Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29

Where it is

Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29 lists its address as 321 N. Peters Street, on the ground floor of the Bienville House Hotel, whose own address is 320 Decatur Street. Difford’s Guide says to enter from North Peters Street or through the hotel. The building began as Planters Rice Mill in 1835, according to Wikipedia, and was later a syrup factory, a hotel, a firehouse, and an apartment building.

The man behind it

Jeff “Beachbum” Berry is an author and historian of tiki culture. His books include Beachbum Berry’s Grog Log (1998), Sippin’ Safari (2007), and Potions of the Caribbean (2014). Punch calls him a researcher who rebuilt forgotten drinks from old menus and matchbooks.

The best-documented case is the Pearl Diver, a Don the Beachcomber original. Punch reports that the key was a handwritten, coded recipe in a notebook from Dick Santiago, an original Beachcomber maître d’, passed to Berry by Santiago’s daughter. Decoding it took about two years, and one mystery ingredient took years more. Berry says he tasted a close approximation in 2006.

He did the same with the Zombie. Wikipedia says the drink first appeared in late 1934 at Don the Beachcomber, and that Berry published Beach’s original recipes in Sippin’ Safari. Punch adds that he found the Donga Punch in a 1937 notebook of Don the Beachcomber recipes.

How it began

Berry’s own page says the restaurant opened in November 2014. Wikipedia says Berry and his wife, Annene Kaye, opened it that year, and quotes him saying it was the first time he had worked set hours since 1985. Difford’s Guide instead gives 2015 as the opening year, so that one source disagrees.

WWNO wrote in March 2015 that it was Berry’s first outing as a restaurateur, in the former Iris restaurant space. His page says Esquire named it a best bar five months after it opened, and New Orleans magazine listed it among its Best New Restaurants of 2015.

The room

WWNO’s description from 2015 is “Everywhere you look, it’s carved wood and bamboo, totem poles, toothy tiki characters and hanging glass floats.” Berry’s page adds eight-foot tiki poles bought at auction from Trader Vic’s and a 200-pound vintage statue of Pele, with carvings by the artist Bosko Hrnjak. Difford’s Guide takes a different tone, calling the interior mid-century modern with tiki touches rather than overtly kitschy. The two descriptions come from different years, and no source here says which reflects the room now.

What to drink

Berry’s page says the menu spans the “entire 80-year history of Tiki drinking” and that some lost vintage recipes premiere there. The bar’s own menu, as of November 2026, lists the Navy Grog, Mai Tai, Zombie, Pontchartrain Pearl Diver, Suffering Bastard, Hawaii 504, the house Latitude 29, and larger-format drinks such as the Lapu Lapu (for two) and the Jet Pilot (for two or more). Non-alcoholic choices are the Missionary’s Fallback and the Sea of Green.

Berry’s page describes the Pontchartrain Pearl Diver as an iced buttered rum. WWNO says the Hawaii 504 uses a syrup of honey and Chinese five spice. The site says the menu changes, so treat any list as a snapshot.

Food

The bar describes itself as a tiki-style gastropub. The current menu lists small plates (red bean eggrolls, coconut shrimp, Korean fried chicken, pimento cheese rangoons), four bao, and dishes such as pork belly lo mein. Dishes change often, and the menu marks gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, and dairy-free options.

Before you go

As of November 2026, the bar’s site lists these hours: Monday through Thursday, 4 to 10 PM; Friday and Saturday, 4 to 11 PM; Sunday, 3 to 10 PM. The hotel’s page gives different hours (3 PM to 10 PM Monday through Thursday, and longer days on weekends), and Punch notes that hours change seasonally, so call (504) 609-3811 first.

Reservations go through Resy. The bar says walk-ins are welcome, seating may be limited to 1½ hours at busy times, bar seats cannot be reserved, and itemized split checks are not offered. The bar calls itself exclusively a 21+ adult space.

As of November 2026 its own site shows current hours with no closure notice, the hotel’s page lists it, and an events listing shows a Hamilton rum dinner there on June 17, 2026.