Jazz Standard
New York, NY 10016
Phone: (212) 576-2232
- Cross Street:
- Between Lexington Avenue and Park Avenue
Editorial Review for Jazz Standard – by Kara Zuaro
The Scene
Two neon signs read "Jazz" in red and "Barbecue" in blue. Take the low road to Jazz Standard, a dimly lit basement club hopping with pony-tailed jazz aficionados, smiling businessmen and a smattering of young and lovely black-clad waitstaffers. With a raised bar space in the back, and rows of tables lined up tightly right up to the stage, there's not a bad seat in the house.
The Draw
The pairing of barbecue spot Blue Smoke with the Jazz Standard is a no-fail combo. Like the barbecue--at once gourmet cuisine and down-home cooking--the straight-ahead jazz is carefully selected to appeal to the serious jazz fan, yet it's accessible enough for novice listeners. More akin to highbrow digs like the Blue Note than the boho grit of clubs like Smalls, the Standard is a civilized alternative to the sardine-can syndrome of some of its well-known peers.
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Insider Tips
Know Before You GoThere's no drink minimum, so feel free to drink--or not.
The ExtrasThe restaurant is actually open and running from 11:30am on weekdays and noon on weekends--though the first music set is always in the evening around 6:30pm.
User Reviews for Jazz Standard
04/17/2008 Posted by deem8
first time at jazz standard we tried the "world-famous" BBQ, which was served cold and came to the table faster than our drinks, but our server was nice, plus we went there for the music anyway, so didn't care too much. second time was today and I'm still kinda mad. (I work in a 4 star restaurant in midtown so I look at the service differently, but have never got upset over poor service or anything) I was in the neighborhood today and sat down to have a drink. There is a couple at one table and a guy eating at another one. I sat between them, in front of the server who's chatting with the couple. There are no menus on the table. So I'm sitting there waiting for the server to come to me with the menus I guess... He's still chatting, which is fine, it's been only 5 minutes. Another 5 minutes go by and another server brings some food for the couple. She gives it to the server, looks at me, i smile, she goes back. Another 5 minutes go by, the server stopped chatting with the couple, he's somewhere behind me, I don't turn around, probably he's coming with the menus... A few minutes go by, this time another server comes outside to check on the guy who's eating solo. He also sees me sitting there with no menus. I kinda nod like "what's up man, I'm here ready to order", he says nothing and goes back. It's been about 20 minutes since I sat down, 3 (!!!!) servers saw me sitting, waiting for service. nothing. So I get up, cuz it's time to go, but I'm kinda curious where the first server went, so I turn around, he's standing behind me leaning against the wall, arms crossed. I didn't understand why I was ignored, so I was gonna step to the guy ask him what I was doing wrong, but instead, I kicked in a chair by accident and almost fell. I got distracted, so finally didn't ask him, just put the chair on the top of the table, hoping to catch somebody's attention... I'm not sure if anybody noticed.
Pros: jazz
Cons: service, food and drinks
08/26/2007 Posted by mishma
This place is well worth your time. The hostess and the servers were very attentive. The food is delicious and the entertainment has you longing to come back. We had two sides, an entree, two glasses of wine, a non-alcoholic beverage and a cup of coffee all for $127 which included the $30 show fee per a person. Don't hesitate, just pick up and go.
Pros: Food and entertainment
Cons: Tables to close together
