Napoleon House

Where it is

The Napoleon House is at 500 Chartres Street in the French Quarter, on the corner with St. Louis Street (Shannon Selin). The outside is a three-story, stuccoed brick building with a dormered hip roof, a cupola, and shallow ironwork balconies, and it was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1970 (Wikipedia).

The building and the Napoleon story

The bar’s own history page says the building was built in 1797 as the residence of Nicholas Girod, then mayor of New Orleans. Other accounts differ. Wikipedia, Clio, and New Orleans Magazine say 1794, and the magazine says it was expanded in 1814. Selin says Girod built the townhouse after his brother Claude died in 1814. Girod served as mayor from 1812 to 1815, per Clio.

The name comes from a story. The bar says that in 1821 Girod offered to “provide refuge to Napoleon Bonaparte during his exile,” and that Napoleon never accepted and died on Saint Helena that year. Selin writes that “there is no direct evidence of this particular plot.” The legend and its Prohibition-era sequel are covered in Prohibition in New Orleans and the Napoleon House, so they are not retold here.

The Impastato years

The bar’s history page says the Impastato family bought the building in 1914. Selin and Clio say Joseph Impastato, a Sicilian immigrant, rented it in 1914 and bought it in 1920, and Clio puts the 1920 price at $14,000. After World War II he gave the business to his brother Peter, and when Peter died in 1971, Peter’s son Sal took over (New Orleans Magazine).

Selin says the building stayed with the family for 101 years and sold in April 2015 to restaurateur Ralph Brennan. The bar’s history page says Brennan “accepted stewardship” and intended to keep its “relaxed and antiquated character.”

The room

Punch describes the room as “vaguely continental, with peeling walls hung with faded portraits of Napoleon,” and recommends the courtyard when the weather is fine. New Orleans Magazine writes of “dimly lighted rooms with the warm patina that only age, and the city’s sultry air, can bestow.” Selin adds pictures of Napoleon and memorabilia about the house’s history.

The music is a house tradition. According to the history page, “Uncle Joe” Impastato brought in a Victrola to play opera records for customers, and “opera and classical music is played at Napoleon House” today. The bar’s home page invites visitors to “Listen to Beethoven’s Eroica, which he composed for Napoleon, and the music of other classical masters.” Punch says a past owner ruled that “only classical would be played in the background.”

What to drink

The Napoleon House calls its Pimm’s Cup “A Napoleon House Original” and says Uncle Joe introduced it after encountering it in England. Its cocktail menu lists the original as “Pimm’s No.1, housemade lemonade, splash of lemon-lime soda, cucumber,” at $11 as of November 2026. Variations include the Englishman’s, which adds London Dry Gin ($13), a peach version ($13), and a zero-proof Vir-Gin Pimm’s ($9).

Where the drink came from is less settled. Pimm’s is an English gin-based fruit cup first produced in 1823 by James Pimm, per Wikipedia. Two bar professionals quoted in Southern Living date the drink at the Napoleon House to the 1940s, one of them to 1940. The article adds that British-style lemonade was hard to find in the U.S. then, so ginger ale was a common substitute.

Charles’s own Ginger Gentleman is a Pimm’s Cup variation. It uses 2 oz Pimm’s No. 1 and 1 oz gin, built over ice in a Collins glass and topped with a bottle of ginger beer. The gin puts it closer to the Englishman’s than to the original.

The cocktail menu also lists a Sazerac, an Old Fashioned, a Planter’s Punch, and a Hugo Spritz of St. Germain, prosecco, a splash of soda, and a mint sprig. There’s a Hugo Spritz on this site, too.

What to eat

The house sandwich is the muffuletta, said to have been created in 1906 at Central Grocery Co. on Decatur Street. The Wikipedia article on the bar says locals know the restaurant for it. The main menu says it is “served warm on our bakery’s fresh seeded Italian Loaf.” As of November 2026 a whole is $26, a half $15, and a quarter $8.50. The home page describes cured meats and cheese with olive salad on sesame-crusted Italian bread, and says it is made in-house and warmed, which “intensifies the flavors.”

The menu also lists chicken and andouille gumbo ($13), red beans and rice ($15), Creole jambalaya ($15), and po-boys.

Before you go

As of November 2026 the bar’s site lists 500 Chartres Street, open seven days a week from 11AM to 10PM, with “Reservations not available. Walk-ins welcome!” The phone number is (504) 524-9752. The site’s footer links to upcoming special hours, so check it for holidays.