Ain't Nothin But The Blues Bar Reviews Summary

Music and Atmosphere

Pros:

• "Amazing music and atmosphere!"
• "Live music every day of the week, including jam sessions on sunday and monday."
• "First - class live blues and blues related music seven days a week."
• "The jam night on Monday 28 Feb was absolutely awesome. I have never seen so many high quality musicians in one venue."
• "Great live Blues venue with fantastic musicians."
• "The blues musicians/music is so rich."
• "Absolutely fantastic little blues bar just off Carnaby street, great atmosphere & great music every day."

Cons:

• "The place is really bad. It literally abuses the playing musicians and the crowd. It is so stuffed!"
• "Venue inside is extremely cramped with nowhere to really sit/stand."
• "No live music and people cramped in against corona guidelines."
• "Stopped in during a 2 hour music-less lull (on a friday night? 7.30 to 9.30) so cant possibly comment on the music."
• "This place is really bad. It literally abuses the playing musicians and the crowd."
• "Venue inside is extremely cramped with nowhere to really sit/stand, considering I visited on a Tuesday I couldn’t imagine how cramped it would be on a Friday/Saturday."

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "Staff were paying attention to make sure people ordered their drinks without a long wait."
• "The staff is super friendly."
• "Good selection of drinks and served by friendly staff."
• "The staff (and clientèle) are friendly, service is good."
• "The staff were incredibly friendly and welcoming."
• "Friendly staff, from the doorman to the waiters."
• "Staff behind the bar were great and had a laugh."

Cons:

• "Extremely rude and bitter front of the house staff."
• "Terrible experience, we will never return. What had been a lovely evening apart was let down supremely by the security staff."
• "Very rude, unfriendly team manning the place."
• "The security man inside needs to chill."
• "The manager was very rude and aggressive."
• "The bartender then told my colleague he had an attitude and to please leave."
• "The experience was unpleasant, the security guard stopped us claiming that one of us was drunk without even talking and being extremely rude."

Space and Comfort

Pros:

• "It feels like a clandestine jazz bar from the Prohibition era."
• "It's a small venue but that makes the atmosphere very special."
• "The best Blues bar in the city of London. It's really small but that is what is unique and creates an intimate performing space for the bands that play there."
• "It's a small venue but that makes the atmosphere very special."
• "Small pub in the very centre of Carnaby."
• "Few tables but that means you've got space to dance."
• "It's a great crowd and it gets very crowded- but good door staff there always stop it getting too crowded."

Cons:

• "It was difficult to move around without accidentally bumping into someone."
• "The place was however way too crowded to be enjoyable, which also made it very hard to get to the bar and order drinks."
• "Always packed when music, you have to push your way through and hold your pint high;-)."
• "It's very small and super crowded so it's difficult to get inside during gigs unless you arrive very early."
• "Way too small and much too crowded."
• "Mobility is a no-go, narrow entrance and toilets are downstairs."
• "By the time the band comes on at 9, it's impossible to get in and if you are already in, can't really move around."

Value and Pricing

Pros:

• "Good cocktails and prices are logical."
• "Drinks reasonably priced."
• "The service was super quick and the drinks were very competitively priced."
• "Best place for live music in London, every night there's a jazz or blues band playing quality music."
• "Very reasonably priced drinks."
• "Really good live blues 7 days a week in the heart of Carnaby Street with affordable drinks."
• "Pit pricey but it is London and no admission charge so all in all well worth the visit."

Cons:

• "Cool vibes but not cheap to drink and the house white will almost certainly give you acid reflux 💪."
• "The bar had a good selection of drinks to choose from, even if they were a bit expensive."
• "Service at bar is bad... and the pricing is a terror."
• "An expensive entry charge with an over crowded bar."
• "I hoped to have a good time there, but the entry fee was 8 pounds, and as soon as I entered the place, it ended before it started."
• "An expensive entry charge with an over crowded bar."
• "They charge you for card payments."

Overall Experience

Pros:

• "This is one of the best bars I've ever been to. I went there two nights in a row and saw four bands in total."
• "Great blues, great people mostly."
• "I go to ain nothing but the blues quite often for my after work relaxing time .... and actually i go there often as it makes me feel at ease and can't stop moving and swinging at the rhythm of excellent brewed blues... luv IT !!!! "
• "Seriously, wow!! the place could expand to triple and more and the crowds would still que."
• "Live music every night after 4pm. friendly staff."
• "Really great bar! Exactly what we wanted in regards to the music."
• "Genuinely the best blues bar in Central London."

Cons:

• "I felt disrespected, because the security guard never tried to understand me."
• "He said 'NO, we do not need people like you in the bar'."
• "The security man inside needs to chill."
• "Very rude doorman who accused me of being drunk and I wasn’t allowed in even though I was plain sober."
• "This bouncer was utterly rude to my friend(whose visited from the USA)."
• "Especially one bartender 'blond with a goatee' was very rude."
• "Terrible experience, but only because of the staff, the older barman was very rude an inappropriate."