La Maison du Jazz

AMAZING!!! Had a fabulous time! We used a travelzoo voucher and we weren’t treated any different than the other patrons. I am allergic to salmon and that was to be our appetizer, no problem they changed it to duck appetizer. I’ve never had duck before and it was delicious. My husband had veal shank and I had chicken and ribs. Both meals were out of this world! Melt in your mouth goodness, we had martinis included in the voucher and they were very good, dessert was heavenly! The music was amazing and truly made the night! At no time did we feel rushed to pay our bill. We had a few more drinks and stayed well over 3 hrs. The atmosphere was amazing! Our server was great and everyone had a smile on their faces. We will definitely return on our next trip to Montréal!

We went there on a Travelzoo coupon. At that price i would give it 4 stars but since that was technically half price I feel compelled to drop it to 3.
It wasn’t bad, don’t get me wrong; it was average.
For me average means it is hardly worth the effort to describe. Only the truly outstanding or the truly awful deserve the time.
Would I nevertheless recommend going? FOR SURE!
Food is not everything my friends.
Go for the music and the ambiance. It is a wonderfully eclectic spot with interesting people and if you pick the right night, great tunes.
Word to the wise: don’t book right next to the stage as we did. Those in the know go up the back. Music is plenty loud enough and you have the added bonus of being able to converse with your fellow raconteurs.
One negative: they have a mandatory coat check of all things. I think it was $ 3 per coat. Feels like a money grab.

Went there because I had a tango coupon. Live music was ok and the food was good. It is in a tourist area so they don’t work to hard to attract people. Was told that the laval location was better for food and music. Décor at the montreal location was nice.

I, Ludwig Facessen of the Cannibal Resto Review, am happy to announce that although La Maison du Jazz does not serve human flesh (such a pity), the entertainment is fantastic. It’s even philosophically engaging. I’ll explain.
Sure, the food is alright. Overpriced, but alright. I attribute these prices to the fact that this is a restaurant that uses live jazz music to attract customers. Certainly they must pay their acts.
However, as in the arts, there are also nights wherein jazz performers are on a probationary watch or auditioning and THESE are the nights to attend La Maison du Jazz.
Picture this: you are at a restaurant. You order a forgetful yet appetizing dish. You turn your attention to the stage where young performers are playing virtuously. They are students who have yet to complete their degrees in music. Their sweat is born of hard work and the anxiety of the possibility that they may be asked to return for a paid performance. Or at least a callback.
THEY are truly what make me salivate. So if you are to make a reservation, be sure to ask if young students who are nervous about their status with the restaurant are going to perform. If they are, bring everyone you can. Because they will enjoy the meal more with the prospect of this small fear.
Regular rating: 3 stars.
Cannibal rating: 3 stars. But extra points for entertainment.

I went to the House of Jazz on a Saturday night and lived an incredible pop soul groovy funky jazz performance by local singer Elizabeth Blouin-​Brathwaite. The crowd was singing and dancing by the end. I have never seen this kind of energy at a jazz club.
The setup is less intimate than at Upstairs where I’m a regular. But the décor is very upscale and iconic. On tap I took a Boréale at $ 7 a pint. The cover charge is fixed and quite steep ($ 10 + $ 2 mandatory coat check).
Keep in mind that I don’t go to jazz clubs for the food.

We went there on vacation. The food was good and the jazz quintet excellent.

