Hip Kitty Jazz & Fondue

Anywhere that features live music is a great place! Support your local musicians while enjoying great food and drink

Squashed 2 firsts here! Fondue and Jazz. So sad that it’s gone. We had an amazing time, the people that come to dance are crazy good. The food was savory and full of flavor. I had no idea it was closing, was planning on returning soon. *sigh* how will we ever find another like this.; (

Hip Kitty was my favorite in Claremont! So sad to see it go.

If you like fondue and or Jazz then this is the place for you. I happen to like fondue and think the fondue here is pretty good though not the best. I like the fun atmosphere and live jazz however so I will keep coming back!
It is a little pricey for the amount of food but it is on par with price with all the other fondue places really.

This place is sadly closing this weekend, with the last show being Saturday, March 21^st. I was surprised that I haven’t reviewed it, and am going to because even though it is closing, it is deserving of a tribute and my 800^th review!
Hip Kitty is by far my favorite place in Claremont, and I’ll miss it. It is truly a gem and one-​of-​a-​kind. We’ve been several times for dinner and for drinks, and always with a great experience. They’re known for their excellent fondue (sadly, you can’t get it before they close because they’ve already stopped kitchen service) but when they had it, it was fantastic. A full menu just for fondue, and burners on each table. The servers bring out your very own bubbling pot of cheese, and whatever accompaniments came with your combo. We ordered the mac and cheese on the side, because the fondue isn’t REALLY enough for two, and were super impressed by that also.
Drinks are well-​crafted and reasonably priced. I always go for the Old Fashioneds, which are some of the best I’ve had anywhere. There is a special menu just for martinis, and one for all of your bar classics. If you don’t like your drink, the bartenders are super cool about helping you find something you like. The coffee drink my boyfriend ordered was sweeter than he expected, so the bartender thought creatively of a way to substitute, ended up using real coffee and some vodka so neither flavor nor booze would be sacrificed, and gave him a free replacement.
Walking into Hip Kitty feels like entering a super cool, swingin 1960s/​1970s lounge. I’ve never seen another venue with so much detail put into making it such a cool atmosphere. Colored, vintage lanterns surround the stage and there is an outdoor patio with a fire pit to hang out at, too. I dig the old school silver Christmas tree with the spinning color wheel that they have out for the holidays, too. And the MUSIC! I’ve seen many talented groups and wonderful performers here, and cover is only $ 5 on weekends! $ 5 to see an awesome jazz, swing, or blues band? That’s a STEAL! Guests get up and dance, too. It’s always been such a fun, memorable spot, whether you want to lose yourself in some good music, relax with a few drinks, cuddle with your date next to a pot of hot cheese, or try out your swing moves.
I absolutely love this place and it holds a lot of great memories for me. I wish the owner had sold it to someone who loved is as much as we do and wanted to continue to manage it while keeping it exactly the same, and I wish I also had enough dinero to buy it myself, but alas, this gem only has a few days left. We’ll be out to spend one last night there this weekend; hope to see you there too!

The reason this place gets atleast 1 star is because the singer & band are wonderful! They advertised a three course Valentine’s Dinner for Two for $ 95 which included a cheese appetizer, meat dish and chocolate fondue. Now that we are here in Valentine’s Day we have been informed there is just a cheese APPETIZER & chocolate fondue for NINETY FRIGGEN FIVE dollars Plus TaX & Gratuity!!! THEY WILL NOT REFUND! Guess that’s why THEY’RE CLOSING! The owner came over and had the NERVE to say that wasn’t posted on their site when IT WAS two weeks ago when I made the reservation!!! Of course between NOW & THEN they must’ve finally updated their site to reflect the two options! I’m sorry but bread, apples and a couple carrots DOES NOT make a MEAL!
I am thoroughly disappointed in this place and we were so excited to come here! What a waste of $ 100+ Can you say RIPOFF???
Peace OUT Hip Kitty… It’s been real… WHACK!

