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2nd Street Jazz
Categories: Arts & Entertainment Jazz & Blues Nightlife Jazz & Blues Arts & Entertainment Music Venues Nightlife Music Venues Jazz & Blues, Music Venues
366 E 2nd StLos Angeles, CA 90012
Neighborhoods: Downtown, Little Tokyo
(213) 680-0047
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 6:30 pm - 1:30 am
Sat-Sun 7 pm - 1:30 am
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Music:
- DJ, Live
- Best Nights:
- Wed, Thu, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
- Coat Check:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Good For Dancing:
- Yes
- Ambience:
- Hipster, Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
60 reviews for 2nd Street Jazz
60 reviews in English
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Review from Monk B.
Carson, CA
12/31/2011
I love 2nd Street Jazz. The owners are friends of mine and I do my Monkey Bucket shows there. The club is located in a nice part of Little Tokyo. They serve food and you should try the house drink which is called a Dirty Whore.
They don't just play jazz here. They have hip hop nights, J Pop nights, and if you come to one of my shows, it will be an eclectic array of sounds and colorful characters. My shows are fun.
If you find yourself sitting up at the bar and Ko is your bartender, tell him Monkey Bucket sent you. -
Review from Rasien I.
4/27/2012 1 Check-in Here
Courage, You Bastards!
is the name of my friend's band we came out to see at 2nd street Jazz.
1 drink minimum and no outside food or drink could be brought in. Kind of annoying, cause I wasnt drinking that night and only wanted a water... but i get that they have to make money. The guy that came up to my sister and i was really rude about the 1 drink minimum and was ready to kick us out in a heartbeat!
The space itself is big enough. They have a bar which I did not engage in, but looked stocked. There was ample seating and standing room for the night. The acoustics were surprisingly great. -
Review from V Y.
Los Angeles, CA
4/16/2012
Congratulations! Because of you (2nd street jazz), little tokyo is no longer safe at night.
Here's a list of what I've witnessed from some of their patrons.
-Yelling at the top of the lungs on the sidewalk in front of their business
-Multiple fights breaking out.
-At the end of the night (3am), cars revving and then peeling out. This is not always on the weekends.. sometimes it's a week night.
-Their patrons won't let anyone else park on the City streets in front of the business. They will stand in the middle of the street and in front of your car and threaten you.
-They wander around in the sidewalk drunk.
-The next morning we wake up to a sea of litter.
Who else but your patrons cause so much trouble in little tokyo? Look around. Little Tokyo is one of the few bright spots in downtown, but you've single-handedly destroyed any redeeming quality of downtown.
LAPD and the City Council/Mayor needs to shut you guys down so that you don't drag the entire little tokyo down with you. -
Review from Alex S.
2/4/2012 1 Check-in Here
I came here on a Wednesday night to check out Hipster/indie band night to watch my friend's band do their thing. First thing I'm thinking as I'm walking into the place is, "damn, am I too old for this place?" in addition, I wasn't wearing my Toms, scarf or a fedora so I didn't exactly fit in. I did notice that for whatever reason my shirt collar was poppin' so as soon as I took down, everyone was friendlier and I became more comfortable kicking it with these bobos.
Took advantage of the night's special of 2 Sapporos and 2 shots of crumpet juice for 18 bolas. Accordingly, as the night went on, the music seemingly got better.
This place is a no frills "Jazz Bar" with Karate competition playing on the Television and a bunch of kids that avoid showers like the plague. Maybe I'm too old for this scene and should have spent the night watching Modern Family with the wife but I actually enjoyed my time and look forward to coming back again albeit with a bottle of Febreze. -
Review from Jena S.
11/27/2011
"Not a jazz club."
I could essentially finish the review with just that note, but I will be nice (even if this review is not going to be great for the venue itself) and give it five minutes of fame.
I'll review more in detail about this particular evening background wise elsewhere, but for now here goes Yelp:
1)If you get there early enough, you can skip the cover and they wouldn't know. They don't seem to give a care about the patrons here either way as long as they are spending money on drinks.
2)This isn't going to be everyone's scene. In full disclosure- I came out to support a friend's band and hang out with some former coworkers. Had that not been happening that night, the only thing that would have appealed to me was the name "2nd street jazz" as I had been talking about going to explore more jazz clubs around here. I was told by the bouncer that they do indeed do jazz during the week but my experience with this place was not enough that I would really ever consider going back.