Great music, uneasy feeling food.
Snooksta and the Gangstas certainly kept me at the edge of my seat. Even the saxophone player held it together after his instrument broke, singing his part.
Food was disappointing. When you hear jazz, you think New Orleans. When you think New Orleans, you thknk jumbalaya. My jumbalaya was mainly canned food. There were pieces of overcooked fresh orange pepper mixed in. The sauce lacked the usual flavorful starchy goodness and resembled more of a ketchup. There also wasn’t enough of that ketchupy mixture to complement the rice. The mussels decorated the plate well. Their consistency was more like chicken. I believe I had a piece of shrimp, but it tasted and felt like chicken. There was also chicken in the dish. It was a little too salty and was styled after pulled pork (it could have been canned chicken). The sausage was spiced well, but lacked the meat juice that usually stays within the meat. (I believe it was overcooked, but it could have also been frozen.) A couple nect to us also haf yhr jumbalaya, but also picked at it thoughout the night. They left early.
My wife had steak. It was much better. The steak retained the pinky goodness usually found in medium steak. She loved her meal. I should have picked that one.
The desserts were alright. The usual high end frozen cakes that taste so good. I think my piece was hit by a little freezer burn. One piece of chocolate tasted a little sour. They poured Hershey’s chocolate sauce on top, but not in any particular design, more of a covering than a drizzle.
The wine was great and cheap. Our $ 30 bottle of red didn’t fall flat and could certainly hold its own against a $ 50 bottle from places in Old City, Montréal.
I felt uncomfortable in the middle of the evening. It started 45 minutes after my first bite of the jumbalaya (it was probably the jumbalaya). The band was so good, I didn’t realize how sick I was getting. I stayed the whole night. When we got back, I immediately had to use the rest room.
The night cost $ 140, including our entrees, 1 bottle of wine, $ 10 per person cover charge to the awesome band, $ 8 for fancy frozen cake, and $ 5.50 for coffee for two.
I really can’t say enough about the band. They were worth $ 140 for 2 tickets anyday. I just didn’t realize it was going to be today.

The ambiance is really quite lovely but the quality of the food doesn’t live up to the prices — this is an establishment to watch music. We found our entrées (ribs and jambalaya) to be so-​so at best. But did I mention the ambiance is lovely? There are mirrors and chandeliers everywhere. Beautiful décor.
Note on the food: allergy sufferers beware. I’m very lactose intolerant and checked with the server if my meal was dairy free, ready to stick to my old standby of a salad if necessary. She assured me it was safe, and it wasn’t at all — I had horrible symptoms after the meal. These days almost all restaurants are easily able to accommodate people with allergies, so I don’t think it’s acceptable for staff to be totally uninformed/​uninterested in verifying ingredients/​untruthful to customers because they don’t care if patrons get sick there. I won’t be going back.

Just a few mins walk from the Hilton where we were staying. Food was okay, but atmosphere, service and music great. Had a really good evening with friends.

1 st time in Montréal wanted a romantic evening with the hub. Performance was nice. Seating should be more spread out. Lighting is awful, should dim lights more. Service was not great. Slow service. Ribs were horrible.

Came here for drinks only! This place has a cover charge but it’s worth it since they have live performers. Overall, good experience and entertaining bartenders.

Le service le plus lent que j’ai jamais vu!!!
Le restaurant a beau être plein, ce n’est pas normal que ce soit aussi lent.
Nous avions profité d’une offre Tuango pour ce restaurant: 69 $ pour un souper 5 services pour 2, apéritif inclus.
Nous sommes arrivés à 19:00, nous avons reçu l’apéritif il était passé 19:30! Il y avait un long temps d’attente entre les services, nous avons reçu le plat principal vers 21:00 et cela parce que je me suis plaint de la lenteur du service. Des gens arrivés avant nous n’ont eu leur plat principal que vers 21:30
La qualité des plats était très variable: la soupe, une crème de légumes, était bonne; la salade, très simple: mélange de verdure avec vinaigrette balsamique. Ensuite, on nous a servi une entrée à partager: une terrine de saumon avec 3 petites tranches de pain… Pour plat principal, j’ai choisi le steak de surlonge, alors que ma copine à choisi le jarret de veau avec sauce au champignon: le steak était bon, mais le veau avait peu de goût et la sauce donnait l’impression d’être une sauce en boîte. Finalement, le dessert, un gâteau au fromage, était bon.
Si vous aimez le jazz, aller d’abord manger ailleurs et rendez-​vous ensuite à la maison du jazz pour prendre un verre en écoutant la musique: votre expérience sera meilleure.

I just went to this place for a drink and listen to some Jazz music.
Here’s what I learned in 1.5 hour:
This is one place where you love the live music and ambiance. But everything else is less than you desired. I went to the bar and waited 10 minutes before I was greeted by the bartender. The bartender was only half attentive because he was swamped with orders. So I can’t blame the bartender for the slow service.
In addition, my neighbors at the bar ordered an appetizer and they left without the appetizer (you get the picture).
In summary, I’d love to see this place to continue with live music. Please find some ways to improve the service.
The $ 10 cover charge is not a problem with me if you provide some good services.

