Aloha Shores Lounge

Oh Lord. Just when I thought I had been to every divey bar on the Westbank. I had to go and walk into Aloha Shores with their karaōke and Miller High Lifes.
Aloha Shores is a decent enough place. There is a bar with a staff working serving up drinks to a nice crowd of regulars. The highlight of this place is definitely the karaōke. It’s not your average karaōke, it’s weird karaōke. On the night that I stopped in, someone was singing The Fresh Prince’s «Nightmare on My Street» song from the 80’s. That has to be the most random karaōke song in existence. There were a couple of other odd song choices, if I remember correctly.
Of course, it’s the Westbank, so there’s smoking. There just zero appeal in going to Westbank bars now that NOLA has banned smoking in bars. Anyway, stop in if you are on the Westbank and feel like singing something weird,

The first time my friends and I came here we did so ironically, making jokes about how this club is so exclusive you have to be buzzed in. It was a slow night so the result was us having this quaint karaōke bar all to ourselves. And it was a blast! Karaōke DJ «Mad Hatter» is an enthusiastic guy who will bend over backwards to play any song you wish to sing. His dedication to karaōke is a thing of legend.
Fast forward 4 months later, I return with a different group of friends after an enthused speech about how Aloha Shores will change their life. And it did… but not for the better.
Lo and behold, Aloha Shores’ patrons came out in numbers. The cigarette smoke was thick. Like, tangibly thick. I found myself genuinely worried about the pregnant barkeep who was having a colorful conversation with a man who I swear killed a pack within the first 10 minutes I was there. DJ Mad Hatter was in attendance & still delightful, but it was a lot harder getting our name into the rotation this time. The wait was longer, which I didn’t mind — but after sitting idly for an hour the smoke started to get to us. After only two songs we left, our eyes bloodshot & jackets reeking like a 90s bowling alley.
Closing thought:
I thought I found a gem, but all I found was a dive.
UPDATE:
So, I went back with a large group (11) on my birthday and it was a blast. I think the trick is — and this may sound horrible — to show up drunk. I tacked another star based on the experience.

Ok, another karaōke bar on the ‘wank that I think no one knows about.
Welcome to Aloha Shores. It is another «buzzer» bar… gotta get buzzed in to enter. Makes you feel cool and exclusive at first. Though it might be to keep whats inside, inside.
Its pretty typical of a very small westbank bar. Though it does have a bit more character than most, because this place has been around for a very long time. Has a few pool tables, kinda kidney shaped bar, Christmas lights, smokey and of course, some Frank Sinatra song being song by a Gretna-​mafia type. Sometimes its filled with single or almost single semi divorced women. And always filled with the best men Gretna has to offer. Don’t know what I mean, look up 14:42.1 & 14:43 There is a few guys here that frequent this place with them magic numbers, so I wouldn’t consider it a place for single intelligent women, that is unless you are a… Ok, I’ll just stop, too negative for me :-)
I wouldn’t say there is any hub bub here, it is Gretna and Gretna’s finest respond with the quickness, so I don’t think you have anything to worry about here. A few blocks away, maybe.
Sometimes there is hogshead cheese on a table or meatballs in a crockpot. Yumm.
Good place to pop your head in once and grab a drink but not a great one. But if its on your bucket list, by all means check it out, probably never knew it was there all this time, unless you are a real Westbanker… like me ;-)