3)This isn't a bar that has anything in the way of nibbles or snacks. If you are wanting to go in and out of the venue (theres food in places right nearby, including a subway 2 doors down) you can just forget it if you opened a tab. They will keep your id and your card until you fully close and there's a $10 minimum even if you get a drink ticket with one of their show covers.
4)A positive was that with the cover for the show, there was a $5 drink ticket. It was essentially useless as there isn't anything there that amounts to that much anyway, but the gesture was nice?
5)Parking? It's little Tokyo. It's around there somewhere but go green and take a bus. There's public transit in easy access of it and officer bob always said that you shouldn't be drinking and driving anyway young lady... even if its apple juice (Which I don't think they sell here either).
So in summation: If you want to relive your angst punk rock dreams, maybe you can play/attend a show here. It wasn't terrible. I mean, the girl with the blue green hair singing the Power Rangers theme was kind of cute. The R&B soloist chick really was trying her damnest. And then there were my friends that played.. that... well White fish swimmin' in the sea were just the Cats [meow] on Mars [that is].
(Still not a jazz club though) -
Review from Vivian R.
Long Beach, CA
10/2/2011
This is probably the best place to go to see great live music! They have good Latin jazz music the last Wednesday of every month.
The owner is really nice and the ambience is intimate enough to really hear the music.
By far the best place to go to in Little Tokyo Wednesday nights! Great food and drinks too :) -
Review from Renita K.
Los Angeles, CA
3/12/2011
Came here tonight for literally all of 20 mins to see my roommate perform a few songs. She got us on the list so we didn't have to pay the $5 cover.
I had some tea from Starbucks (didn't want to get towed for parking in that lot) and the owner came up to me and my friend and said that there was a one drink minimum and that I can't have the tea in there.
OK the tea thing is totally understandable... but a one drink minimum on top of a cover? Unnecessary.
I told him that we were just there to see her perform and were gonna be leaving in 15 minutes, but he said nope there's a one drink minimum and then gave me two options, "You can keep your tea if you go outside and then no music, or you can get a drink."
Since leaving wasn't exactly an option I just agreed, and so my friend had a corona and I asked for a diet coke when the waitress came by. She brought them out quickly and then charged us 10 bucks for both of them... $6 for the corona and $4 for the diet coke (that was the equivalent of about half a can).
$4 for a tiny little diet coke???
And it gets better. I tried to pay with my card and she said there's a $10 minimum for cards.
I can't win. I'm just glad I didn't have to deal with a cover on top of the rude manager and overpriced drinks. -
Review from Patricia L.
Los Angeles, CA
1/9/2012
Awsome place for Latin Jazz every last Wednesday of the month! They also have salsa, cumbia, and merengue which is always great to dance to.
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Review from Isis U.
San Gabriel, CA
12/4/2011
This place SUCKS!!! Horrible, horrible experience with this "Jazz" dive. First, I am asked by the rude waitress if I needed anything to drink after being there for over an hour with friends who were drinking. I then said thank you but, I wasn't drinking (because I was the designated driver) and besides, my husband and I were going to leave soon. She left and came back seconds later saying that since I wasn't drinking (or one of the performing artists) all of a sudden she claimed there was a one drink minimim and since I wasn't drinking I had to leave "like now". As livid as I was, I did not make a scene and decided to leave. Did I mention I was a guest of one of the performers who organized tonight's event?
Never, ever going back and will advise other non drinking designated drivers to avoid this crap place of a bar. I'm sure there are better ways sell beverages than this!! By the way, there are no posted signs, nor was I ever told upon entering this establishment, of this "one drink minimum" requirement otherwise I would have happily obliged. -
Review from Traci Y.
Glendale, CA
11/21/2011 4 Check-ins Here
2nd Street Jazz has great entertainment. Wednesday I saw Shams, she's a fantastic bellydancer & fire eater. Music there changes daily, so make sure you check in advance what night they are having. A few times I have walked into a few surprises. but every time its been a good time
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Review from Piano L.
