I went to Jazz after Dark on Saturday night with three friends having pre-booked. First of all pre-booked is supposed to be £10 but they charged us £15 when entering. Secondly they placed us at a table where we could neither see nor hear the band properly; it was merely like weak background music. They had booked in a private party in the area where the band plays so we could not even go to see the band. We were utterly disappointed with our night after paying £60 entry between us to get in for what was basically a birds nesting table between 4 of us and no real sense of a jazz club at all. I did go up and gatecrash the party in the end to listen to the music I had paid for and it was most definitely average when it comes to jazz! The Blues Bar on Kingley Street is way above this place in standard of music, staff and atmosphere.
Also the place was a homage to Amy Whinehouse, Kate and Pete, with terrible portraits of them all over the walls and a random one of Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. Please give me a bucket!
This is the worst overrated tourist trap. Of that there is no doubt!

I went to Jazz After Dark with some friends recently on a Saturday night - the place is small and has a great atmosphere. The Big Girls Blues Band were playing - we had never heard of them before and took a chance - they were fantastic - sang a mixture of soul, and funky songs - as the evening went on people pushed the tables back and got up and danced. The band were friendly - they even bought me a glass of wine! I took their details I will definitely be going back to see them next time they play.

I would avoid this Jazz After Dark at all costs! The food really was appalling. The barbequed mixed grill was over £10.00, came on a plate the size of a side plate, half of which was covered with salad. The chicken was raw in the middle, there was a processed chip shop style sausage and burger and about five soggy chips under the chicken!


The music was okay, but not of a Saturday night out standard. I don't know how Jazz After Dark keeps going as no one could possibly go back a second time!

I visited Jazz After Dark for New Years Eve at a cost of £45.00 including a three course meal. As soon as I stepped in the door I was disappointed as the decor and atmosphere was very basic and dated.


It was too crowded at the tables and the food was well below average. The Jazz After Dark staff were friendly but this did not make up for the atmosphere and the food.

I went to Jazz After Dark with the view that it would be a great evening for a meal and live music. Unfortunately when I went, the meal was not particularly nice and music was being delivered through a regular Hi Fi. I'm sure they have good nights at Jazz After Dark, but this wasn't one of them.

To all,

I would not go back to Jazz After Dark. We booked for a night out for someone who really likes jazz. There were 8 of us and I booked plenty of time in advance. When we arrived they had put us in the little side bit.

We were so squashed we couldn't fit the plates properly on the table. We left Jazz After Dark early as we could not enjoy the jazz. Food is okay but nothing spectacular.

I went to Jazz After Dark last night (Thursday) and loved the place. The music was fantastic. They had a blues band called BluesMix playing who were really great, which created a really nice atmosphere.

As for the Jazz After Dark bar itself... I really liked the relaxed vibe. In the window they had an advert for Pete Doherty and Babyshambles!

And guess what? Early on in the night he was sat at a corner table quiety eating dinner. Great for celeb spotting!

Nothing but good things to say about this place. Sure its a little funky and different, but the fact that it's not yet another boring All Bar One or something similar is part of its appeal to me. I would highly recommend Jazz After Dark on a Thursday, when the band I mentioned plays every week.

Jazz After Dark is a complete let down on expectations, and I would recommend anybody looking for a fun night out to avoid it as this venue is a complete rip-off. Nobody who works there seems to know what they are doing (we made a reservation which only one person knew about) and the service is possibly the worst in town.

Although I didn't get a chance to hear the music at Jazz After Dark the aggravating service is surely not worth it. Even after complaining nobody offered an apology, so we ended up leaving as it would have been better to sit at home and listen to the radio. It is definitely not worth £10.00 a head - regrettably this did not happen just to us, three other uknown couples that went out all had the same poor experience.
Good luck if you do decide to go!

I hadn't been to Jazz After Dark for a while until last Thursday. I've always liked the place, it has a quirky charm! But in the past I found the food to be a little hit and miss, the same with the bands.

This time though, Jazz After Dark was excellent!
I noticed the food was much better than before and the music was truly superb. It featured a blues band called BluesMix who created a wonderful,friendly atmosphere and played some lovely blues music. This place has to be one of the best kept secrets in Soho.

Yes, alright, the food at Jazz After Dark is not fantastic, the owners aren't particularly friendly, but the service staff are courteous and efficient and the band we saw were excellent!

Platform 4, a New Orleans funk, jazz and soul band, rocked Jazz After Dark with a tasteful covers sets, that had people mesmerised, and by the end of the night, singing and dancing!

This was the best night out I have had in a long time. Great vibes...