I liked this place, actually I loved it the first couple times I was here. I went with my best friend last night… we walk in and the lady tells us the cover charge is $ 5. Keep in mind there is nowhere to sit, but whatever we paid it. Some douchbag was saving 3 seats. The woman in front said its first come first serve… ummm you have paying customers wanting to order a drink and you’re lettting some guy sip water with three chairs?
Okay…
We order a couple drinks, simple. A beer and a cranberry and vodka. My friend had the cranberry and vodka and said it tasted terrible. like very cheap vodka. I had a sip and agreed.
I politely ask the bartender if he could just make another drink and we will pay the difference. He was quick to say «it’s a cranberry and vodka. that’s what it is a simple drink. If you want another you can pay».
Keep in mind I’m trying to stay right with the lord so I didn’t go off like I wanted, I said «yeah and you managed to mess up a simple drink, it’s disgusting and we don’t want it. So either refund me or make another drink. thanks» he did not want to argue with me so he made another one, still disgusting. It was some martini but we ended up leaving. The place was packed but that does not mean you can half ass make the drinks… such rude service, won’t be back. The waitresses would push through the crowd rolling their eyes at people. Here is a tip. if you don’t like a crowd. Stop letting people in once you reach capacity.

We celebrated my Halloween birthday here at the Hip Kitty. We had a party of 7 And our waitress was attentive the whole night, even with a packed house. I’m not really sure if the past negative customer service reviews were brought to the Hip Kitty’s attention, or if we just had a great waitress/​servers.
The atmosphere here was laid back retro. It’s actually an old orange/​lemon factory, imagine industrial open ceilings. Retro lanterns hanging all over, cool art here and there. I was enjoying it. The band on Halloween was incredible, play everything from blues, jazz, swing, rockabilly, and all was performed amazingly! The place itself must be corked because as small as the place is, and as loud as the band was, there was no echoing. It was a great venue!
FOOD. Unfortunately we came HUNGRY. And after reading the menu we realized this isn’t a «scarf down food» place. Two couple ordered fondue for two, which wasn’t even enough food for me alone. We ordered the surf and turf which came with shrimp, scallops, and filet mignon. All of the meat was good, but again not what we expected portion size.
Cocktails! I order a few of their fun martinis, some spicy, some tart, and some super strong, but all delicious! Thanks bartender!
I wish my mother had shown me this place years ago, as I now live in vegas. I cannot wait to come back and see another band. Great atmosphere and so much fun to dance. Refer to pictures!

This place is wicked swanky — we came for open mic night and were blown away by the ambiance, campy comedic host, and sweet tunes that flowed from the souls of unsigned but godly musicians that came out to play their faces off! We shall be back–
Paz

Went on a late evening date in Claremont on a Thursday evening. There was very little choices open past 10PM to sit down and have dessert at. After walking around Claremont village we walked to the hip kitty. My date and I were very reluctant at first, neither of us had really had a fondue dessert. Their executive chef (Christian I believe was his name) was at the host stand doing paperwork and what not but was very happy to help us and explain his desserts. He even acted as host, talking to the sever before seating us to make sure we would be properly taken care of. He seated my date and I to a private booth in front of the stage where the DJ was playing.
My date and I chose Milk chocolate for our fondue, we opted out of the specialty ones. In addition we ordered chocolate devils foodcake balls to dip in our fondue. (Delicious!!!) My date wasn’t impressed with how the chocolate wasnt thick or how it did not coat well. And I would have to agree. So that was pretty disappointing.
I don’t remember our servers name. Nor did she make an impression of excellent service. She was mediocre.
For our first fondue experience it wasn’t too bad. I may go back again. I would give maybe 4 stars just for how welcomed we were by the chef who went out of his way to help us choose a dessert and seat us but since the dj that night lacked as well as the fondue and server. I only say a 3 stars.