Irvine, CA
7/26/2011
The owner is infamous for mistreating the musicians that play here, and becoming aggressive with them when they merely seek the compensation they were guaranteed.
This business has a B rating from the department of Public Health. They obviously did not see the bathrooms. Such a rating is generous at best. If you want to support live music go a couple blocks down the street to the Blue Whale! -
Review from Danielle P.
Costa Mesa, CA
7/31/2011
This review is by my boyfriend, but he doesn't have a Yelp account so this is his quote exactly:
"I'm being generous for giving this a one star rating. I don't even know where to start. The place is a sad excuse for a jazz club and if the original owner was still around he would be disgusted at the dismal state of 2nd Street Jazz. First of all, the place is disgusting: carpets are dirty, the bathroom is putrid, and the kitchen is a joke.
As a musician who played here recently, I can confirm that 2nd Street Jazz is also no friend to musicians. Upon packing the house full of 30+ paying customers and playing four hours of continuous music, we were offered an insulting $50 for the entire night (divided amongst three bands and nine musicians). I naturally complained to the owner's mother, who was left to run the entire establishment alone the whole night. She told me to call her son, the owner via her cell phone. I explained to the owner that according to our agreement we were supposed to be paid $5 for every head, which should have been a minimum of $150-200 since we had 30 people there at least. He proceeded to become hostile and verbally abusive, saying that it was my fault because I didn't provide someone to collect the cover at the door, and so not all of the customers had been charged a cover.
As a professional musician who has played at countless venues, I've never in my life been told that I needed to provide someone to collect the door money. It makes no sense, and it seemed to be a poorly orchestrated ploy to rip off the musicians, who were there to bring business to his establishment.
After a heated discussion, the owner talked to his mother, who was casually drinking chardonnay the entire evening, and he reluctantly paid us what was agreed upon, even though it barely covered the cost of going out for ramen after.
At one point, 2nd St Jazz used to be a legitimate jazz club with countless local musicians playing there. But now it is a sad excuse for a jazz club, let alone a business.
Just around the corner is a new, fresh, vibrant jazz club, The Blue Whale, run by a friendly owner who treats musicians fairly and with respect. If you are looking for live jazz in little Tokyo, that's the place to go.
I will personally never step foot in 2nd Street Jazz again and if you are a musician or any friend of live music, you will do the same." -
Review from Mike N.
Los Angeles, CA
6/2/2008
Went here on a Saturday night to hear a buddy's band play. He's also in med school. What? and he's single? PM me ladies so that I can pimp him out.
This is a small chill joint to listen to some hopeful bands spill out their
new sets. There is a $5 dollar cover later in the night. Although I found it to be only randomly enforced. If you manage to squeeze by without paying, buy an extra drink or tip very well. Don't be cheap to these nice folks.
I had forgotten how fun Little Tokyo could still be at night time sans ramen. The owner?/bartender gave my friends and I chips and suracha. Odd, but nice with the beers. Very personable and friendly staff. Two of the female bartenders that night were especially cute and fun to talk to. One of them said my beard was awesome! Eat it Ann L.!
So the score for my beard is now:
"I think your beard is awesome/sexy/great/" - 4
"Mike, you know that thing on your face is a self-cockblock right?" - 58
I learned an important lesson in my management theory classes back in the day. You have to celebrate small wins.
Thank you 2nd Street Jazz ("Cocaine "on Sat nights) for this win.
Ja Matta -
Review from Jay C.
Los Angeles, CA
7/5/2010
The lady that welcomed us in was very sweet.
The music was good.
The snack she had given us was good too.
It was my 1st time at bar.
I didn't know what kind of drinks they had or what kind of drink to order
I asked the bar tender what was good to try.
Lady "I don't know what do you want"
me "this is my 1st time at a bar, I'm not to sure what's good to try do you have any suggestions "
Lady " I don't know what do you want"
She was so rude!
I wanted to leave right after that but my boyfriend was already drinking and enjoying the music.
I ended up getting coke with Jack Daniels how lame!
No one was even ordering drinks!
I mean really did she have to be such a ****.
I'm never going back the music was good but not wroth the cover charge.
The beer was cheap but ugh still not wroth it. -
Review from Jill A.
