What an incredible addition to Santa Fe's arts and entertainment scene! Everything about our experience was wonderful. The venue itself, a former warehouse, was amazing. A nondescript door with a simple "B" on it (like a secret jazz club in an alley) opens into a high-ceilinged cavernous space with brightly colored Native American "tapestries" hanging from the ceiling. There aren't that many tables, so somehow this open, airy space feels intimate, and there aren't any bad seats in the house.
All the staff were warm and friendly. Our server, Kirsten, was especially welcoming and made us feel like important guests. Someone who seemed like the manager or owner came by and warmly asked how we were doing and if everything was okay.
The only odd thing about the service was that it took a long time to get our drinks and place our dinner order...but I chalked that up to how early we were and how that made for a relaxed pace of things. (I'd mistakenly thought you had to finish dinner before the performance, so I made our reservation for 5:30 for a 7:00 performance. In actuality, you can eat, drink, and order more throughout the performance.)
The food was delicious. I wasn't sure what to expect since the club is owned by a bakery, but I was impressed and pleased at the quality of all that we had. We started with the special crostini with oyster mushrooms and two kinds of cheese. For dinner we had the margherita pizza and the fish and chips (garlic-rosemary fries). Both were very good. We finished with the Tres Leches cake - moist and delightful. And the prices were very reasonable (most entrees around $20, all desserts $11).
The act, the John Funkhouser Trio, was phenomenal. It was classic jazz club music, and all three musicians were just amazingly talented. They played two solid one-hour sets. All were relaxed and smiling, and Mr. Funkhouser spoke conversationally to the audience every couple of songs, talking about the songs and telling stories. It was quite enjoyable. The acoustics were perfect, probably no small feat in a giant former warehouse. We did not expect it to sound that great, so we were very pleased! It wasn't too loud, either - something we were both watching for.
I would recommend arriving on the earlier side to be sure of getting a parking space. I don't know what people do who arrive in less than an hour before the performance...but there is also street parking on San Mateo, though that is also limited.
We had a great time and will most definitely be back!! read more