Revel Cafe & Bar

Chris McMillian—co-founder of the Museum of the American Cocktail, fourth-generation bartender, and the grandaddy of New Orleans' cocktail revival—opened this Mid-City gastro lounge on Mardi Gras 2016 alongside wife Laura. McMillian's mint julep is legendary; his old fashioned has converted sceptics for decades. Chef Chris DeBarr handles food that earned NOLA.com's Best Burger in 2024. Revel exists because McMillian believed that serious cocktails belonged outside the French Quarter, and Mid-City proved him right.