5C Cafe and Cultural Center

The owner and staff at this café were very friendly and cooperative. We had a great time shooting a film project here, and the food was fresh and delicious. Definitely recommend this for a film location if a café is needed.

The owner of this café is really nice. Their food is really delicious. Especially the chicken salad! Had a great time there!

The owner of this café was lovely to work with. We filmed a student film here on a Sunday and she made sure we had everything we needed and lots of coffee so we could finish our film. The café had a great vibe and I would love to go back.

Hours quite variable. Lately it’s open 7 – 7. Still jazz concerts. Free wifi. Great neighborhood feel!

I stumbled across this place on a psychadelic evening and it made my week. An amazing jazz band was playing and the vibe was unbelievably laid-​back and civilized. Relatively cheap wine was being sold and you can just curl up on the sofa and soak it in. Looking forward to going back.

5C Café and Cultural Center is a neighborhood gem; it’s a truly folksy living-​room type space where you can relax with a sandwich and latte and dig some great jazz. Trudy and Bruce have been in the neighborhood since the days of Slug’s (legendary jazz bar on 3^rd street) and the building 5C is in was once home to Allen Ginsberg.
For the club’s entire history, the owners have been hounded by their landlord, who has been trying to get them out of their corner space on 5^th street and avenue C. In spite of that, they have given back to the community with educational programs – Trudy is a teacher in the NYC public school system and a piano graduate of Berklee; Bruce is a jazz historian – and exemplary entertainment programs. On my most recent visit, I saw the amazing Bob Stewart (of the tuba quintet GRAVITY!!!) in a trio with his son Curtis on violin and Jerome Harris on guitar.
Food is fresh and reasonably-​priced; there’s only a $ 5 food minimum, so this is an excellent, welcoming place to hang out.

This place is great! Their food is delicious — best pizza and mac & cheese ever. For drinks you can get anything from a latte to a beer, & it’s all reasonably priced. The owner is so nice, too. They also have local musicians play which is really cool — sometimes it’s a singer & a guitar, sometimes a jazz band. The only slight problem I had is that they’re cash only, but it’s inexpensive so it’s not a huge deal.

Great Jazz, Delicious Snacks, Warm Atmosphere
What happened when five seasoned NYC musicians collectively known as LightStreams came together on a brutally cold January 30^th 2010 night in the cozy 5C Cultural Center & Café on the city’s lower eastside? Great jazz – both standards and many original compositions by Jeff Franzel (piano). The rest of this stellar group of pros was made up of Jerry Dodgion (alto), Chip Jackson (bass), Bobby Routch (flugelhorn), and Andy Pastorino (drums). These musicians all have independent performing and recording careers and have shared the stage with many jazz legends. (Google their names and see the impressive lists for yourself.) But when they jam together as LightStreams, there is a magic, camaraderie and a sense of play – they trade musical jokes throughout their songs. These guys are a pleasure to watch and their musicianship is topnotch.
5C Cultural Center & Café is a great value. It is an inexpensive place to hear jazz and they serve delicious vegetarian snacks, plus fruit drinks, wine and beer – all at reasonable prices. I had the handmade deep dish mushroom pizza that was spot on! The service was fast and friendly – the café’s comfortable atmosphere was like being in a living room with friends.
LightStreams fearturing Jerry Dodgion will be playing at 5C Cultural Center & Café on February 12. — posted by Don Gabor