Glendora, CA
3/22/2008 2 photos
after our karaoke tour (http://www.yelp.com/us...), Michael L., Tim C. and I decided to follow Antonio A. to the jazz bar down the street. I was feeling a bit intoxicated and needed to just chill and sober up. Jillie can't be driving like this.
when we walked around the corner, there was a good amount of people chillin outside the jazz bar. first off, it's a little deceiving since it wasn't really jazz night that night. i guess every 3rd thursday is hip hop night. it was cool! nice, intimate little joint playin some old skool hip hop. i was diggin it.
now remember, my purpose of coming here was to sober up. so i was chattin it up with some folks having a diet coke when lo and behold, i see the drink menu flashing on the plasma tv.
http://static.px.yelp....
now how can you resist a drink called the dirty whore?? you just can't. i just had to try it! http://static.px.yelp....
mannn... she was a good dirty whore. she had kahlua in her. mmm. nice and tasty coffee drink. i love the dirty whore. it doesn't mean i AM one tho.
so that led to more sober-up-jillie time. i guess i have a weak spot for dirty whores. -
Review from Ashley K.
Los Angeles, CA
6/25/2008
This place might be hard to find, but it might be a good thing.
A small little bar with a mellow yellow atmosphere (what I sometimes need after a long day's work). The people are friendly and the drinks are decent. A great place to just hang out and talk without the bass of speakers rumbling through my panties like most bars.
If you need to chill out, come here for the entertainment and atmosphere. -
Review from Antonio A.
Studio City, CA
3/22/2008
I love Little Tokyo. I love Jazz clubs. So obviously I loved 2nd Street Jazz Club! It's situated on 2nd Street, just a few doors north of the American Apparel store.
Thursday night, I went out to Little Tokyo to meet up with my boys after work. These guys were drinking and eating Chinese food (WTF guys, seriously) while watching the Laker game at this takeout Chinese place next to Starbucks. I was hungry, but I wasn't trying to eat Chinese fast food in Little Tokyo, what were they thinking? Let's go to Orochon dammit!
We also stopped by Oiwake to say hello to some friends there, then hit up Archrival to check out the newest gear they had in stock.... and my boys went in the back to do some pre-partying with Jason and the crew, haha!
When we finally got to 2nd Street Jazz, it was poppin! Right when I stepped in, I thought... this is my type of crowd. 2nd Street Jazz had a chill, fashionable crowd of grown up hip hop heads in their 20s and 30s. Nice.
On the Thursday night we went there (BTW: 3rd Thursday of the month is always the best time to go!), they weren't actually playing jazz - they actually were having an LRG/Luxirie party... they had DJs in rotation that were playing blends of old school hip hop from the 80s and 90s, with 70s funky soul and breaks... ahh, I love this kind of music!!! Totally my style!
Met Choice37, the producer from the Southern Cali-based hip hop crew Captions (formerly Longevity Crew) there, and got a couple CDs from him and his boys - SUPER DOPE. Choice and his boys were super cool, and they produce high quality music - 5 stars for both lyrics and production!!! You guys need to look these guys up on Myspace and Imeem, for real!
Anyway, our favorite homegirl Jill C and friends came through, and she was already faded from all the drinking she was doing at Oiwake, but it still didn't stop her from ordering a "Dirty Whore" at the bar, and yelling out "I love dirty whoresssss!" LOL Jill is fun to chill with!
Come to 2nd Street Jazz club on the 3rd Thursday of every month!!! It's dope!!! Oh, and no cover!Listed in: Late night grub spots in LA!
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Review from Nancy Y.
Los Angeles, CA
7/29/2007
Electic, mixed, twenty somethings crowd listening to a live band belting it out in this pretty small place. The band members were young, japanese dudes playing super loud and the singer had a really big voice. A little bar area to the right when you first walk in, with a few small tables and booth off to the left. The stage area is directly in the back, there was a second band coming on as well. Not so busy or crowded on a Saturday night. Grade A, no cover charge, didn't see any servers working the room either.
2-06-08 Update
Zero cover if staying 20 minutes, bar seating only though it's not really enforced. Live music 7 nights a week. Serves food, burgers, curry, etc. There on a Thursday night, not crowded, friendly servers.Listed in: Downtown LA, Dance & Music Related
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Review from Al Z.
