Jazz at the Bistro

What a great venue and a nice experience. If you love Jazz like me, this place is a must go. The décor and ambiance is none like in STL. Street parking is tricky so I recommend valet parking.
Food
The burger: is juicy and flavorful. Very delicious. The fries is so delicious
Shrimp Gumbo: yummmm. Very delicious, flavorful and spicy
Spinach/​artichoke dip: very creamy and satisfying. Excellent appetizer

Great venue! Love the classy but modern decoration. Went on a Saturday for the 9:30 pm show and was just about right. Not too crowed. Melissa Aldana was a delight. Angela assisted me well and Tom took care of my thirst. Old fashions are done right. Wonderful experience!

Great experience. I took my daughter and her friend to see her saxophone mentor perform with the Lindenwood Jazz Band. The sound was incredible. The service was timely and attentive. Very sweet and on top of things. We had the spin-​art dip and the pesto kale flatbread. Both were delicious. Kale on flatbread is so much better than spinach. It was so tasty. This was a great experience. We will be back.

What a terrific experience
In general I avoid the food in places such as this but the flat breads have consistently impressed and then southern wings were super flavorful.
Their drink selection is solid to great
I saw a trio this weekend and the saxaphonist killed it
Need to make this a regular night out

All of the stars are for the venue (intimate) and the quality of the music (excellent). But over $ 40 for a ticket for a 1-​hour show, where they kick you out as soon as it’s over, so they can get the next seating in? And the food, while generously portioned, spanned from lukewarm (the pot roast) to cold (all the vegetables)? I don’t think I’d eat there again, but I’m a sucker for live music, so I’ll probably be back.
If you’re in a party of two, though, watch out – they’ll stick you in a corner with terrible sight lines, but, again, the venue is sufficiently intimate that the experience fills the space just fine.

I have a love/​hate relationship with JATB. I love jazz, I love the space, I hate that the shows are soooo short (seem shorter than they used to be), hate hate hate the booths along the back walls (seriously the most uncomfortable seat I have EVER sat in), I love the acts that they bring in and the casual, intimate feel of the shows, hate the distraction of the food, love that they have table service for drinks.
If they would just fix those booths (seriously, they’re like some kind of torture device) and make the shows a little longer, thus would be my favorite place to go out in STL. Burn the booth seats!

Perfect jazz venue. Intimate setting. Good food and excellent service too. Highly recommend to jazz fans and foodies.

The remodel is amazing!!! Wow and the sound even better or should I go with the food being better? Omg the Foid has improved 100%. U will love this new place!!!

Awesome venue! Not a bad seat in the house. Whether you’re here for a concert or just a nice Sunday Brunch (which most don’t even know exist) you’ll enjoy the experience.
The Jazz Bistro is super chic; the ambiance is like none other in St. Louis. Although it has an upscale appearance and feel you can totally come as you are. If I’m going to keep all things honest though; which I must, the food is simply mediocre. The Sunday Brunch selection was pretty limited and not very tasty at all. There were heavy biscuits and gravy, pork bacon, sausage links, scrambled eggs, and some sort of meat-​filled quiche (none of which I tried) there were also cheesy grits, fresh fruit, friend chicken and pancakes to order (which I did try and thought each were ok. However, for a $ 35 brunch I felt like the food selection was unfair.
The server at our table was very nice; not the same could be said for the brunch table attendant. He was very dry and when I requested more berries he said tell my server. He gave no details when I asked what was in a certain dish and really zero personality. I wanted to grab my little vittles and hurry back to my cozy little nook on the dining side where I was safe and could enjoy some light live jazz music.
The mimosa was delicious and not included in the $ 35 brunch cost (shameful).
Overall it was nice and I’d go back if someone else is treating.

I came here last week for the first time to see Robert Glasper Experiment. It was an excellent show! The atmosphere of the club is really chic, modern, and laid back. Exposed brick, nice stained wood, and white leather upholstery make up the ambiance. There’s a bar across from the concert venue/​lounge which was nice while waiting for our show to start. It was really packed though due to our show starting later than the scheduled 9:30 pm time. It was also nice waiting in the bar area because they had a big screen television that was showing live footage from the earlier show. The prices are a little pricey but not too expensive. The average prices on the menu ranged from about $ 12 — $ 20. I ordered a Manhattan cocktail while in the venue and it was $ 9 and came in a tiny glass. That being said, it was delicious and extremely strong! So I left feeling like I got my money’s worth. The next time I come, I plan to try the food. You can’t beat live jazz music in an upscale venue.

