The JazzLab - Bennetts Lane Jazz Club Brunswick — Attraction in Melbourne

This is Michael Tortoni's new venue following on from his previous venture, Bennetts Lane which he ran for 23 years and which was once rated as the "World's best Jazz club" by Lonely Planet. I was present recently on JazzLab's third night of trading, and I have to say that I was impressed by what I experienced, and I will be back. The venue has been fitted out thoughtfully to an Art Deco theme, which necessarily causes one to reflect upon the early days of Jazz. The acoustics in the room would appear to be quite good and an interesting approach to seating has been introduced with the provision of bleachers along the back wall and also in a corner by the bar, as an adjunct to the more traditional seating arrangements. There's no kitchen, so food options are extremely limited, but I guess that Michael sees music as the venue's raison d'être, and that's probably fair enough. There is a well stocked bar however and prices therein are reasonable, but service could be improved. To be fair, on the night that I was there, they did appear to be training a young service provider on the job. And it's good to see young people being given an opportunity. As far as I could tell, there's no heating. So if it's a typical Melbourne wintry night, expect to keep your hat and jacket/coat on. Perhaps if the room is packed with patrons this might not be so noticeable. On the night that I was there however, the room was only sparsely populated (perhaps 20 guests) and it was not especially cosy inside. This factor alone was the sole reason for me dropping one star from the rating. It was probably only half a star of reason, but Google doesn't give the option...

Moody venue with lots of decor throughout the entrance. The acoustics of the venue were great and the talent for the evening was impressive. A trio that had a mix of solo and group play, who were all very warm and inviting to the audience. Where the Jazzlab faults is their food & drinks menu. Drinks were a little overpriced and the food was ridiculously overpriced for what it was. Took a look at the menu online beforehand, and they advertised a “‘World’s Best’ Three Cheese Toastie with a big crunchy pickle” for $13. I was expecting a lot with that self-proclaimed title… don’t be fooled. It was basic sliced bread that you’d get from Coles/Woolies, the cheese was good but very disappointing in that price for something I literally could have made myself at home. Also, the “big pickle” was small. I saw “Chocolate” on the menu for $3 and assumed it would be Toblerone, as they had a lot of Toblerone advertising around the bar area). I asked the bartender for the $3 chocolate from the menu and she asked what kind, I said whatever the $3 menu one is. She came back with a single Baci chocolate for $3?!? I couldn’t believe it, I thought for sure there had been a mistake. What a ripoff! Now, I know you don’t normally come to a Jazz club for the food, but they really need to rethink their menu wording/naming and prices. If I ever go back. I will make sure I’m well-fed prior...

Great to see this commitment to world class Jazz venues. Brilliant idea to advertise $10 entry after 10:30pm and a Jazz Jam staring at 11 this weekend . Unfortunately on a weekend visit to Melbourne last weekend the reality on Sat and Sun night was that when we turned up at 10:30pm (the Sunday night bringing friends) we were told that they earlier band was running late and we would have to pay 52$ or come back after 11pm for $10 entry and a band start at 11:30pm , too long a wait with nothing else open in the area our group gave up as did several other prospective punters outside. I believe that the entry times and cover charges advertised on the website needs to be adhered too as it was a lot of effort to plan a late night drink at the club at 10:30 pm for $10 cover as advertised and be told to wait (outside) until after 11pm ! The venue lost 6 late night punters Sunday plus the drinks we would have bought but not adhered to their...