Long Beach, CA
7/22/2010
I'm not sure about this place. It has a very interesting ambiance, but the people behind the bar don't act very welcoming. Maybe they're only attentive with other Japanese people. But then again, last time I went with some Japanese people and the lady at the bar was still a bit rude. Regardless, the few times I've been here, I've been entertained because there's a band playing.
We were charged $10 just to get in, but the first time, a drink was complimentary. Mind you, drinks are expensive, so a complimentary drink means a cheap, domestic beer.
Last time I went, we bought some sake. Paid about $8 for that, even though elsewhere they charge about $6. We actually came here thinking it would be cheaper, but no such luck.
Ok, well that's all. Not sure what else to say about this place. -
Review from Kerri T.
9/26/2009
We ended up at 2nd Street Jazz after discovering that every destination within a stones-throw of our hotel was either closed or served beer/sake/wine only (and therefore might as well have been closed, IMO), at 11 pm on a Sunday night. The strees in Little Tokyo were devoid of people. No, wait - there were a few security guards...and us.
I'll forgive the terrible, terrible neon lights that illuminate this joint (lime green neon indicates restrooms), since the bartender stayed open only because we happened to walk inside. We shared a very large Grey Goose on the rocks, swilled a few beers, and enjoyed a few songs from the "Jazz Mix" that the bartender was kind enough to start back up for us. I was shocked that, according to the bartender, the selections of vodka were: (1) some Gordon's-esque well vodka, (2) Ketel One, or (3) Grey Goose. Really?
I think maybe he did an upsell based on our semi-decent attire.
2nd Street Jazz has seen better days. The seemingly comfortable banquettes have lost their cushion and lean at a weird angle that makes you feel like you're falling. The cheap decor is, well cheap. The neon lights are sad. And the bathrooms are quite the experience: graffitti covers every square inch of space in both the men's and the women's, and the husband informs me that the men's toilet was hanging by a thread (literally) and forced me to behold the situation. I've seen better bathrooms at truck stops.
Theoretically, this bar reminds me of those old 70s signs encased in glass, the ones that have a single cigarette inside, above which reads IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, BREAK GLASS. While the kind bartender resolved an impending vodka emergency by allowing us to take temporary refuge, I can't imagine any other reason for returning. -
Review from erin h.
Santa Monica, CA
6/23/2008
I couldn't breathe. It was about a thousand degrees.
There was absolutely no where to sit or stand. My singer friend was supposed to be on all night....I thought.
The guy who worked there charged us 5 bucks rather than 9 since we were coming in "in the middle of the show". Yeah, thanks, but the show was over 2.5 minutes later. The door guy was also the bartender by the way.
What was also weird was that when we walked in absolutely no one was talking, though it was in between songs. Everyone turned to look at us. It scared me a little. Actually a lot.
Basically, we took a 7 dollar cab ride from Ciudad, spent ten bucks to get in the door, 5 bucks on water, and stayed for all of maybe...6 minutes.
It reminded me of Phoenix. -
Review from Steven A.
Los Angeles, CA
Great Latin Jazz / Salsa night every last Wednesday of the month! Drinks are good, and tacos are great!
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Review from Jessica Y.
Los Angeles, CA
5/14/2007
Small and intimate, and the first place I've ever seen an octet live, 2nd Street Jazz is a pretty cool place to check out if you like jazz. Their schedule usually consists of local bands. Occasionally they have out-of-towners, such as the octet who flew in from New York.
If you happen to pass by, even if you're not planning to stay, step in for a bit, listen to a few tunes at the door, and pick up a few flyers in the front. There's a bunch of flyers on what's going on in Lil Tokyo/LA in the front. That's how I heard about 'The Science of Sake' (see past review) -
Review from Winnie H.
6/12/2010
Review for lunch/food only.
A guy was handing out fliers for lunch specials here so we decided to check it out. I guess we must have left the office early cause we were the first ones there. The chef greeted us, took our order, and served us the whole time. He was very friendly and likable.
The lunch special was for chicken served several ways. I picked the roasted chicken with mashed potato. I wasn't expecting much since this is a jazz joint afterall but the chicken was moist and tender. One of my coworkers got the chicken salad with warm tortillas. When I jokingly said that I know my coworker will share his tortillas with us, the chef immediately offered to bring us extras even though tortillas were not part of our plate. That was very nice of him.Listed in: What's for Lunch in DTLA?
