Wi-Fi Hotspots in New Orleans

Cooter Browns Bar & Restaurant Uptown – 509 S. Carrollton Ave., 1 block off of St. Charles Ave. / 866-9104

Free Wi-Fi and over 400 brands of domestic and imported bottled beers, as well as 45 different beers on tap.  Raw Oysters from the Oyster Bar, and sandwiches and seafood from the restaurant (try the Alligator sausage).  Enjoy a game of pool or watch the ball games on any of the several large flat screen TV’s.  Cooter Browns is close to the Camelia Grill, and other wonderful points of interest.  It’s one block off of the Street Car line.  Visit the website for more information.  This place gets top awards as a worthwhile New Orleans point of interest, even without the free Wi-Fi.

Huey’s 24/7 Diner in the CBD – 200 Magazine St. (one block off of Canal) / 504-621-4839

Right below the Pelham Hotel (which also features free Wi-Fi) this diner serves breakfast 24 hours a day, and has an excellent lunch menu as well.  This is a nice, bright, clean place with friendly waiters.  The SSID is “hueys”.   Well worth a visit if you are in the downtown area (it’s within a block or two of the Harrah’s Casino and close to the River).

Update (5/7/2004): Today I noticed the Wi-Fi at Huey’s was not working properly and this is the second time in a few weeks that was the case. No one in the place seemed to understand that there even was free Wi-Fi there, yet the blue Linksys box was sitting right there blinking away. I’m not sure what the blinking was all about because my computer could not see the access point at all, though it could see the hotel Wi-Fi access point and yet it couldn’t connect to that one either. So avoid Huey’s for now.

The Wine Loft in the Warehouse District – 752 Tchoupitoulas (the cross street is Julia) / 504-561-0116

Operated by the same folks that run Huey’s, this is a trendy wine bar located in the Warehouse District of New Orleans, which is where the affluent young people habitate.  It’s right across the street from Emeril’s Restaurant (you do know who Emeril is right?)

Coop’s Place in the French Quarter – 1109 Decatur St. near Ursuline St. /  phone- 525-9053

Get your gumbo and some brew, and free Wi-Fi at this colorful local bar on Decatur St.  It was featured in this local newspaper article about wireless hotspots.  It is a great dive bar/eatery located just across the street from Margaritaville, and within a short walk of Cafe Du Monde and the French Quarter Flea Market.  The SSID is “redfish,” which is appropriate.  This is a place that’s worth visiting, even if you don’t have a computer.  If you are from out of town and want to try a fine local beer order the Abita Amber. Update 06/07.2004: my friend Courtney who is from out of town came to New Orleans and went to Coops with her Wi-Fi laptop and said that they turned off the Wi-Fi and were inconsiderate to her because she didn’t appear to be a local. So you might want to consider that if you go there. Click on the ‘NOLA Wi-Fi’ link below to find other places that have Wi-Fi in New Orleans (no need to go where they don’t know your name and treat your rudely.

Marisol’s Restaurant in the French Quarter – 437 Esplanade Ave. / 504-943-1912

Esplanade is the uppermost border of the French Quarter so this is a place that many tourist don’t wind up, which is a shame because it is a beautiful boulevard.  Marisol’s offers free Wi-Fi and $12 all-you-can-eat antipasto lunches from Tuesday through Thursday.   They have free validated parking next door.

PJ’s Coffee in Clearview Shopping Center (Clearview & Veterans Avenue).

This locally owned coffee shop has free high speed Internet .  The SSID is “Pjs Wireless”.   This location is not a cozy location; it’s in a major shopping mall so you know what that means.  The main window looks out on the mall’s main parking lot, and the other side opens into the mall.  This coffee shop is about 30 minutes from downtown, but there is nothing interesting to see out here if you are from out of town and are looking for a good reason to come out here to get coffee and surf the wireless web.