The Original Nite Cap

The Original Nite Cap is a second-floor speakeasy above Pulcinella! at 1300 St Bernard Avenue in the Seventh Ward, and it is a revival rather than a theme. The first Nite Cap was run in the 1960s by Big Chief Alfred Doucette and closed in the 1980s; the original signage turned up during renovation and the name came back with it. It reopened in 2024 under burlesque performer Bella Blue, her husband Andrew Principe and partner JD Solomon, with Shea Vidrine in the kitchen, and it runs dinner-and-show packages Thursday to Saturday. The food is Italian-leaning cabaret fare — a spiced house nut mix at $8, house giardiniera at $7, fried stuffed olives at $16, smoked Gulf fish dip at $16, the Nite Cap burger at $18 with Calabrian chilli aioli and olive salad, tiramisu at $12.

The zero-proof drinks sit on the Showgirl Sips card under a heading that says exactly that: ZERO PROOF. Four of them, $12 or $13, against a room where the main event is a burlesque show — which matters, because a burlesque audience sits for a couple of hours holding a drink, and holding a soda for two hours is a different experience from holding a cocktail. Show Stopper is $13 and coffee-based, using Lyre's Coffee Original with cold brew, coffee demerara and a foam, which is the one to order if you want to stay sharp through a late show. Dazzle 'Em is $13 on Almave non-alcoholic blanco with Lyre's triple sec, basil simple syrup and lime. Stage Kitten at $12 is a non-alcoholic gin with hibiscus cordial, lime and soda. Corset Strings at $12 uses Lyre's dark cane spirit with a chai tea cordial, soda and non-alcoholic aromatic bitters. The bar card adds Athletic non-alcoholic beer at $6 and a bottled Phony Negroni at $10. One practical note: the venue has no website of its own — everything lives on the production company's site under an originalnitecap page, so search for that rather than the bar's name alone.