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Review from nick g.
3/10/2009
Came here for Jpop night a while back.
The JPop night was 2 stars for the poor DJing and for making me realize that I have to be lumped in with those GEEKY Japanophiles, but the bar was definitely 4. I liked the locals feel, the Japanese touch, and the friendly staff.
one star off for the simplicity of the club.. I dunno, I expected something a little more... flash. ?
I really want to come back here for some Jazz. -
Review from Monica D.
5/18/2009
It's difficult for me to be hating on this place, especially when the end product was so yummy and the company was so amazing. In celebration of Dr. Jazz's doctoral recital, my brother, the bestie, the Proverbial Boy, Dr. Jazz's beautiful gf, and a bunch of Dr. Jazz's musician buddies came here for the inevitable post-gig hang. The place is everything I love about coming to downtown LA -- dark, intimate but not romantic (I guess it could be if you really wanted it to be, but hey, I could easily see the Proverbial Boy and I gettin close in here... haha! Ok, not really), and the air filled with beautiful jazz acoustics. $5 cover and 1 drink minimum for a neat lil Sunday night? Not too shabby.
The poor guy running the place, however, now there's a hard worker. You think you work hard for your money? Try seating people, taking people's orders, collecting their credit cards, making their drinks, making (or ordering, depending on what it is) their food, bringing everything out to them, answering every single one of their stupid ass questions while keeping a smile on your face, and then tabulating their ridiculous tabs at the end of their night? This is Bugs Bunny right here, ladies and gents, and he's the nicest guy in the world. Sadly for the world of Yelp, this may equate to slow service for some patrons, but we didn't mind a bit. Shit, people, it's a JAZZ club!
Anyway, I originally wasn't feeling the lychee martinis until I started feeling them... dig? Out of sheer curiosity I had to get the seafood basket, which was definitely worth it (even if the tartar sauce/mayonnaise-based concoction had already melted and separated by the time it reached our table) -- and everyone else who ordered food remarked on how decent it all was. PB and Dr. Jazz got teriyaki tacos while the bestie got regular ones -- I think the boys also ordered quesadillas? No complaints from anybody.
-1 star for the RIDICULOUSNESS that is the restroom. Ok, I get it, the ladies room doesn't work. But there are NO lights in the back and it was the equivalent of trying to find a mortuary bathroom -- creepy and hesitant on my part. So we wound up having to use the men's room, and it is absolutely HEINOUSLY disgusting. It smells nasty, there's graffiti and shit alllllll over the walls, and it just doesn't belong in just a nice joint. Too bad.
Anyway, we for sure had a good time, and even though I love Little Tokyo, I'm not sure if I'd ever come back here unless I was for sure catching a killer act whom I knew or feeling a little jazzy myself. Not a bad way to unwind after Dr. Jazz's amazing performance. -
Review from Manny C.
SOMA, San Francisco, CA
8/9/2009
I had one of the worst bar experiences here. My friend and I got there and a band was setting up. Man the band was terribad. Their music sounded like a bunch of trash cans being banged against a wall with a dude yelling in the background.
To add to the horrible music the waitress was a complete idiot. My friend bought us drinks then I ordered myself another drink. She told me there was a minimum for credit cards. I said OK and told her I'd be ordering another drink.
We get fed up with the music and decide to leave. My friend tells the bartender just to add my tab to his. She threw on the extra drink which I was going to order on my tab already before she gave it to me. We told her that I only had two drinks but she kept insisting I had three. She said "that's what they had listed."
I wouldn't be as upset if the bar was busy and this happened all within a one hour time span but it happened within a thirty minute time span. To top it off there was only another group of two people at the bar. We even showed the glasses she gave me which were only two. Complete, f*cking idiot.
I hate her.
AVOID. -
Review from Alejandro D.
Lynwood, CA
9/6/2011
whack WHACK WHACK!!!!!!!
So, the owner ripped off two bands the other night, all of whom are my friends. they had a 10 doollar cover..... ok.... payed it. they were given drink tickets so i went up to get my drink, and found out that they were limited to five dollars.... the funny thing is that the drinks start at 6 doollars for a beer! GUAT THE FUCK?! the drink ticket were worthless.