Every performance I have been to here has been top notch! It’s great how they allow people from the early show to stay for the 2^nd set for no additional cost.
I was blown away at the remodel when visiting it last week. I am from Minneapolis and stumbled across this back in 2012 when living in STL temporarily for work. I think I have been here at least 10 times since my first visit 3 years ago and it has never disappointed!

The new remodeled jazz club at Jazz at the Bistro is a world-​class establishment. It’s a great listening room and this past Saturday, the Jeff Lorber Group really blew the patrons away!
This setting, the sound system, and the layout, allow almost all patrons to see clearly to the stage. The second level provides rim seating, as well as sofas and a bar, with a large screen presentation above the bar setting.
There’s a great lineup for the season, to include both international and excellent local performers!!!
The jazz club was always a great place to go but now it’s just exceptional!
Highly recommend Jazz at the Bistro for an evening of great performance in a beautiful setting.
Each performance is for one hour. I do wish they were a little longer; just when you start to really get into the music, the session ends, but aside from that it’s all positive!
Go early and get a bite to eat so you’re settled in before the performance starts! You won’t be disappointed!

For starters… I don’t like the new décor. Gone is the sexy, cozy feel of the old place. Bright lights, cold and sterile. Weird furniture. Don’t sit on the balcony as you won’t be able to see the musicians unless you are quite tall. The food wasn’t great. I ordered a roasted beet salad and the beets were raw. Then comes the risotto with roasted vegetables… again the veggies were raw except for the carrots. The service was fine but not as good as it could be. The floor vibrates when it is walked on.
I like a jazz club to be dark. I want a candle on my table. I like rich color on the walls. You know. it needs to be a little mysterious. Jazz at the Bistro, you have some work to do.

Never before have I visited a jazz club where the jazz itself seemed so uncomfortably out of place.
Jazz is the quintessential American art form, built upon a foundation of experimentation, raw talent, and soul, where the musician and the audience collaborate to create the energy that sees a unique performance crafted every night. And yet, Jazz at the Bistro – in its new iteration – feels distressingly antithetical to all those elements which make jazz so great.
A lot has been made of the revamped design of Jazz at the Bistro, and there is no denying that the sharp edges and muted gold and brown tones lend the place a retro-​chic vibe. The place is absolutely spotless, and while I certainly have no qualms with clean, a jazz club is the last place I’d want to feel outright sanitized. And yet it is: every piece of wood is in perfect place, every edge calibrated to maximum sharpness, and the lighting a dead neutral, dialed up just a few lumens too bright. Facing forward, it almost feels like a small conference center rather than a music venue.
I will say this: the acoustics in the venue are excellent, and the sound fills the space well; that’s actually quite impressive, considering how open the space is, with extremely high ceilings, and tables spaced widely across the floor.
Ultimately, however, this open design robs the place of any sense of intimacy. While you will likely share a table with another couple, the tables are a bit too large for a party of four, and the nearest table is well over an arm’s length away. While this may work great for a pure restaurant, where you don’t want to have nearby conversations bleed into your own, it seems very out of place at a music venue, and the physical isolation of each table makes it difficult to truly feel like you’re part of an audience enjoying a shared experience. Even at my own table, I found that the form factor of the chairs, combined with their approach to the table, made it very difficult to even reach over and touch my girlfriend’s hand.
This isolation and lack of intimacy is further reinforced by the strict no-​talking policy during performances. We are told at the beginning of shows that this is to respect the musicians, and as someone who has spent a significant amount of time on stage, I find this to be a draconian policy that underestimates the audience’s sense of decorum while at the same time undermining the sort of connections that give an audience energy with which to feed the performers. I’ve always thought that live Jazz is best enjoyed over the faint din of an audience buzzing with just a little life, and I find it very telling that the performers often seem to have to prompt the audience when to applaud after a solo when it doesn’t arise organically.
The clientele has a distinctly older skew, and perhaps a lot of these design and audience management choices have been made to cater to their preferences. To be honest, the audience generally has a vibe that just has you expecting that the performance will be interrupted by an NPR pledge drive. And while I identify myself proudly as an NPR junkie, I know this is not the sort of vibe that is likely to get younger generations interested in this important aspect of Americana.
I’m also a bit disappointed in the value of the shows. While $ 30 – 40 a seat really isn’t all that bad for a national act, I’m always shocked at how little music you actually get to see while you are there. This evening, we were treated to just 61 minutes of music, the experience over before it had even started. We literally spent more time going to and from the venue than we did at the venue, and we both live in the city.
That said, I think it’s clear from the other reviews on here that my opinions place me distinctly in the minority when it comes to Jazz at the Bistro, and there are many other people who think the place is wonderful. But, to me, Jazz at the Bistro just seems sterile and soulless, lacking those critical elements of energy and intimacy that define the genre.

