Rude staff almost spoiled a great night

Went to see the extraordinary Tcha Limberger with his band at Quecumbar last night. Having paid £15 on the door, I expected to enjoy the music in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

After ordering a bottle of wine (mediocre at £25), my friends and I found ourselves being pushed into quickly finishing it and buying another. Ignoring this pressure, I was astonished to be told that the venue had a £15PP minimum spend policy (on top of the cover charge), and perhaps I should order a dessert and some more drinks. I had come out for to music, rather than to eat or get drunk, so I made do with a few glasses of juice (£3, straight out of a can).

On top of the sheer cheek at such a policy, it was completely inappropriate for the staff to basically accuse me of cheapskatery within earshot of friends, acquaintances, and even the performers. At least the waitress ('only following orders') had the decency to look sheepish, in contrast to her smirking colleague at the bar, and the embittered manager who wanted to take it all out on her customers.

I'm glad that I overcame my embarrasment and stayed though, as Tcha's second set was incredibly good. Even the manager's subsequent rudeness to my friends (for ordering tap water) couldn't spoil the mood.

A compulsory £10 service charge, followed by the waitress asking me if I'd like to add a gratuity, was a final bizzare touch.

5 stars for Tcha, 0 for the Quecumbar!

Still reeling from one of the worst meals ever last night at the Quecumbar. It was our fourth visit this year. We weren't expecting much on the culinary front as the food has been truly disappointing each time but we really love some of the artists who play there when visiting the UK and so have gone back hoping that the venue will redeem itself. We are happy to pay to see world-class music - but not for rubbish food and service - or to feel ripped off.
Last night was the nail in the coffin. We will never go back & it seems like many others have come to the same conclusion judging from the dwindling audiences we've seen.
The place leaves an awful taste in your mouth. As well as the food being essentially inedible, it is an absolute rip off. We are normally happy to pay for good food and amazing music but this is just a joke. My husband and I paid a total of £50 for: 5 bottles of beer, a soup, a baked brie starter and a moussaka. The soup was clearly made from powder and was totally disgusting. The brie - since it was essentially a cheese put in the oven and taken out again - was the only thing vaguely palatable. This huge food bill plus tickets of £15 each for the music makes it a £40pp night out which would be fine if it was a reallysuper night with great service, delicious food and so on. Unfortunately, this is so not the case.
The service is rude and cocky, and especially patronising from the manageress who seems to claim to be an expert on gypsy music yet gets details wrong when introducing the acts and who is aggressive in pushing customers to have more drinks. Needless to say, whacking a hefty £10 on our bill for service was not very welcome.
It is not about the money - I would happily pay £40 to see these musicians - it is about the sense of total rip off & greed.
The dwindling audiences have an impact on the music too - no musician wants to play for 10 people when so much about a performance is vibing off the atmosphere.

wow, I'm so shocked to read about the negative reviews posted on here by customers. Were they actually sitting in the same restaurant as me? I'm not sure.
My experience of this place was out of this world. I felt as though I had been taken back in time, and have never felt so comfortable in a place in many years.
Yes, it isn't fine dining, but that wouldn't suit this place. The atmosphere is creates allows it to be what it is.
The Staff are friendly, and quite interestingly unique, and the music is to die for.
No need to feel any formalities here, as it's all about the music and enjoyment of ones night.

A real find.
Will return as soon as I can.

William, Surrey

What a great place! My sister read an article about the Gypsy Jazz festival and, knowing my love for this type of guitar-based music, suggested I attend. I rang the venue and was told all tickets were sold. I talked about my interest, my links to a similar venue in Torquay and the fact that I was going to be in the area for one of the nights and was told that if I turned up on the night and there was a cancellation they would do their best to fit me in. I turned up and the friendliness and hospitality were second to none---a place on a table (with some really interesting people) had been created for me, right in front of the stage.

What a privilege to be amongst the best players in The World, when it comes to Gypsy guitar!! It was fantastic value for money, with lovely food and a brilliant atmosphere.I would highly recommend the venue, the food and the musical content---I will be returning whenever I can. Thanks to all at Le QuecumBar--- and my Sister!

I learned about Gypsy Swing Guitar music from a friend and was immediately hooked to this style of music.I don,t play guitar myself unfortunately ( I play bagpipes ) ,but would like to hear live playing and so heard of The Django Reinhard's Festival being held in London from this same friend( he read it in a guitar magazine ) and immediately booked tickets.So in January travelled down from Scotland booked into hotel and then headed for Le Quecumbar, I was there for the opening night of the festival and was very much privileged to be entertained by such great musicians. The ambience of the place was fantastic, the food and drink excellent and of course the proprietrix and staff were very cheerful,knowledgeable of the music and helpful and all in all just made the night.My intentions are to visit a few more concerts throughout the year and most definitely return if there is a festival next year, except this time will be staying longer hopefully being able to book more concerts.As a "canny" scot it was money well spent for a great weekend of entertainment.

Yours Sincerely,


Campbell G.

What do people want!! Well, something for nothing I reckon. You could not get better entertainment no matter where you go. World class musicians in a great setting. There is nowhere else that provides this anywhere in the country. Totally different to any other venue the ambience takes you away to another era and makes you forget the the outside world for a while. For anyone who wants a happy, foot tapping evening with mind blowing musicians you need go no further. The food is exactly what you would expect for the price. I have never had a bad meal, and there are plently of others that return again and again so that speaks for itself. I for one am grateful that the bar opened and gives me somewhere to see my favourite music, these places should get all our support as they are closing faster that ever and we will live to regret there passing!

Brilliant and what a privilege to be amongst such musical talent as were gathered and performed at the recent festival. I too am surprised by some of the negative comments. Le QuecumBar has opened the door for me to the wonderful genre of gypsy jazz swing; so much so that last year myself and a group of friends went to France for the annual Django Reinhardt music festival. Thanks to Sylvia with her vision, energy and commitment we can all enjoy gypsy jazz swing LIVE here in England. The staff are great, the food and drink is honest at the price, the ambience engaging and the standard of musicianship superb. We are extremely fortunate to have this unique live venue in a grey world of high street uniformity. Vivre Le QuecumBar and the music of Django.

As new residents to the Battersea Square area, Mr Mack and I decided to venture inside Le QuecumBar one evening during the recent Gypsy Swing festival there, and thank goodness we did, because inside was a fabulous time waiting to be had! Having been drawn by the rather eccentric mix of a Parisian café apparently pre-war in style and a smoky jazz club (without the smoke, grâce à la loi non-fumeur), I was unsure what to expect and wondered if the experience would live up to the appearance. However, my initial intrigue was surpassed by what proved to be a wonderfully transporting evening, lifting me above and beyond a dreary wintry weekday and into the realms of a toe-tapping, hip-jiggling soirée of the first degree. The joy of music was unleashed by players who had a vigour in their fingers that made me blush to look, but so transfixed was I by the superlative fretting of strings that I just smiled the time away to a bygone era when swing was in the air. If you’re after something to thrill the rhythm of your being and send you smiling into the night, then seek out Le QuecumBar and hold hands with the love of your life, be it woman, man, wine or song and sway to la musique. If not, just go to the pub for a pint.