Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club

The atmosphere was small and cozy like a speakeasy. The food for the dinner show was surprisingly good. Usually, when you get dinners that come with a show, it is streamlined and boring. This was anything but. The flavors were rich. The service was phenomenal. Every seat in the house had a great view. The only downside for the section we sat in was the tables were stationary and near the padded benches. The cocktails were inventive and reasonably priced.

Fun jazz club w lots of history. Definitely have to get tickets ahead of time for the main show. I got tickets at the door for upstairs. Good drinks, slow service, good music.

Sunday night November--an album launch for a friend of a friend--the venue was packed to the brim. Walking into the club, attendants check for tickets (via phones or physical tickets) to the event; this entryway also serves as a waiting area pre-show, as well as a meet and greet reception spot post show.

In the main room, a small bar sits kitty corner on the right as you enter. The stage is set up in the center front of the room, with terraced rows of seats fanning out from center, left and right. The cozy, intimate space and dim lighting evokes an atmosphere of sitting in a fancy home parlour listening to your professional musician friends' jam session. If anything the seating was a bit tight especially given winter coats and such, there is no walking room within each row while everyone is seated, though for those sitting at the ends of the row the aisles were narrow but traversable.

The food was delicious, the menu included some vegetarian/vegan options, and although nothing experimental or mind-blowing, the items I tried were well prepared. This included the scallop appetizer, 55 day dry aged steak with chips (medium rare was perfect) and cauliflower steak w/grilled tofu for the entrees (really tasty job on the tofu, didn't miss the meat and plenty filling), and the chocolate fondant cake with an ooey gooey center. The couple rounds of drinks imbibed for the evening were solid too.

The bathrooms are located in the basement down a very narrow stairwell, really only one person can go up or down at one time. I think if any modifications could be made to this it'd be helpful-- since considering a full house the number of people trying to use the restrooms during intermission is challenging.

Covid regulations in November 2021 didn't require masks when seated (and eating), and obviously the musicians couldn't perform with masks on. In retrospect given how crowded it was--probably wasn't a good idea to pack the house (at least given omicron had just started making the rounds), but I can understand how times are tough for live music venues and it's pretty difficult for businesses like this to enforce masks and social distancing given existing limitations.

We have been to Ronnies many many times but the last time was pretty poor. The act was great in the main room but the experience definitely was not. We sat next to some excellent people and enjoyed their company but the two women behind us apparently don't get out much and then pestered us and the group next to us to the pint of tapping us in the shoulder and being very obnoxious the entire set. They complained that one of the group worn his hat and that it would block their view...and it was a skull cap so it blocked nothing. They complained the entire set that we stop having small talk between those of us in our group but we never had more than and occasional comment. The table next to us seated 6 and one of those seated was an owner of the club. His group talked more that we did and that was alright apparently. And it truly was as these two obnoxious women would not stop irritating everyone on our group and the one next to us. I finally had enough and strongly told them to

We have been to Ronnies many many times but the last time was pretty poor. The act was great in the main room but the experience definitely was not. We sat next to some excellent people and enjoyed their company but the two women behind us apparently don't get out much and then pestered us and the group next to us to the pint of tapping us in the shoulder and being very obnoxious the entire set. They complained that one of the group worn his hat and that it would block their view...and it was a skull cap so it blocked nothing. They complained the entire set that we stop having small talk between those of us in our group but we never had more than and occasional comment. The table next to us seated 6 and one of those seated was an owner of the club. His group talked more that we did and that was alright apparently. And it truly was as these two obnoxious women would not stop irritating everyone on our group and the one next to us. I finally had enough and strongly told them to stop immediately. They then complained this colloidal TWIT security "girl", and she was a girl, and this girl didn't even want to know what had happened from OUR SIDE and decided to kick us out...but it was after the set was complete and there wasn't even a show going on!!!!! One of the nice people next to us tried to explain how horrible these stupid women were to us but the security girl refused to listen!!! Seriously unprofessional of a security girl to not even attempt to calm the situation and cause us to be further annoyed. If anything this stupid security girl needs to be immediately SACKED!!! In no uncertain term. The rest of the staff smiled indicating they had seen the type of treatment from this girl before and they were gracious and accommodating...when this twit girl was unable to even be professional. The owner even saw this and seemed to shrug when I gave him a glance.
Clearly we will NEVER patronize Ronnies ever again as there are numerous establishments in London who DO NOT treat patrons so incredibly badly!! Mr Owner, you need to put a leash on this girl and properly train your staff how to handle such a situation without making a horrendous scene and stop coddling really disruptive patrons such as these two women. Also SACK this security girl/twit and fine someone more suited to professionally doing the job. Perhaps THEN we may come back. UNBELIEVEABLE!

Super fun! Staff is friendly! Drinks are good and the positive energy is off the charts!! Definitely don't skip out on going here.
P.S. The lines seems long to get in but they move fast and it's worth the wait!