I have to admit that my experience of Jazz After Dark was somewhat different to those of some previous visitors’ comments. Whilst I respect that the décor and size of a restaurant are not a necessity for a good evening with friends, I do feel that the quality of the food ordered is.

The Tenor set menu at Jazz After Dark was quite poor, as someone else has said, being simply a portion from an appetiser menu, supplemented with potato wedges for sustenance. I would recommend any future visitors to request the a la carte menu.

I also found the entrance fee steep for early evening. Unfortunately, I cannot comment on the live music as we moved on, but I’m sure this is where the magic of Jazz After Dark must lie, as it certainly was not in its food.

For all those who didn't like the live music at Jazz After Dark, I'd like to invite you on Wednesday 2nd November to listen to my gig. It's selection of blues, standard jazz and some good pop music which is played by Pierluca (an exellent guitarist)and me(singer).

I hope you'll have a chance to say that gig at Jazz After Dark was good. See you there.

To be honest, Jazz After Dark just has a better ring to it than ‘jazz at breaktime’ or 'jazz in the morning just after Trisha’. And as all the best jazz musicians free-style anyway it doesn’t matter how dark it is – ‘cos they don’t have to read any music.
Jazz After Dark makes sense in this crazy mixed up world, and I like it for that.

Jazz After Dark is a great place! How wrong can those other reviewers be? For sure Jazz After Dark is quirky but that is part of the charm. I for one am sick of the usual cattle shed type bars in central London playing drum'n'bass with people packed in like sardines. Jazz After Dark is fast turning into a cult place to go for a casual drink in a friendly atmosphere. I go pretty much every other Thursday after work. In the past I - or my mates - have seen Billie Piper, Grace Jones, Badly Drawn Boy (what's his name?) and Amy Winehouse all there sitting around drinking. The food is ok, not great though, but the real reason to go is not for a meal (eat first!) but for the atmosphere. It has quirky charm and great live blues music on Thursday nights. On other nights the music at Jazz After Dark can be hit and miss but on Thursdays it's a blues band playing a loose/improv type set of funkyish blues. It is really nice! Like the other reviewer said, Amy Winehouse got up and sang with that band. I've seen her do that twice now. She has an amazing voice! I recommend you check out Jazz After Dark on the Thursday blues night!

Jazz After Dark is horrid. This place is a non-place. Tiny, no space, no character it looks like an Eastern European bar with some objects that may recall South American style (provided you are drunk). The music before the live music starts is broadcast through a portable music device (the ones that breakdancers use on the street). Not only that the food at Jazz After Dark is bad and expensive and the live music is not music but rubbish. Guys, do not go to Jazz After Dark unless you want to suffer.

If you are into your food or atmosphere then Jazz After Dark is not for you. I am not a snob but the food tasted a little tough and the ingredients didn't seem fresh. Decor-wise, Jazz After Dark has the feel of a school cafeteria, old plastic placemats included. I wouldn't recommend going here unless you are really drunk and don't care.

I have to say I completely disagree with the other reviewers here. Maybe it depends which night of the week you go to Jazz After Dark. Me and 3 friends go to this place about once a month...always on a Thursday night when they have an excellent live blues band. I can't comment on dinner but to be honest this is more a place for having plenty of drinks in a friendly atmosphere.

And, as I say, if you like real live music of a bluesy type you really should visit on a Thursday night. The other week we were there and Amy Winehouse got up and sang with the band for a while. What a treat! And totally unexpected.

We pre-booked because we were told it was essential (although they let people come without pre-bookings) but the real horror began when we walked through the door, the place was as big as your living room and the tables and chairs were designed for toddlers! The food was awful (the Main Course was just a portion from the appetisers accompanied with potato wedges to make it look big). The band/music was awful and did no justice to Jazz.

Later on in the evening we were asked if they could “squeeze in two more people” beside us (as if we had a lot of room to breathe to begin with!). The attitude of the staff was very unfriendly (it seemed their main job for the evening was to CRAM as many people as possible rather that provide a good service). It was a WASTE OF TIME, MONEY and would I STRONGLY not recommend it to anyone. Please do yourself a favour and don't go!

Although it sounds reasonable and a cozy little place, its not really. we payed £10 each (pre booked may I add) to get there and find out that the seats are at the back of the club and we can't see the band. Staff were unfriendly and there was no space at all. People who payed £8 for dinner got the better tables and the band mainly played cover tunes no originals and they took very long breaks where we had to endure listening to Vanilla Ice! On the whole it is not worth going there for the price you pay! And definiteley not for the music.

This is a wonderful bar. A wide variety of artists play here and it's a great place to just have fun. Food and cocktails are great. The service is great: the couple who run the place are always ready to have a chat.