Oh, and after practically begging for the keyboards to be turned up for the last band...... someone in the back was saying "no!" so the audience started chanting for the keyboards and they finally did it, but halfway during the set, whoever was running the board turned the keyboard all the way down, right as the keyboard solo and most dramatic part of the song was about to start. DICKS DICKS DICKS.
Im not gonna lie. it was a cool, chill spot...... but its run in a fucked up way. im not going back there. my first and only experience there started nice, but turned out to be drama....
WORST PART!:
before they even closed, they locked the restrooms. um.... isnt that ILLEGAL?!
SECOND STREET JAZZ officially SUCKS! -
Review from Betty B.
Los Angeles, CA
Updated - 6/25/2009
I'm officially upgrading 2SJ to 5 stars. They got rid of their awful fluorescent lighting... whoopee-doo!!
Last night, we popped in and heard some latin jazz. It was a lot of fun. The people there are chill and friendly. The bartender (is he the owner also?) had a great attitude, and you can tell that they're really trying to make this place a relaxed neighborhood place where local musicians have a home.
Also love the fact that they are really trying to expand the type of music they're doing there. It's nice to have a break from the usual pop/rock/hip-hop scene!
They are now featuring a regular J-Pop night. Japanese Pop? I am so there!!1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/19/2008
This place SHOULD be a 5-star! Why did I shoot one star off? Because:
1) The night I went -- which… Read more »
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Review from Dixi Z.
North Hollywood, CA
4/17/2009
First off, this review is only for the jpop night. As I love jpop, I was quite excited to attend this. Unfortunately, when I arrived, the bar seemed more like a child daycare center rather than a jpop loving bar. There is a difference between dressing up for the occasion and acting like you're 12. I decided to give it more time.
Heading over to the bar, I ordered a vodka soda with lime. Instead, I received a soda with a splash of vodka to the point where you couldn't even smell the alcohol. If I wanted a soda, I would've told the people at the front to charge me 10 bucks like the 18+ crowd so I could have my soda ticket and not feel like I was wasting money.
Back to the actual night. I sat there for a while and listened and watched. The DJ was awful. There were many time when i felt as though he was playing music from an ipod, no beat sync in between songs, no flow. I'm not expecting Digweed, but I do expect decent skills (decent enough to be played publicly).
I couldn't tell you any more about the venue. Between the ridiculously immature crowd, the awful drinks, the horrifying spinning, and the impression of a sad group of people clinging onto a trend since passed, dancing away their heart's naive desires in their neighbor's dingy garage, I left within 30 minutes. -
Review from Kokoro I.
San Francisco, CA
3/6/2008
Come here for the warm people that work here!
My girl Van works here on Wed nites. She's a hottie people, go see here! And the owner of the place is also a mixed martial artist. How cool is that? He has managed to get a cool new liqueur called "Horchata", which I haven't seen anywhere in my bar career in LA!
Cool lychee martini with soju, Van makes it the bomb! Nice music, man, some real OGs come through here playing real jazz as well as many underground artists.
Very nice little place! Go during the happy hour to get the grab on so much happy hour appetizer buffet! You don't need dinner after that! -
Review from Brigitte K.
Santa Monica, CA
4/20/2010
Who knew that Monday nights were so popular in Little Tokyo? We went for an awesome jazz show from a USC music major and the place was packed!! They didn't charge us to get in but enforced a one drink minimum. So we had to pay $5 each for a little drink ticket and since I don't drink, it was basically a door charge. I ended up getting a Japanese melon soda and it was so sweet my teeth felt grimy. I should have stuck with cranberry juice.
The staff was super nice but the bathroom was filthy and smelled like pee. Perhaps I should not have used the mens bathroom. -
Review from Gerald S.
Chino Hills, CA
4/6/2008
Lies! This place doesn't play jazz! Well, maybe it used to. But not on this past visit on Saturday. In fact, it was a completely different place they call the Cocaine (great name BTW). There is a $5 cover charge that isn't really enforced if you go there really early. However, if you do go there early, be sure to drink a lot before the bands come in. At that point, there is no waitress service so you'll have to go up to the bar to order stuff. Plus, when we were there, the first band didn't start playing until 10pm. It was rock/punk night so I enjoyed the music.
