A well-crafted martini captivates the eye first and then purrs with a sense of graceful luxury as it settles in. The same feeling pervades the new Warbler Hotel and Mildred’s, its martini bar and restaurant.
The Warbler and Mildred’s both opened this week, along with the hotel’s rooftop patio bar, called Upstairs, and its lobby coffee counter, called Milly’s.
The hotel’s entire property is new, built from the ground up over the past two years at 1923 St. Charles Ave. But it fits the streetscape of this epic avenue more like a piece of the city’s past brought back to life.
The Warbler Hotel on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans is home to the restaurant Mildred’s, the coffee shop Milly’s and the rooftop bar called Upstairs.
Staff photo by Ian McNulty
The six-story, 58-room hotel was developed by Verdad Real Estate, led by principal Joe Mann, a New Orleans native who lives nearby. When the old diner Trolley Stop Café closed at this address in 2021, he saw an opportunity to build something grand and meaningful in his hometown.
“We wanted it to be worthy of St. Charles Avenue; we wanted it to be a place with charm and character and a story to tell,” Mann said.
That story is told through the Jazz Age design style of Streamline Moderne, all smooth curves and straight lines. There’s aerodynamic grace to the contours that evokes a feeling of smooth motion, accentuated by the next streetcar sliding past the windows between oaks.
Joe Mann, of Verdad Real Estate, looks out over St. Charles Avenue from a guest room at the Warbler Hotel in New Orleans.
STAFF PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE
The glamour and romance of a bygone era feel built in. If a dirigible were to moor by the rooftop deck, it wouldn’t look out of place.
That feel continues in Mildred’s, a long room taking full advantage of its avenue-facing windows and bringing to mind a Roaring Twenties supper club. The 68-seat space is split between bar and dining room, with counter spots for socializing and semi-private table nooks.
The Warbler takes its name from the songbird, and it’s also slang for a jazz singer. Mildred’s is named for Mann’s grandmother. The past and the modern feel hand in hand across these spaces.
On the menu, at the bar
The Warbler’s food and beverage programs were developed in partnership with Neal Bodenheimer and Kirk Estopinal, from the local cocktail destinations Cure and Cane & Table.
Kirk Estopinal, left, chef Andrew Zimmerman, center, and Neal Bodenheimer worked together on the food and beverage program at the Warbler Hotel, including the martini bar and retaurant photo during a preview of Mildred’s.
STAFF PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE
To consult on the culinary side, they brought in Estopinal’s longtime friend chef Andrew Zimmerman, who spent years at Chicago’s Michelin Star-rated restaurant Sepia.
His opening menu is strongly Spanish, though not exclusively so, with big flavors that can match strong cocktails.
The fresh simplicity and clean lines seem to carry the room’s design motif to the plate.
Patatas bravas, a Spanish tapas bar classic, gets a modern rendition at Mildred’s, the martini bar and restaurant at the Warbler Hotel on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans.
STAFF PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE
The tortilla española ripples with velvety layers of egg and potato, and Mildred’s version of patatas bravas transforms another tapas bar staple. Instead of the usual cubes, potatoes are whipped and piped into a knot pattern and fried, giving waves of crisp texture, clung with spicy bravas sauce and cool aioli.
Boquerones and avocado are stacked on baguette from the Marigny’s standout Ayu Bakehouse for an avocado toast with a bold upgrade from the sharply-sour marinated anchovies. A martini beckons.
Boquerones and avocado on toast is part of the menu at Mildred’s, the martini bar and restaurant at the Warbler Hotel on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans.
STAFF PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE
The menu runs through larger dishes, including mussels cooked in cider, secreto Iberico pork steak, and cataplana, the Portuguese seafood stew, and continues the Iberian flavors at dessert with a Basque cheesecake.
The cocktail list leads with martinis in eight varieties, from the “inverted” (heavy on vermouth, light on gin), to the obituary cocktail, which is like a martini that went to New Orleans and discovered how a dash of absinthe adds a whiff of intrigue.
Following the menu cues, Mildred’s wine list includes many bottles from Spain, and thus plenty that are good values under $60.
Upstairs, downstairs and family ties
The rooftop patio bar Upstairs, also run by the Mildred’s team, serves its own cocktail list and menu, with some small plates from Mildred’s (including the boquerones and avocado), plus sandwiches.
It feels like a Mediterranean tropical beach club perched just above the avenue’s oak canopy. Upstairs could be the place to watch a sunset with a cocktail before dinner at Mildred’s or the after-dinner hang.
The pool patio connects to the bar called Upstairs on the rooftop at the Warbler Hotel in New Orleans, with city views all around.
STAFF PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE
Mildred’s has its own entrance on the corner, underscoring that the restaurant is a destination in its own right apart from the hotel. The Warbler’s main entrance, down the block, leads through a trellis-covered walkway. In the lobby, one of the curving corners is the counter-service cafe Milly’s for coffee from the local brand Cherry Coffee Roasters.
The creative team behind the Warbler has strong New Orleans ties including local architecture firm EskewDumezRipple, interior design studio Jamie Bush & Co., and design firm Sweet Olive, founded by Dorothy Mann, the developer’s wife, and her cousin Legier Goldsmith.
Family ties manifested in another foundational way too.
At the Warbler Hotel on St. Charles Avenue, an image of Henry, a relative of the hotel developers and an inspiration for its style, is part of a welcome tray in a guest room.
STAFF PHOTO BY BRETT DUKE
A spirit guiding the overall approach at the hotel is Dorothy Mann’s father, the late Robert Henry Sarpy Jr. He’s remembered as being the ultimate New Orleanian, a character who embraced a celebratory spirit and exuded personal warmth, making time around him feel well spent.
“We wanted a hotel that would make people feel the way we did when we were around him,” said Joe Mann. “We built this for the neighborhood as much as for the guests. We want it to be a gathering place for the community.”
The Warbler Hotel and Mildred’s, 1923 St. Charles Ave.
Mildred’s is open daily for breakfast, 7-11 a.m., and opens for drinks from 3 p.m. and dinner from 5 p.m. Upstairs opens to the public daily at 3 p.m.
Dining and Cooking