regret we didn鈥檛 propose to that waiter after our meal, which was a very hefty mushroom and Swiss burger. This sort of food isn鈥檛 particularly original (although it is very good), but hey sweetie-honeychile-sugarplum-darlin鈥�-gooeycheeks, who鈥檚 complaining when the service is this friendly?

Cooter Brown鈥檚 Tavern & Oyster Bar

Uptown & Riverbend 鈥� 509 S Carrollton Ave; mains $5-13; 11am-1am

Cooter鈥檚 is open late, does mean cheese fries, whips out a killer chili cheese dog and has one of the best beer selections in the city. But our long, lingering romance with Mr C Brown is attributable to his oyster bar. The boys are shucked to order here, plump and cold, and at $8 for a dozen are an absolute steal.

Camellia Grill

Uptown & Riverbend 鈥� 1732 St Charles Ave; mains $5-11; 8am-midnight Sun-Thu, to 2am Fri & Sat

There鈥檚 a joking crew of inked-up line cooks behind the counter at Camellia, but they all dress in tux shirts and black bow-ties, as if this place couldn鈥檛 be any wonderfully weirder. There鈥檚 plenty of good diner fare, all cooked with waaay too much butter, which is to say, with just the right amount of butter. This spot has been packing in folks for late-night grub since 1946, so they鈥檙e clearly doing something right.

Delachaise

Uptown & Riverbend 鈥� 3442 St Charles Ave; small plates $7-18; 4pm-1am Mon-Thu, noon-2am Fri & Sat, noon-1am Sun

A suave, hip place to spot pretty people and also indulge yourself in some very fine wine and cheese. On the latter note, we鈥檙e in love with the cheese menu at Delachaise 鈥� the pictograms that explain 鈥榮tinky,鈥� 鈥榮trong鈥� etc are super cute. The small plates are all great in their own indulgent way, especially the ridiculously over-the-top grilled cheese sandwich. If it鈥檚 late at night, you鈥檙e hungry and you need something a little more refined than a burger, head here. Hours are a little fungible.

Mimi鈥檚 in the Marigny

Faubourg Marigny & Bywater 鈥� 2601 Royal St; tapas $5-14; kitchen 1pm-late

One of the better drinking holes in a city that really does good drinking holes, Mimi鈥檚 also has a fantastic kitchen that cranks out a great range of tapas, from the vegetarian (mushroom manchego toast) to the carnivorous (duck poutine). There鈥檚 always a chef鈥檚 special 鈥楾rust Me鈥� on the menu, which you should order. Trust us. The kitchen stays open until whenever it decides to close.

The Avenue Pub

Garden, Lower Garden & Central City 鈥� 1732 St Charles Ave; mains $6-11; 24 hrs

The Avenue boasts an enormous, well-curated beer menu, and adjacent to the bar is a kitchen cranking out some truly delicious, innovative pub grub, from currywurst to braised pork to an extensive slew of vegan choices, including homemade hummus and tempura oyster mushrooms. Keep in mind the menu changes based off what the chefs think is special. This is a 24 hour spot, so there鈥檚 good food available any hour of the evening.

Verti Marte

French Quarter 鈥� 1201 Royal St; sandwiches $7-15; 24 hrs

You can鈥檛 pull up a chair at Verti Martie, but sometimes, when the night is late and you need to stuff your face, what you want is a sandwich. Verti provides po鈥檅oys at all hours 鈥� we recommend the ridiculously decadent All That Jazz, which drips with meat, grease and other things that will hopefully stave off any potential hangovers.

This article was originally published in 2011 and updated in 2018.