Fritzel’s European Jazz Club

Fritzel’s sits at 733 Bourbon Street, and it does two things: live jazz and drinks. It says it serves no food. The club’s own website calls it the “Oldest operating jazz club,” and that claim deserves a closer look below.

History

The club’s about page says it was founded in October 1969. Difford’s Guide says it was founded by Gunter “Dutch” Seutter, and VinePair, spelling the first name “Gunther,” calls him a German immigrant. The club’s own pages do not name a founder. In 2019, the Syncopated Times reported that Fritzel’s celebrated its 50th anniversary on October 13.

A 2009 OffBeat piece quotes manager Kate Wimmer on “a change of ownership last year,” meaning 2008, after which the booking was widened. No source here says who owns it today.

The “oldest” claim

The club’s home page says “Oldest operating jazz club,” next to “Since 1969.” The Syncopated Times used a similar phrase in 2019, calling it “the oldest operated jazz club in the French Quarter,” but the writer gives no source for that. No source here checks the claim independently, so treat it as the club’s own.

The building

Fritzel’s says it is in a “historic 1831 building” in the French Quarter.

The music

The club’s website says it has “365 live jazz nights”. A 2012 New Orleans Magazine item named clarinetists Tim Laughlin and Tom Fischer, pianist Tom McDermott, and trumpeter Wendell Brunious as regulars, and quoted writer Wade Luquet: “The music is traditional, and the playing is exceptional.” The club’s contact page lists two recordings, Fritzel’s Jazz Combos and Fritzel’s All Stars. Trumpeter Kevin Ray Clark is credited on the first All Stars track.

As of November 2026, the French Quarter site’s jazz listings show an open jazz jam with the Matinee All Stars Band at 7 p.m. on Monday, November 9, then a group called Tin Men at 11 p.m. The club’s own pages disagree about hours. The home page lists live jazz from 10 a.m. until closing, the about page says seven nights a week from 8 p.m., and a French Quarter listing gives 1 p.m. opening hours. Check before going.

The room

No source here gives the size of the room. Difford’s Guide calls it “unsophisticated to say the least with bench seating.” The same page says pints can be ordered from your seat. The club says you must be 21 or older to get to the bar.

What is poured

The club’s drinks menu leads with beer. Draft includes Abita Amber, Abita Big Easy IPA, Stella Artois, and Warsteiner. Bottles include Becks, Spaten Optimator, Franziskaner, and Pilsner Urquell. The menu does not label origins, but several of these are German brands. Difford’s says pints of Abita Amber are the usual order.

The German thread runs through the liqueur too. VinePair reports that Seutter got Jägermeister from German sailors and promoted it to Louisiana college students, and that the bar may have served it before its official U.S. distribution in 1973. The Syncopated Times goes further, saying Fritzel’s was the first bar in the United States to serve it. The menu today has a Jäger section: the Berlin Mule, Jäger Rye, Deer & Beer, and more.

There is also a house list with a Hurricane, a Vieux Carré, and a Sazerac. Difford’s warns that Fritzel’s “does not sell cocktails,” which the club’s own menu contradicts, so that page is likely out of date. The club says it does not serve food: “We do not serve food, but our drinks are delicious!”

Before you go

• Check the club’s site or the French Quarter listings for the night’s band, since no 2026 weekly schedule is published on the club’s own pages.
• For more bars, see the list of best cocktail bars in New Orleans.