What a rubbish! A venue without minimum conditions to hold a concert. Sound not amplified, noisy and the staff with no minimum respect to the musicians without giving a introduction, ask to customers to keep the talk as minimum during the performance and giving bad example to the show by talking loud. This is after I have paid for a supposed prestige concert which I expect to be there to listen jazz and not noise. This is the second time with a déjà vu.first time I had a bad impression. A venue to forgett!! Food ok, service ok.

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.

I have to say I'm very surprised by some of the negative comments on this website. Le Quecumbar is one of the most magical places I have been in London. A place with a true atmosphere. I went for the first time during their recent Gypsy Swing festival and had the most wonderful evening.

The music was amazing, I don't know where else you could see gypsy jazz of such high quality and authenticity. The food was good and reasonably priced and the drinks were what you should expect from a live music venue in London. I found the staff very helpful and they gave me many glasses of free tap water. The venue had a policy of £25 min spend per head, which was made clear when I booked and is perfectly reasonable. You can't expect to have a meal and drinks in London for less than that anyway. The venue has to cover it's costs so they can bring in the top gyspy talent from Europe. It was clearly stated that the whole of the ticket price would be paid to the musicians, so people need to buy food and drink to pay for the staff, etc.

I left the venue walking on air. It was not the cheapest night out I've ever had, but it was one of the most special. The lady who runs the Quecumbar is truly passionate about the music and it shows. I will certainly be going back and I would recommend it to anyone to anyone who loves gyspy jazz.

As a very enthusiastic listener and player of Gypsy Jazz music very little was required from Le Quecumbar to bring excitement and entertainment to my evening. I took my girlfriend and some friends along to see one of our favourite groups on her Birthday last month. Entry for the performance was £16.50 each. Before arriving we had already decided to have a meal out at a restaurant in central London. After being seated we ordered some bottles of wine but later discovered that we needed to fulfill a minimum spend of £25 per head. As a result our bill came to £133 for 3 bottles of house wine, mineral water (Le Quecumbar refuses to sell tap water), and a bottle of beer. The 15% service charge was included in the bill. When I expressed my displeasure the waitress responded with offensive personal comments. One of the organisers of the events running at Le Quecumbar that evening was required to step in to help resolve the situation - which was not ultimately achieved.

Feeling ashamed and embarrassed I paid the bill, resulting in a personal debt.The following week I rang up to make a complaint. I was told that the £25 per head charge was set up to help cover the running costs of Le Quecumbar. I disputed that I did not know about this minimum spend, however I discovered that it was explained in the small print of the e-ticket. I did not see this information, and certainly did not expect it - as a regular to Le Quecumbar, I had visited on many occasions. Furthermore, the tickets are not printed out for entry to the venue - a surname is all that is required. I would suggest that if the Le Quecumbar cannot afford to put on acts from abroad then they should not strip money from their customers with these 'hidden costs', and let other venues take them on instead.I have nothing to show for the £79 that was taken from me, and to this day I feel robbed and cheated. But most of all, I feel that Gyspsy jazz music is being made snobbish and elitist - which it isn't.

Frankly, Le QuecumBar is one of a kind, and, on the best nights, is beyond magical. Fantastic and unique music, in an atmoshphere that takes you away (to perhaps a Parisian cafe, but perhaps, only one you'd see in your dreams). Too much? Well, the night I was there, last, with Tcha Limberger offering a Gypsy ballad that was tugging on the heart strings, every woman at every table around me was wiping tears away. You don't see that, feel that, every night, or every place. THAT's what Le QuecumBar is about.

Being big fans of the kind of music playing we were really pleased to find this place but the lady ( appeared to be the boss ) was so rude on arrival we decided to take our custom elsewhere.
Never again.

What a nice place was our initial though, great music, fab vibe - until we ordered our food.

Not really anything good to say about what any of us ordered (it was actually foul) and then to be slapped with a 15% service charge on the top of it was a little bit more than cheeky!

It is not only 15% on top of your food bill (inc VAT) but if you order a round of drinks they slap another 15% on that too!

I would recommend this restaurant to anybody who wants to listen to some great music but beware of the food and hidden costs!!!

While I enjoyed the music when I went to this bar last Sunday, the terrible service we received eclipsed our enjoyment of the evening, sadly.

After trudging down the road for 10 minutes to the nearest cash machine to get money out so we could pay the £13 cover charge, we were astounded when the waiter behind the bar refused to give us a glass of tap water along with the wine we'd bought.

That was just the beginning. The waiter then seemed to spend most of his evening finding reasons to tell us off: for being a large party (he didn't seem to appreciate our custom or the many carafes of wine we bought), for sitting at the arrangement of tables his colleague had created for us, for sitting near the toilets (that was also where his colleague had seated us), for not telling our friends who arrived later that he wouldn't serve them tap water, so that when they made their (not unusual) request for a glass of tap water, he rolled his eyes and said, "we've been through this already!"

He then told us off for not having made a booking, even though my friend had been told when she rang and tried to book, that she couldn't.