This place is great for date night! Date night with a long time love. No first dates with someone you want to get to know cause it is too loud to talk, but I loved the band there that night Don Darox and the Melody Bakers. I had never heard of them before but they were great!
The food was good not great, but good! I had the short rib dip and it was tasty the bread nice and soft and a decent amount of short rib and the shrimp and Manchego mac and cheese was pretty tasty too they went well together.
We also ordered a cheese plate with an assortment of decent cheese options I know my cheese! but the honey and preserve portion was ridiculously small it was enough for about two crackers It certainly doesn’t need a bowl full but it should be enough to match the portions of the other items on the plate.
My problem with this place is if your coming for dinner you should not be charged a fee to get in it’s only $ 5.00 but I don’t pay to get into restaurants. I shouldn’t pay here either. If your here just to see the band ok I can see why you would charge.
Anyway it was six of us and we were put in a booth that sits up to 4 max comfortably. but they placed us in the booth right next to the stage were we could see nothing so we asked to be moved to the same booth across from us and the hostess was a bitch about it.
We were there 6 of us to have dinner and spend money and she couldn’t even give us a good view of the band. so out of the six of us the two of us sitting on the corners with their asses hanging out of the seats cause she didn’t bother seating us a table appropriate for our party.
The reason I give this place such a high rating the band was awesome I will come back and hope to receive better hostess service next time. If not then it’s not worth it the bands will play somewhere else and I can watch them there.

I came here for my high school reunion afterparty. Apparently, you can reserve cabanas on their back patio, which I would suggest for larger groups. They’re spacey enough to seat around 8 – 9 people comfortably. Only problem is, you have to order inside before you go out, and those lines can get pretty long.
The inside gets pretty packed, especially on the weekends. And with a $ 5 cover charge, live music, swanky atmosphere, and great drinks, (not to mention desserts), on the menu, it’s not a bad deal if you want to spend a Friday or Saturday night off the couch. Plus, if you end up hating it, there are a bunch of other places situated in the area from Z Pizza, to yogurt shops, & restaurants you can hit up.
When the live band is playing, though, it gets extremely loud, so don’t expect to be carrying out deep, meaningful conversations, in here.
Seriously, though. Dessert Fondue & Crème Brûlée. Get it. If you do nothing else, round up some folks and get it! ‘Cuz, you know, you can’t order fondue just for yourself. 1.) It’s twenty-​plus bucks. And 2.) You could die. Soo, yeah.

Came here last month with some friends in the area.
At first, I loved it. I thought, what a cool idea, mixing fondu and live music. Then the band came back from break. It was pretty loud. There were 4 of us and it was very difficult to talk.
I didn’t really blame them though, this just isn’t the kind of place you go to talk. It’s a better place for people who are really into the music or want to dance. They took another break, and when they came back they decided to turn up the volume so loud my ears were actually ringing when I left shortly thereafter. Even the waitress apologized for how loud it had gotten. Good musicians know that loudness doesn’t make you any better. There was no need to be that loud, it was so uncomfortable we left.
The fondu was pretty good. We got the one with Swiss and Gruyère, a Caesar salad and a chocolate fondu that I can’t remember.
My one complaint on the chocolate fondu is there wasn’t enough stuff to dip in it. We asked for more and got a tiny bit more. When we asked for more again the waitress said she may have to charge us. I’m not sure if she did, we were so eager to get out of there once the band cranked up the music that I didn’t really look. The brownies and cake they provided to dip were so stale and dry we left them. Really gross. The Rice Krispy treats and fruit were great. But come on, no one wants to eat stale baked goods, even if it is covered in chocolate.
I would come back for the food, although I would request none of the stale stuff and just get fruit and Rice Krispy Treats to dunk. I would not come back for the entertainment if they continued to amp it up excessively. Because that’s their thing I will not be back.
Personally, I love to support independent restaurants but I think I would rather spend my fondu money at the Melting Pot where everything is fresh and I can hear my dining companions without screaming and gestures.

I’m really conflicted here. I want to give this place a good review, but my Unilocaler’s integrity won’t let me. So here is the solution:
Venue & Music: 5 stars
Food & Service: 2 stars
Even though fondue is a great idea, there IS such a thing as bad fondue, and this is what they serve! I have had my portion of fondue in Europe, and what they make in Hip Kitty is not even remotely close to the real thing. Besides, their breads are stale and way too plain, and their fruit/​vegetable portions are pathetically stingy. My well-​drink was terribly watered-​down and delivered by an extremely inattentive waitress who was not too keen on telling us about their menu at all.
Such a shame, taking into consideration that they have a great venue and a lot of good musicians showing up. If you are not willing to pay $ 10 cover fee, you need to come on a week-​day. I would almost recommend coming on a Thursday night to enjoy a good music gig and beer on tap. You’ll be playing safe and are likely to enjoy yourself much more.