Manning's Sports Bar and Grill anchors Fulton Square next to Harrah's, a 210-seat room the Manning family built for one job: putting a Saints game in front of every seat without making anyone strain for the screen.
The address is 519 Fulton Street, on the pedestrian stretch that links the casino to the Warehouse District. The room runs big and open, with more than 30 flat-screens wrapped around the bar and dining floor so the sightlines hold up even from the back tables, which is the real test of a sports bar. Archie Manning lent the family name and the New Orleans football pedigree, and nola.com reported the place leans on Saints and college memorabilia rather than generic stadium decor.
Sightlines are the reason to come. The screens are angled toward the booths along the wall, and the seats at the rail face the largest panels, so the bad seats here are still good seats. On a Sunday the sound cuts to the main game, which keeps the floor from turning into the wall of competing audio that sinks lesser sports bars.
The kitchen plays Creole pub food rather than chasing fine dining. Reviews on its OpenTable listing point repeat regulars toward the burgers, the gumbo, and the wings, with most plates landing in the mid-teens to low twenties. Drafts run domestic-heavy and priced for a long afternoon, so order a local Abita on tap and a basket of wings and settle in. Skip the cocktails; this is a beer-and-a-burger room and it knows it.
Manning's opened in the Fulton Square redevelopment as the Harrah's complex expanded its dining row, and the Manning name did the marketing work from day one. The New Orleans Chamber of Commerce lists it among the district's anchor restaurants, which matches how the room functions: a reliable, central place to watch a game and eat without a reservation.
The crowd is a mix of casino guests, conventioneers, and locals who want the Saints without the Bourbon Street crush a few blocks over. It fills hours before kickoff on game day, and the Fulton Square doors open onto the pedestrian mall when the weather cooperates.
Regulars on its Yelp and OpenTable pages repeat the same notes. The screens and the service hold up during a packed Saints game, the location is convenient to the casino and the convention center, and the food is better than a sports bar needs to be. The recurring complaint is that prices reflect the tourist-district address, so the value is in the room and the screens rather than the bar tab.
Best time to go is early on a Saints Sunday, before the room hits capacity, or a weekday afternoon when the pace is easy. Per its posted hours the kitchen runs Thursday through Sunday, so a Monday-night plan needs a backup. Who it is for: a visitor who wants the Saints near the casino, a convention group after a big game-day table, and a local who values sightlines over a scene.
The bar program stays simple on purpose. Frozen daiquiris and a rotating list of domestic and Louisiana drafts cover most orders, and the staff keep the lines moving during a rush, which matters more than range when a hundred people want a refill at halftime. Bottled and canned options round out the cooler for anyone who wants a quick grab between plays, and the draft list keeps an Abita or two on rotation for the home crowd.
For more in the category, see our guide to the best sports bars in New Orleans, browse the full New Orleans bar guide, or compare the city's picks against our citywide sports bars roundup. It pairs well with the Warehouse District's beer halls when the game runs long.