I won't go back there. I'd try to listen to the band again, if they were to play elsewhere, but, despite the beautiful decor, I don't find an evening of being told off by a self-important waiter very appealing.

Please, please, please don't go to this place. Anywhere that refuses to serve you tap water should be struck off any decent restaurant list.

Even if it isn't a strictly legal requirement, it shows a complete lack of humanity and customer service.

It also doesn't make business sense. The number of people who don't leave a tip because of the wrangle over tap water (as I did) defeats any point the owners might be trying to make.

The food is very ordinary anyway – unless you enjoy being reminded of the 80s, and the place is in a bit of a state.

The music is good however. Just don't eat there. Please..

Being new to the area and wanting to try a local bar my friend and I visited Le QueCumBar on April 2nd.

While there were many things that we liked about the venue, there were a few things that we found frustrating and we decided to raise these points with the member of staff who served us, in what we hoped was a constructive manner.

We were surprised by the premium on the cost of the food and drinks (for instance £2 for a lime and soda water is the kind of price we wouldn’t expect in a local bar) and were shocked that the food portions were so paltry.

In fact, although we are not in any way big eaters, we were still hungry when we left the bar and were obliged to pick up some shop food to eat at home; this is despite having just spent £36.50.

It is true that this amount included an additional £5 cover charge per person for the live music.

While we accepted this per se we felt that the charge was high for people visiting for a meal rather than specifically for the music – and as we have already said above, we felt that the food and drink prices were already at a premium.

For this reason we did not pay a service charge and explained this to our waiter. His defensiveness showed a lack of training and it was clear he wasn’t really hearing what we were saying.

In response to us trying to explain our disappointment, his comment was to say that he was ‘deeply insulted’ that we didn’t want to pay the cover charge because he was a musician himself.

In response to our comments on the cost of the food, and that we felt all in all a little “stung”, he said that he “felt stung” by the fact that he had “given service all night and not been paid for it”.

We left with a strong sense that we had made an expensive mistake. We also wrote to them the day after but to date we have not received a reply.

Just wanted to say...The food was better than it has ever been on Friday nite (rocket and goat's cheese, tricolore followed by aubergine parmegiano and haddock).

Previously we have found food just passable. Everything we tasted was impeccably cooked, fresh and very good quality.

If the chef is new? Don't lose him/her. The music (Yoka alias Dutch Diva) was superbe (as always). Marea

Le Q delivers the unique sights and sounds of a Parisienne cafe from the 20s/30s. The atmosphere is intimate and friendly and the musicians are genuine and excellent.

If you like the passion of gypsy jazz & hot club rhythms then don't miss it! If you just want to drink or eat with some background music this is not for you but to experience a Prestige concert on a Sunday/Monday is a real treat.

The cost of the ticket goes straight to the fantastic musicians and is worth every penny! Le Q never fails to swing!

What a great nights entertainment of Gypsy Swing for any Django fan. A real treat. Beautifully decorated, lovely atmosphere created by friendly punters.

Fabulous place - the atmosphere and the music are really something else! We saw an incredible gypsy band playing - so passionate and exciting -im a convert ! Beautifully decorated, 1920s Paris style, really friendly customers and staff and an owner who is so knowledgeable about this style of music . Food is good, pate, snails, beef bourguignon, coq au vin - typical french stuff and wine is cheap and very drinkable ! i shall be back again and again. oh, and they have a gorgeous patio which wa nt open when we went, but wil be soon i was told - i can just imagine drinking there on a hazy summers evening listening to this fantastic music and pretending i m in the south of france somewhere..!

Very disappointing evening at this restaurant oweing to three main complaints:
- Dreadful food: pre-prepared/microwave food for sure.
- Slow service: 3 hours for a two course meal - and we were trying to get out of there as soon as possible. Tables half cleared, main courses arriving at staggered intervals.
- Boring music: some sort of piano and female vocalist cabaret act that did nothing was too loud to be dismissed as background music, and too unpleasant to be enjoyed in its own right.

To top it all, when we expressed our dissatisfaction, the head waitress informed that the food "is not amazing, but very good". No, it's disgusting and implying that your customers are food snobs only adds insult to injury.

The five pound booking charge, twenty pound cancellation charge and no tap water policy all show what sort of place this is - a shameless rip-off.

Save yourself 30 quid and go somewhere (anywhere) else. We all agreed that Wetherspoons would have been better and a quarter of the price.

We went to Le Quecum on Sunday night with friends for a birthday celebration. We paid £12 to enter with about 15 others. Some of us were having food but most were there to drink and listen to the music. I was gobsmacked when I went to the bar to order a round of drinks which included a cup of tea for one of our party and was told that I could only get a cup of tea with food. I explained that i was buying a sizeable round of alcoholic drinks, had just paid £24 for me and my partner to enter the place and surely the barman could therefore bend the rules to accomodate my request. He replied that the rules were the rules and I could not have a cup of tea unless I ordered food. At this point he pointed out the manager who I politely approached to ask if her bar tender might on this occassion show some flexibility in the rules. To my amazement she refused and said that she didn't care about my request because i was not a local! Stunned, but not wishing to spoil the birthday celebrations of my friend - I calmed myself down and ordered a round of drinks and a class of tap water instead of a cup of tea only to be told... you guessed it ... they don't do tap water!