This place is for Jazz lover more than foodies …
but for those who have been there before, their food and wine collection has been significantly improved.

I had to think of some options for a jazz club, and while there are quite a few places to go in this great city, La Maison is a bit of an institution and it was also convenient at the time for where I was staying.
The place as you probably know from reading, has a mandatory coat check, cover. etc…
I did not have any of the food, but settled in at a much later time to hear some music and just have a drink and take it in easy for the late night. The vibe here is classic, huge amounts of wood, chandeliers, green naugahyde booths with brass rivets, giving a great feel. Much eye candy in ambience. The waitresses wear flapper style feathers from their hair, and the place feels classy, but it also looks like that even with the cover they don’t really enforce a dresscode either.
I am a big cocktail fan, and the options here listed are some of the basics, with a list of martinis that range to basic standards to has beens (apple and chocolate I am looking at you). My wife went for an Americano, props for having this on the menu and I asked for a Brandy Alexander which unfortunately was made with milk and not cream like it should, but this is disclosed on the menu. It was also served on ice which in my opinion is a big no no.
I get the impression they are not big on the cocktails here, this is not a cocktail nerds paradise by any stretch. Drink service is also a little slow, but nothing horrid, but a floor manager dressed impecably would often come out with what appeared to be warmed home made chips with salt and black pepper to our table and others.
Still the place is a bit pricey to see some music, and you are paying for the atmosphere. I liked this place but certainly didn’t fall in love with it. It also has decent acoustics. But if it’s in your area it’s worth checking out, it is an institution no question.

Visiting a jazz club is an iconic Montréal experience. House of Jazz was recommended by our hotel and they didn’t steer us wrong. The place oozed atmosphere, with giant chandeliers reflecting off lots of mirrors, plus stained glass ceilings, bronze statues and massive wooden bars. There was an intimate smoky feel to the club but without the smoke. Patrons included a nice mix of regulars (fans of Bob Ricci, a regular Sunday night performer), plus visitors and those celebrating special occasions. The crowd definitely skewed older earlier in the evening.
The menu has a BBQ/​New Orleans slant. I ordered the chicken and rib combo, a half a chicken that was fall off the bone tender, plus 4 – 5 ribs that followed suit. The barbeque sauce, though, had a different taste. I generally prefer something sweeter and a more traditional sauce would have been better. But, overall, the kitchen turns out pretty good food.
If you visit, call ahead and make a reservation, especially if you’re a table of two. Otherwise you might end up in front of the band in a noisy spot not conducive to talking. You can avoid the cover charge by eating on the patio, but you’ll lose that jazz club feel. We found a small spot on a railing bar that was the perfect spot for viewing all the action.
All in all, we had a delightful evening.

I don’t know what the hype is about. Seriously.
We made reservations for 7pm and were promptly seated immediately in front of the stage. We asked for a different seat in the room left of the stage as we didn’t want to be deafened.
Food is not even worth mentioning. We got chicken rice soup (soup du jour) and buffalo wings and potato skin combo. Both seemed straight out of the package. Soup was peppery and better. We then waited. And waited. And waited an hour for our entrees to arrive. The waitress eventually acknowledged us (after my long stare downs) that the kitchen (and not the service) lost the paper and our ordered were lost. By then, it was already 930pm. We were starving and wolfed down our entrees by 950pm. Was the food good? No. The ribs were wayy to sweet. My filet was not bad. Was it worth the 27 and 33 CAD$ respectively? No.
I’m from NY. I’ve been to my fair share of Jazz clubs. Was this place phenomenon? No. Was it pricey as if it should have been? Yes.
I’d rather not return and not recommend it to others. Save your 140 CAD$ and go elsewhere.

