London’s best jazz bars

When jazz music arrived on our shores in 1919, with the first British tour of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, it received a frosty welcome from many. Other performers tried to get the group kicked off theatre bills, and the tour ended abruptly – with the Original Dixielanders being chased to Southampton docks by a lord who had just found out the lead singer had been trying to seduce his daughter.

Happily, in the subsequent 100 years or so, jazz has gone on to earn a firm place in our hearts and record collections. With the return of London Jazz Festival, which runs from today until 20 November, we hunted down the capital’s best jazz bars where you can dine and dance the night away. 

Louie London, Covent Garden 

Just around the corner from Ronnie Scott’s, by Leicester Square, Louie is the secret tourists wish they knew about. The décor makes you feel as though you’re on an opulent 1920s New Orleans river cruiser, with fringed gold lamps draped over a hand-painted marble bar (lined with bottle upon bottle of sparkling liqueur, naturally). The ice of the fish counter – where lobsters, crabs and langoustines are piled high like a dragon’s hoard – reflects the glint of champagne glasses. Louie (no prizes for guessing who the bar is named after) hosts live jazz every Tuesday from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. The food is on the expensive side (around £30 for a main) but a real treat, with a menu of New Orleans-style seafood – buttery oysters Rockefeller, piquant seafood gumbo and Creole-spiced lobster. With Slade Rushing – formerly head chef at the 2019 New Orleans Restaurant of the Year – at the helm, it's a genuine taste of Louisiana in London.

CLF Art Lounge and Roof Garden, Peckham 

Almost every night of the week you can find hip young things grooving away over a cocktail at CLF. One of the most popular live music venues in uber-trendy Peckham, its rotating programme includes nu jazz (a mix of electronica with traditional ragtime) sessions every Wednesday and a Latin jazz brunch most Saturdays. Inside, the Art Lounge looks like a 19th-century gentleman’s club – all plush studded velvet sofas, panelled walls and low chandelier lighting. But outside on the expansive terrace, it transforms into a millennial Pinterest board, with a jungle of plants extending their tentacles over tables and chairs. Best of all, the terrace is protected from the British weather. Aside from great cocktails, CLF also serves up authentic Dominican food by pop-up Boca Chica. Don’t miss the umami smoked aubergine, served with rice and beans. Mains cost around £13 and there’s a happy hour discount on drinks from Wednesday to Friday between 5 p.m. and 7.pm.

Pizza Express Jazz Club, Soho 

This Soho branch of Pizza Express has far more to offer than just dough balls. Since 1976 the pizzeria has hosted live performances by everyone from Van Morrison and Sting to Amy Winehouse and Sam Smith. From the outside, it looks like a bog-standard pizza parlour – but on the inside there’s a cabaret feel, with low lighting and red-studded booths. This month there’s a mix of up-and-coming stars from the worlds of soul, funk, folk-gospel and, of course, jazz. Prices are typically £15-£30 per ticket, and booking a ticket automatically reserves you a table – the earlier you book, the better table you get. The menu is exactly as you’d expect, with pizzas from £10 a pop and dough balls many ways. The club is a short walk from Tottenham Court Road, just around the corner from Soho Square Gardens.

Toulouse Lautrec, Elephant and Castle

Toulouse Lautrec looks more like a turn-of-the-century Belgian beer bar than a jazz club, with exposed beams, wood panelling and stained-glass windows. But jazz it does nonetheless – and excellent jazz at that. There are events most nights, with a weekly 'jazz jam' on Tuesdays. You can dine in the restaurant downstairs before heading to the piano bar, with its flamboyant white grand piano, or the atmospheric jazz club. The menu has distinctly Gallic flavours, including cheese boards and an excellent crème brûlée. Drinks wise, the Belgian beers are the thing to order (beware the high ABVs), or brave a flaming absinthe shot – a favourite of the bar’s namesake, artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.  

28°-50° By Night, Marylebone 

One for the night owls, at 28°-50° By Night you can tap your feet to live jazz and blues until 2 a.m. every day from Tuesday to Saturday. This swish wine bar sits in the heart of chichi Marylebone. Its wine menu is one of the best around and the head sommelier is at hand to suggest ideal food pairings. You can graze on posh European plates (small or large) until the kitchen closes at 1 a.m. Prices for main meals range from about £17 to £40. Add an extra £19 and the sommelier will specially select two wine pairings to match your meal. 

Crazy Coqs, Piccadilly Circus 

Crazy Coqs is the secret cabaret venue hidden within the Piccadilly institution that is Brasserie Zedel. Its smart Art Deco interiors transport you back in the 1920s. Heavy red velvet curtains pull back to reveal musicians in sharp suits, with the black and white of their dress matching the monochrome stripes on the walls. The musical line-up mixes old-world jazz quartets with West End musical renditions and raunchy belle époque cabarets. Waiters hover around candlelit tables, delivering martinis and snacks (including chilli crab cakes and sea salt frites). Three snacks cost £17.