Very sad indeed, because they have obviously put a lot of work into the decor and atmosphere of the place only to spoil it by filling it with staff and management who have never in their lives heard of the concept of customer service.

I visited Le QuecumBar and Brasserie with a group of my friends about a week ago. What a find! It was liking finding a little bit of Paris in the middle of London. The atmosphere was great and the staff fantastic. We all ate and drank and whiled away the evening listening to some of the best jazz in London. How nice not to have to go to the West End to find this sort of venue.


Le QuecumBar and Brasserie will definitely be a regular venue for me, so if you fancy something a little different then I suggest booking here for a truly memorable evening.

I travelled across London to visit this Le QuecumBar & Brasserie because I had heard good things about it. Real time and effort has been put into making a vintage French style venue and it also has great music, and when I visited a couple of Gypsy guitarists were playing. The food when it finally came after a two and a half hours wait was good, nicely cooked and simple, but small and not really value for money.



However, the service was atrocious. I was told that because two of my party were 15 minutes late that this caused the two hour delay on our food! I was then accused of troublemaking when I asked for a discount by way of compensation! Overall I was extremely disappointed by what should have been an extremely enjoyable evening at Le QuecumBar & Brasserie.

LeQuecumBar is one of the most charming night spots I've ever visited. It is a beautifully decorated club with an outdoor patio like in the South of France, the food and service were fabulous, and our last night in London was made most special by wonderful jazz guitar and a congenial visit with the owner. We will tell our friends about Le QuecumBar & Brasserie and hope to visit again one day.

It was a Sunday at 5:30pm, too late for lunch, a bit early for dinner but we were very hungry and we found Le QuecumBar & Brasserie just round the corner. It was open but empty, with only a young man and lady behind the bar welcoming us in. They told us that we would have to pay £12.00 entrance fee each.



We asked why and were told that at 8pm a live band would be playing and that was the entrance fee to see them. We said that we simply wanted some food and a drink and that we would not take three hours. They said it made no difference, we would have to pay the £24.00 for the live entertainment we were never going to get to see.



Due only to my hunger I suggested staying for some food and, in the unlikely circumstance we were still chewing when the band started playing, paying to enjoy their music then. No, we would have to pay £24.00 for the privilege of eating at the establishment, music or no music. We will never go to Le QuecumBar again.

I visited Le QuecumBar & Brasserie for the first time on a Tuesday night because I love Gypsy Jazz and I was meeting a friend who lives in London who also likes live music.

I had the best night out I have ever had in my life. The music at Le QuecumBar & Brasserie was amazing, the food was wonderful, but most of all it was the atmosphere and friendliness of everyone that left such a lasting impression on me.

Sincere apologies to Sylvia the owner for keeping her up so late! No one wanted to leave the place. I have booked tickets for the 20th February and I can't wait to return. Ten out of ten.

I collect characters and I was so taken with the appalling reviews here that I had to go there and see for myself. Restaurants and bars are, in general, bland, boring and all pretty much the same. If we could get the owner going, like the previous reviewers say they did, then we could be in for an interesting meal, maybe a free one.

What a fantastic evening! I dragged three people along with me to Le QuecumBar & Brasserie who didn't really want to come.

The band was amazing. Not sure I should call them a band. It was a guy called Steve Sheperd, and somebody else playing rhythm guitar. I never heard anything like that before. I'm a convert. Gypsy Jazz, absolutely amazing.

I had to leave to get some sleep because I was travelling the next day, but my friends wouldn't come with me as they were enjoying the evening too much. I'm going back for more and this will be one of my regular haunts.

The food was wonderful and sensibly priced. The wine list was excellent and as for the owner, she was absolutely charming and couldn't do enough for us.

I don’t normally bother with this review stuff because I’ve got better things to do, but these people deserve to succeed. I would recommend Le QuecumBar & Brasserie to anybody.

What a shame... I've been to Le QuecumBar for a birthday before and it was great, however we went there for the missus' birthday last night and they dropped the ball massively.


The band never turned up (I'm not sure there ever was a band - perhaps they just told us that to secure the booking?) the food was bad (about a third of the meals were left untouched or sent back), and then we got a very questionable £45 per head bill.


I wouldn't mind so much if we didn't get such a half-hearted, insincere apology from the management at Le QuecumBar - I didn't believe a word they said. It's a shame, but after last night they deserve to be slagged off!

I can only say how disappointed I was by Le QuecumBar. I had heard great things about this venue and was really looking forward to celebrating my friend's birthday here. As a pregnant women, bars and pubs aren't really my thing at the moment so I was anticipating good food and good music and entertainment at a cool venue.



Well, the Le QuecumBar venue was great but the band didn't turn up, the food was appalling and overpriced and the owner was so rude.



I do hope this was a one-off bad night for them but judging by the attitude of the owner once we complained and the way that she dealt with subsequent complaints I'm not confident that this is the case. I certainly won't be giving Le QuecumBar a second chance.