The Best Jazz Bars in London
The Best Jazz Bars in London

The best jazz bars in London

28 Jul 2017 | Updated on: 27 Sep 2022 | By Luxury London

Fine food, cocktails and all that jazz. London’s best restaurants and late-night drinking dens with a seductive side of live music

Ronnie Scott’s, W1D

The world-famous Ronnie Scott’s is a London institution, renowned for its all-night live jazz music. Since opening in 1959, it has attracted the likes of Miles Davis, Sarah Vaughan and Count Basie. Jimi Hendrix jammed here with Eric Burdon in 1970, days before his passing, and Keith Richards and Mick Jagger were regulars.

Stories of the Soho club are legendary and today it is still the best place in London for an intimate, relaxed evening of energetic jazz, fine food and drinks. Upstairs, ‘Ronnie’s Bar’ offers an eclectic programme of DJ sets ranging from funk and flamenco to jive and blues, attracting a younger clientele. Following the main acts downstairs, The Late Late Show will take place from 10pm until 3am, for live music and dancing until the little hours. You never know who might turn up, from Stevie Wonder to Lady Gaga.

The lively programme offers a mix of Sinatra-inspired big band music and alternative jazz, in addition to rising stars and up-and-coming, hotly tipped artists.

47 Frith Street, Soho, London W1D 4HT, 020 7439 0747,www.ronniescotts.co.uk

Boisdale

With outposts in Mayfair, Belgravia, Bishopsgate and Canary Wharf, Boisdale is known for its tartan décor, Caledonian fare, vast whisky menu and infamous cigar terrace. Jools Holland is Boisdale’s Patron of Music and assists in curating an energetic schedule of nightly jazz music across all four restaurants. There is also a weekly Sunday Jazz Club in Canary Wharf, playing easy-listening, soulful music all afternoon. Look out for special offers, such as unlimited prosecco with your meal on a Friday night for an additional £15.

www.boisdale.co.uk

606 Club, SW10

Behind a discreet façade in Chelsea Harbour lies 606 Club – a much-loved, seductive jazz den famed for its exceptional programme of live music. The candlelit basement features murals of the jazz era’s finest luminaries and a flamboyant clock, locked at 6.06. While the 606 Club does offer membership, non-members are very much welcome, but drinks can only be purchased with a food order. We suggest you load up on simple sharing plates and make a real night of it.

Membership is priced at £140 per anum, 90 Lots Road, Chelsea, London SW10 0QD, 020 7352 5953, www.606club.co.uk

Nightjar

Tucked away behind an inconspicuous door in Shoreditch, Nightjar is a seductive speakeasy that honours the Golden Age of Jazz. Since opening in 2010, it has become one of London’s best-loved bars, and it’s easy to see why – this handsome drinking den pairs a playful cocktail list with low-lit, cosy interiors, accompanied by nightly live jazz music. This immersive watering hole has Date Night written all over it.

129 City Road, London EC1V 1JB, www.barnightjar.com

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