If you know you know abut this place. Great place to hang out and listen to Jazz through out the night.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Adam Carlesco
Smalls is exactly what I was looking for in a west Village jazz club - small and intimate basement setting, outstanding band (including a show with a living sax legend), and lively crowd engagement. I cannot recommend this place highly enough! 10 out of 10!
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Elena Collins
Cool intimate vibe with great music. Make sure to get there early to make sure you get a seat, especially if you’re in a group. Very small venue.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Sofia Shur
Intimate and vibrant atmosphere. Talented and professional musicians. Highly recommended.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Vanessa Cheeks
I really enjoy coming here when I travel for work. Get there early to make sure you can get a good seat and sit toward the front.
The drinks are well made and the atmosphere is wonderful.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Sabri Dönmez
We were really looking forward to experiencing some live jazz during our NYC visit and musically, Smalls absolutely delivered, the performers were outstanding. Unfortunately, the rest of the evening was a complete let-down.
The venue was overcrowded and many in the audience (in the backside) clearly had no idea how to behave during a live performance. Loud conversations, constant movement and a general lack of respect for the musicians made it hard to enjoy. Even worse, the staff did nothing to address it. At one point, a gentleman seemingly a regular politely asked people to quiet down and respect the music, but nothing changed. That really says a lot. If management won’t step in to protect the atmosphere, what’s the point?
The bar service continued noisily throughout the set, with one poor woman rushing around trying to serve everyone on her own, clearly overwhelmed. Drinks being mixed mid-performance, staff walking around during solos… it completely broke the magic. It’s such a shame, because jazz clubs I’ve visited in other cities are just as busy, yet they maintain clear boundaries: once the music starts, the bar pauses and the audience listens.
A suggestion for the club: charge a little more upfront, serve drinks before the set begins, and pause service while the music is playing. Simple changes that would transform the experience.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
Anaitziari Schulze
Live musicians & cocktails just to be there for a short period of time. Had a good time.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
Tom Ryan
luv u smalls
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Darshan Shah
Great place, great music. No complaints about the price too. $40 for a ticket and drinks were reasonably priced for the area. The biggest disappointment that ruins your experience is the staff just roaming around during the entire set, the bar tender mixing drinks loudly while the set is going on. I've been to many jazz places in Europe. Most jazz clubs there too a crowded and packed. But there's respect for the music and the artists. The bar tender stops service when the music starts. You'd expect better from a legacy place like this. Here's one way to improve the experience: maybe charge $10-$15 more, serve everyone their 1 drink before the set begins (or for a little while after it begins) and just stop service after that. The experience can be much better.
Mark Cunningham
Great live music. Would recommend for date night. Drinks are curated perfectly.
Amazing music and great drinks. Some people were obviously only visiting for the thrill, but the music was a true joy, nothing pretentious, just true jazz scene vibe, lovely experience
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Shawn Jarrell
This is the premier jazz club of NY ! It doesn’t get any better .
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Nataly Pike
UPD: just to reply the owner - I understand you don’t like my review, but it reflects exactly how I was treated. If you had been present, you would have seen how your managers and bartender ignored my requests — to the point that I felt invisible. And just to be clear, I wrote my review right after I finally received my drink.
Based on your own reply here, it seems clear this is the way you teach your staff to behave toward guests. Suggesting that I’m exaggerating or insulting me instead of acknowledging what happened doesn’t change my experience. This wasn’t about wanting “fast food service,” it was about basic courtesy and responsiveness. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel that at Smalls — which is why I won’t be returning.
Beautiful music, but the experience was ruined by the poor organization and service. The club had just one bartender trying to serve at least 50 guests, so the line hardly moved. I waited nearly an hour, and I finally got my drink almost by the end the show. And while waiting they didn’t even offer any water…. For a jazz club, where atmosphere and service should complement the music, this was a real disappointment…
If you know you know abut this place. Great place to hang out and listen to Jazz through out the night.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Smalls is exactly what I was looking for in a west Village jazz club - small and intimate basement setting, outstanding band (including a show with a living sax legend), and lively crowd engagement. I cannot recommend this place highly enough! 10 out of 10!
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Cool intimate vibe with great music. Make sure to get there early to make sure you get a seat, especially if you’re in a group. Very small venue.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Intimate and vibrant atmosphere. Talented and professional musicians. Highly recommended.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
I really enjoy coming here when I travel for work. Get there early to make sure you can get a good seat and sit toward the front.
The drinks are well made and the atmosphere is wonderful.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
We were really looking forward to experiencing some live jazz during our NYC visit and musically, Smalls absolutely delivered, the performers were outstanding. Unfortunately, the rest of the evening was a complete let-down.
The venue was overcrowded and many in the audience (in the backside) clearly had no idea how to behave during a live performance. Loud conversations, constant movement and a general lack of respect for the musicians made it hard to enjoy. Even worse, the staff did nothing to address it. At one point, a gentleman seemingly a regular politely asked people to quiet down and respect the music, but nothing changed. That really says a lot. If management won’t step in to protect the atmosphere, what’s the point?
The bar service continued noisily throughout the set, with one poor woman rushing around trying to serve everyone on her own, clearly overwhelmed. Drinks being mixed mid-performance, staff walking around during solos… it completely broke the magic. It’s such a shame, because jazz clubs I’ve visited in other cities are just as busy, yet they maintain clear boundaries: once the music starts, the bar pauses and the audience listens.
A suggestion for the club: charge a little more upfront, serve drinks before the set begins, and pause service while the music is playing. Simple changes that would transform the experience.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
Live musicians & cocktails just to be there for a short period of time. Had a good time.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
luv u smalls
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great place, great music. No complaints about the price too. $40 for a ticket and drinks were reasonably priced for the area. The biggest disappointment that ruins your experience is the staff just roaming around during the entire set, the bar tender mixing drinks loudly while the set is going on. I've been to many jazz places in Europe. Most jazz clubs there too a crowded and packed. But there's respect for the music and the artists. The bar tender stops service when the music starts.
You'd expect better from a legacy place like this.
Here's one way to improve the experience: maybe charge $10-$15 more, serve everyone their 1 drink before the set begins (or for a little while after it begins) and just stop service after that.
The experience can be much better.
Great live music. Would recommend for date night. Drinks are curated perfectly.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Great music in an intimate setting.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 5
Amazing music and great drinks. Some people were obviously only visiting for the thrill, but the music was a true joy, nothing pretentious, just true jazz scene vibe, lovely experience
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
This is the premier jazz club of NY ! It doesn’t get any better .
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
UPD: just to reply the owner - I understand you don’t like my review, but it reflects exactly how I was treated. If you had been present, you would have seen how your managers and bartender ignored my requests — to the point that I felt invisible. And just to be clear, I wrote my review right after I finally received my drink.
Based on your own reply here, it seems clear this is the way you teach your staff to behave toward guests. Suggesting that I’m exaggerating or insulting me instead of acknowledging what happened doesn’t change my experience. This wasn’t about wanting “fast food service,” it was about basic courtesy and responsiveness. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel that at Smalls — which is why I won’t be returning.
Beautiful music, but the experience was ruined by the poor organization and service. The club had just one bartender trying to serve at least 50 guests, so the line hardly moved. I waited nearly an hour, and I finally got my drink almost by the end the show. And while waiting they didn’t even offer any water….
For a jazz club, where atmosphere and service should complement the music, this was a real disappointment…
Atmosphere: 3
Service: 2
One of the best places in NYC for live Jazz.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 4
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