After missing a couple of my earlier season ticket sets, I finally made my first visit to the NEW Jazz at the Bistro for Joshua Redman’s Trio. I have been a regular at the Bistro since 1996 and this happened to be my 80^th visit. We have been excited about this change, since attending a preview during the early planning stages in June 2013. It far exceeds what I imagined and ensures that the Bistro will remain a great place for the best jazz in the world for many years to come. Congratulations to all who worked on this awesome transition and who made it possible.
People who live in St Louis, who like jazz and who have not yet found this venue, need to be sure to check it out. A couple of weeks ago we were privileged to attend a concert of the Keith Jarrett Trio at the Chicago Symphony. My early live performance experiences with jazz were all in similar concert halls and while they were great, nothing compares to hearing jazz in a place like the Bistro. It really is how jazz should be heard. There should never be an empty seat.

I don’t normally listen to jazz, but it’s fun here in person with a Manhattan or campaign cocktail.
They just remodeled. It’s more open & modern. The «old» area is where you watch & listen without people talking. There’s a new (no cover!) room to watch on a screen, listen & chat.

This place books the best local and national touring jazz performers. I’ve never seen a bad show here. Add to the great jazz the great new renovation, and this place can’t be beat for a night out in StL.
Previously, the Bistro was only a listening room (but served dinner). With the expansion, there’s the main listening room and a separate lounge. After getting your ticket for a table in the listening room, you can have dinner, drinks, or sit at the bar (where the stage used to be). The balcony is expanded with seats overlooking the stage and another bar. The stage has been moved to the side, and there isn’t a bad seat in the house.
In the new lounge, you can grab dinner or drinks and watch the show live on a 90″ screen. There’s no charge to go to the lounge, and you can socialize all you want. As the show takes place in the listening room, multiple cameras and mics pipe the sights and sounds into the lounge.
The kitchen is now run by St. Louis Catering, that does the Boathouse. I had the zuc/​pepper tempura, short rib, and chocolate tart. Would recommend any of these dishes.
If you haven’t been in a while, or haven’t ever been, you should really give it a go some night, even if you just want to give jazz a try in the lounge.
Newbie tip: clap for solos when you’re into it.

The music here is usually terrific, the night we went was a «swing jazz» group and for me, 90 mins of music is just right, and the band played right thru without a break.
The food here is terrible at best, so come for the music for sure. The wait staff here is also not so good, be sure to order drinks before the music starts or you may go thirsty. I found the wait staff the night we went to not seem to have their head in the game.
A word or warning about the table selection, be careful if your in the first row of tables to either the right or left as your directly in from the the speakers.

My wife and I came in before a concert at The Fox and had a pretty good experience. I wish I could remember our waitress’ name. She was very pleasant and personable and had great timing.
We tried the sausage stuffed mushrooms and crab cakes for apps. Both were very good but we thought the bell peppers added to a slaw with the crab was a bit more than necessary.
For our mains we had the super-​tender and juicy pot roast and the pork tenderloin. Unfortunately the tenderloin was dry, like Sahara-​dry. Our waitress apologized and offered me anything else, but there was plenty of the pot roast to share, so she cheerfully credited our bill.
Sure, there are some places for improvement, notably someone needs to clean the area around the inside of the front windows.
Also, they use white tablecloths to make it appear as fine dining, but the cloths had some rips. Better to do without. And, plastic single-​serve butter cups with the bread (which is very good). Small things that confuse. But I’ll still return to try some of the other menu items.

Have been here a couple times and both were great experiences. The music was amazing and the food was pretty good. This place always has quality acts and the atmosphere is excellent – an intimate two-​story space in the historic Grand Center area of St. Louis. This area had tons of clubs at one time and this is a good counter-​point to the nearby Fox Theater and Symphony Hall.
The room is historic and the acoustics are not perfect but it feels exactly like a place to hear jazz should feel – classy, intimate and dark. The tables are close to the stage and the musicians walk through the audience to get to and from the stage.
I am not sure how I feel about the dining experience here, it can distract from focusing on the performance, especially if you are seated facing away from the stage! The last time I was here I had the Greek salad and it was pretty good, but this review is about the musical experience.
The musicians I have seen here are Pat Martino with Tony Monaco and also Erin Bode.