I'd like to think I've been to 2 of the best jazz clubs in the US, Green Mill in Chicago and Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York. Wanting to have as memorable an experience in London, I did an online search and decided on the venerable Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club (RSJC). I would have to say I wasn't disappointed. Located in the West End, the club was easily accessible from my lodgings in the city. Tickets for the show were bought ahead of time by my daughter, bless her heart. Be that as it may, we arrived a little close to curtain time, and we found that seating is first come, first served. We found seats with tables a bit back from and left of stage, but the sound system is good enough that it doesn't really matter, and the sight lines were only slightly obstructed. We had an excellent server, who was easy to summon for drinks and made sure they came out quickly. We had the "supper club" experience on our visit. RSJC doesn't have a huge menu, but what they had was quite good. I started off with pan fried scallops that were nicely seasoned, and surprisingly big. For the main course, I had the Hereford Farm Ribeye, aged 55 days. It came with a plump portabella 'shroom, tomato slice and fries. Priced separately, I also got a side of broccoli. The steak was cooked perfectly to order and was very good. Everything else was "just" good. I had a mid price range Merlot by the glass that went well with the meal. I'd of taken pics, but during the music, phones are to be put away and there's no flash photography (as it should be). As for the music, I was very happy with the evening's act, Big Band Metheny. As jazz aficionados know, Pat Metheny is a virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer. At first, I thought it would be difficult to translate his stylings into a big band format, but I would be gleefully wrong. This large ensemble did an awesome job, and there were many fantastic solos during the performance. As I stated, my daughter purchased show tix, so I'm not sure (didn't ask) of the price, but the food bill for 4 was about $487 USD (including service fee and alcohol). So, although not cheap, and a bit crowded with the seating, the total ambiance, location, atmosphere, and quality of entertainment, to me, was well worth the price. I went away feeling that RSJC was just as good as the clubs back in the States that I mention at the top of the review.

Fun place to listen to jazz. Very tight space. There's food and drinks too! Expect to wait online so come early.

Really cool jazz club in the super trendy West End neighborhood of London! My friend booked us tickets to see the late show here on Saturday and we had no idea what to expect. We had dinner around the corner and then came over as soon as doors opened to get good seats. It is first come, first serve on seating even if you have tickets ahead of time (which you will need because they always sell out!) After waiting in line outside for about 15 minutes they sat us inside and we chatted amongst ourselves until the show began. Time flies when you're in Ronnie Scott's! After a seemingly short set I looked down at my watch and it was already after midnight! Now that's a good show when hours go by and I don't realize it!

The only downside to this space was that the toilets or restrooms were downstairs in the basement down a narrow stair path. This was not conducive to people going up and down at the same time, creating a bit of a bottleneck situation.

The beverage offerings here were good albeit a bit pricey. The server for our table was in charge of loads of tables so we didn't see her much. We ended up grabbing drinks at the bar which seemed to piss her off when she eventually came back to see if we needed anything. If you don't want people going to the bar then you need to post that on a sign at the table or tell them when you seat them. Otherwise if there's a bar then that tells patrons they can go there to get beverages.

The space was warm and cozy and the show we saw was really good. I would definitely plan to see more shows here in the future.

Ronnie's is the first Jazz club that I've visited where the music isn't front and center. The venue seems to mix the concepts of speakers and supper club in a way that's not harmonious. But the music is top notch jazz, which makes it worthwhile.

I visited Ronnie's Upstairs twice during a weeklong vacation because I'd heard great things about the club's reputation. My first visit was at 10pm on a Wednesday when admission was £6 and the second was in a Friday at 11pm when the admission was £15. On the first night the band didn't get underway until 10:30 despite an advertized 9:30 start. On Friday things were in full swing.

On both occasions I was on my own. Seating is self-serve with no required minimum. There was no bar seating; only horseshoe-shaped banquette tables that sat about 8 people and were difficult to maneuver in and out of, unless you were able to sit on the very end. The tables were not within a direct sight line of the band, which is tucked into an alcove at the front of the room, next to the bar. If you want to see the band you have to stand up.

On my first visit (a Wednesday) I stood for a full 90 minutes at the front of the room, with only a small handful of other people, while everyone at the tables carried on loud conversations, made public displays of intimacy and otherwise tuned out the music. On my second visit (a Friday) the front of the room was crowded with people dancing and the mostly empty tables were littered with personal effects.

The Ronnie's menu featured mostly bar food, which included a £16 cheeseburger and an odd steak thrown in for £20. The drinks ranged from £9 for a glass of wine to £17 for mixed drinks. For a better experience, I'd recommend either improving the food offerings so that the menu is fitting for a supper club (and charging a premium or mandated bottle service for seating), or simplifying the menu and installing pub tables and chairs so that everything is casual.

Wow ohhh wow a 5 for the music and ambiance

A 3 for the food and service

Nice location

Great world class music stop

Food not so much - actually maybe worse