Most nights, the doors and windows of Chart Room allow the drinking to spill out onto the sidewalk and street, a seamless connection to the French Quarter between dive and drinker. Having visited Chart Room at all hours of the day, somehow the light seems to evaporate just a few steps inside, no matter the time. At night, Chart Room feels like a pitch black void of dimly lit, almost secret dive bar drinking. In other words, the vibe at the Chart Room is perfect and removed-enough from the nearby insanity to make it feel like dive bar drinking in a remote part of one of the world’s great cities.
French doors, nearly always open, line one wall of the space, short tables positioned at the juncture between bar and sidewalk to again make that connection to the rest of the city. A short, ancient wooden bar commands the single room space, lined with seats and allowing just enough room for a small set of taps and a heavy selection of coolers behind the bar. The walls that aren’t made up entirely of doors are lined with exposed brick, a set of windows running the length of Chart Room’s long interior wall, windows that this drinker once witnessed a man press his naked ass cheeks against at about 2 in the morning.
Surprisingly plush seating lines this longer wall, creating a set of mini-snugs almost, lined benches broken up by short wooden arm rests and completed with short tables throughout. Many a late night drinker have fallen asleep in these chairs, no doubt, given the combination of soft seating and dim lighting. Twin bathrooms complete the small space, a wooden plank-lined roof bringing everything together.