Cocktails and Confession
Every now and then you have to return to an establishment that started out as one of the new creative cocktail places and then melted down into a mediocre, poorly serviced bar. Vessel is such a place and we were enamoured when we started spending happy hour there because the cocktails as well as the mixologists were amazing. As they became super popular, we discovered that happy hour was less fun because for some reason, you could only secure one cocktail at the reduced prices in a two hour period and then right as happy hour came to a close, mixologists arrived and cocktails flowed freely at FULL price. Well it takes me about three months to get over my disappoint and in this case, I think it has been closer to five. It was worth the wait.
Vessel is located off Canal Street in mid city behind the Schoen Funeral home and has ample parking behind the restaurant as well as a small lot in the front. For older New Orleanians, Chris Ansel created Christian's Restaurant in this old church initially until he sold it off. Redemption took over in a short lived stint, and then Vessel arrived.
The cocktail menu at Vessel is extensive and they have a large collection of unique brands as they tend to stray from mainstream liquor. This allows the mixology staff to make some pretty intense and tasty cocktails which are all listed in a detailed cocktail book presented to you upon arrival. The bar is interesting too because as the sun sets on the former church stained glass, you may have to grab your sunglasses or risk solar burnout on your eyeballs. PAtrons tend to slide down if barstools are available to escape the sun as it sets. We had a large group for dinner and that did not disappoint as well. There are multiple small plates in addition to the regular large plate fares. Everything we had was tasty and right on point. The space is open and fun and long thin tables fill the center of the restaurant for family style seating. The patio out back is finally open with nice comfortable furniture so it only adds to good ambience for the entire space. Unfortunately, there are no confessional booths so if you thought you could handle that as well, you may need to head to the chapel in the funeral home!
Vessel
3835 Iberville Street
504-603-2775
http://vesselnola.com/