I only tried a few of the drinks: the tokyo tea (sweet and very very strong), dirty whore (tastes like horchata) & lychee martini (hardly any alcohol, but surely good lychee).
As for the acoustics, it's a little odd. I couldn't hear a damn thing the singer was saying. I heard plenty of the drums and guitar though. Strangely enough, as we were leaving the place, just right outside the door, you can hear the singer loud and clear. Just a strange way to listen to the singer. -
Review from stephen p.
Los Angeles, CA
10/6/2007
This is in the heart of Lil Tokyo and was the venue for a MC mic session. But when I arrived it looked like it was a roadblock..."This is gonna be a great party", I thought!
But wait - why's everyone on the street? Then I just walked in to be hit by an odor like a stink bomb!? Eeeek. "It's our drains", said the lady behind bar. It was sorted, but wow...what a hassle!
The lady behind the bar was a cool Japanese lady who looked conservative, but she got the freestyle MC battle thang ;-)
I had a good time. Friday night the crowd was kinda young, but it's an MC battle people. I liked the hot Latinas cheering their crews. Apart from this event I've got no reason to come back to this spot esp when there are soooo many cool bars close-by. -
Review from M T.
Los Angeles, CA
2/15/2011 5 Check-ins Here
It's a dive bar, but I love it because I love the owner. He's awesome. Great guy, all around. Don't let the name fool you though, it's not all Jazz, all the time. There's been Hip/Hop, Rap, Punk, Metal, Pop, craziness happen at this place. Usually a good time to be had though. I would make sure you check what events are happening ahead of time though, because there were some scary events happen when the wrong group of people showed up :/
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Review from Rell E.
Los Angeles, CA
5/6/2009
It's ok, I guess.
I ordered the lychee martini. It tasted like straight up fruit juice. It was good....if I wanted to drink juicy juice. But it had no bite. More vodka please? The pregnant bartender *giggle* obliged me and added a splash of vodka.
I ordered another from the SAME bartender. Guess what? Fruit juice again. "Hey expectant bartender, you're the one who can't drink alcohol, not me. Now lay it on me". She gives me another splash of vodka and then asks me if I'm driving. "Sweetie, it takes more than 2 lychee martini's to lay me out, I'm not as young as I look" *tossed my hair*.
Now to the Tuesday night Jam session. It was ok. There were a few cool cats, shout out to Mahesh on piano...WOWSA. I felt sorry for some of the others, because what do you know, the Supa Lowery Bros. showed up to jam. Wuh-oh. http://www.supaloweryb...
Talk about a difference in skill level. Yeah, the bar was raised just a smidge for the other musicians.
I had a blast....Ok, well, I always have a blast when drinking with my friends, but it was even better having the jazz backdrop.
The bathrooms are RI-FREAKEN-DICULOUS!! I mean come on, a jazz spot with a pissy bathroom that has grafitti ALL OVER the walls?
Classy........... -
Review from Adri N.
Los Angeles, CA
5/26/2008
I was there for the happy hour - it's a buck off for each drink.
Try their signature drinks - Purple Monster, Dirty Whore (a variation on a white russian!!! Yeah, three exclaimation marks!), Lychee Martini. You're not going to find them anywhere else in town! -
Review from John D.
Torrance, CA
3/4/2012
don't bother going here. they rip people off big time
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Review from Alex J.
Los Angeles, CA
7/15/2007 1 photo
Pretty cool, it has a small interior which is nice for some events but a crowded for others. One possible problem is there isn't much seating but that seems mostly ok. I've only been once so can't say much.
Update:9/8/07 I've gone to 2nd Street again and tried some of their food. I admit almost every place I go I will have to trysome food sooner or later. I had the fish &Chips & some egg rolls. Both were good I was also told by another customer how another dish was pretty good but was feelingmore like finger food. The server-bartenders are pretty nice too. -
Review from Armando O.
Los Angeles, CA
5/6/2011
Small venue, for intimate live shows. The drinks are decently priced, but I don't drink much. Good place to check out local bands playing an eclectic mix of Los Angeles music.