La Maison du Jazz est un restaurant où il y a un show de musique (de jazz) pendant que tu manges. Il faut aimer le jazz.
Le groupe de musique est arrivé vers 20h et je suis content d’avoir été présent avant, car c’est pas idéal pour parler durant la prestation.
La prestation était très bien! C’était du jazz et nous étions bien contents ma copine et moi du show.
Il y a une ambiance vraiment vintage, autant dans le décor que dans les bancs. (Ok, ça fait partie du décor).
La bouffe était «Ok». Ce n’est pas vraiment pour la gastronomie que vous y irez, mais bien pour profiter d’un spectacle de jazz en mangeant.
Par contre, j’ai bien aimé le dessert qui était trois crèmes brûlées de saveurs différentes. mmmmmmmm.

La maison du jazz est un restaurant incluant des concerts de jazz. Les artistes varient chaque soir. La cuisine est de type bistro.
Un moment de détente pour ceux qui aiment ce style de musique.

Between mandatory coat check and music cover charge, I had paid $ 14 before I even sat down at my special, young adult table; conveniently located obnoxiously close to a floor speaker.
The food was of a price that I’d expect from Baton Rouge with a quality and selection I’d expect from St. Hubert. Thank goodness I had a coupon off a deal site for this place. I managed to avoid wasting an obscene amount of money on the dining experience and instead opting for only wasting a moderate amount.
The service was way to slow for 2 dishes (one being a salad). However, my waiter extremely helpful in notifying me, using a beautiful assortment of circles and arrows, that the tipping is to be done on the original amount, not the discounted one.
I had high hopes for this place but it’s clear that the 20 – 25 age group are looked down upon here. When the service goes sour, the food isn’t good enough to be the sole justification of dining here.

I love this place!
Service is always top notch, and the entertainment is great! From the moment I walked in, I knew it would be a good night (well, night*s* — I got the same feeling both times I went here). The music is soulful and full of life. Mirrors line the stage and stage ceiling so you can watch the musicians work their magic from any seat. The décor is pretty over the top, but that’s what I love about it. Giant chandeliers, wine bottles on the wall, stained glass and grape-​cluster lights, horse and dog statues — quite a bit of visual stimuli. The waiters and waitresses are efficient, friendly, and very attentive. The chicken and ribs combo is really good, and the chicken wings have a nice kick. The escargot were garlicky and delicious. The potato skins are nothing to write home about — they’re topped with imitation bacon and lack a bit of oomph. The martini with port is pretty good, too. The crème brûlée trio is presented nicely, and is quite good.
There’s just something about being here that puts the rest of the world on hold so that you just enjoy good company, good music, and good food.

I had a great time here this past weekend. It’s the kind of spot where at one point I looked around thinking, «why the heck haven’t I been here before!» The music was awesome, and just the right volume. I was there with friends and we could still talk and also watch the show.
If it wasn’t for the food I would have rated it 5 stars. The food was good, but not 5 star good. I ordered the rib eye. Nothing spectacular, and unfortunately that fries that accompanied it seemed like they were frozen from a package. (my apologies if they are not…)
Whether you are a jazz music fan or not I am sure you will have a great time here. The audience was of mixed ages from early 20’s to experienced ones… service was a little slow, but with the music to enjoy it wasn’t a big deal.
Not noly will I go again, but will bring my guests here in the future. I’d be proud to share this place as a representation of Montréal culture.

Now I consider myself a fan of jazz music, but with over a decade of going out in different clubs and bars throughout Montréal, I never once thought to visit the House of Jazz. After going there for the first time to celebrate a friend’s 30^th birthday, I will definitely consider going back before going to many other places.
Since it was Saturday night there was a 10 $ cover charge. It was the birthday boy’s idea, so nobody really complained and I was just happy we paid 10 $ to get into a jazz bar rather than a strip club.
The first thing you notice as you walk in as how much of an old school feel this place has. It easily felt like I can be in a New York or even in a New Orleans jazz bar. The lighting is great, and the accessories and pictures throughout the bar make for a great atmosphere while you sit back and enjoy some good music.
I did not get a chance to sample anything from the food menu but did try their signature alcoholic coffee drink which was pretty good, although a little too sweet for my taste. The one thing that bothered me and my group of friends, was how hot it was in the bar. This was an early October evening and it felt like it was well over 30 degrees in there, which had most of us sweating.
A second visit to the House of Jazz is definitely in store for me in the future, as I am curious about their food items and menu. I’ll just make sure to visit on a weekday to avoid the 10 $ cover charge on Friday and Saturday.