Jazz Bistro — Restaurant in Toronto

Extremely disrespectful, aggressive, balding manager who needs to take a deep breath and not think the whole world is out to get him.

We were a group visiting Toronto from quite far out of town, and had heard of this restaurant through word of mouth/some clips on TikTok. We placed a reservation the morning of the day we went to dinner, basically just knowing that it was a restaurant that had jazz music. A few hours before our reservation we received a phone call to let us know there was a $40 cover charge for the group. We asked if that charge meant per person or not, and all that was said was that it was a $40 fee for the group.

Let me emphasize: if we had known it was per person, we would NOT have gone. We do not listen to jazz or know anything about jazz, and had no idea who was playing that night. So of course, spending $40 per person to listen to music we aren't very passionate about makes no sense. If the words "$40 PER PERSON" had been stated in that phonecall, we would have cancelled the reservation immediately.

After about half an hour into the dinner, we realize that jazz really isn't our kind of music and ask for the bill to head out early, and we see the $40 cover charge on each of our bills, rather than a singular $40 charge for the group. We let our waiter know that we did not know about this charge, and that we were only called a few hours before our reservation to be told about a $40 group fee. Our hostess came by to tell us that they called the worker who originally called us and that she definitely didn't tell us it was a singular group fee. She also tells us that there's a sign outside mentioning the fee (which we only saw when we left and it was a very small, very illegible sign that no one even noticed).

At this point we're trying so hard to emphasize that if we had known and were properly communicated to about this cover charge, we would not have come to this restaurant, and all they can tell us is that there was no way the mistake was on their end after all their years of experience at this restaurant.

I don't care if you've had a year of experience of 10 years, MISTAKES HAPPEN. We were trying to explain that this was a lack of proper communication on their end that led to a misunderstanding on our end. The hostess gets her manager who ends up being the most condescending, entitled man (if you can even call him a man) I've ever met.

The manager walks up to our table saying, "So you guys thought you could pay $40 as a group to see a jazz band from NYC?". Obviously we did not think that. We didn't even know who this band was. Instead of trying to deal with this in a calm, logical way, he immediately accuses us of trying to pull off some scam. We explain what happened on our end and where the miscommunication occurred, and he doesn't listen to a word, saying that there's no way any of that happened and that we were just trying to get ourselves into a free jazz show. I ask him what we possibly get from lying about this, and starts yelling, "YOU GET $200 FROM THIS!", which is definitely not how that works. Unless they were literally handing us $200, we did not gain $200 from this, all we got was some music that we did not care to listen to.

The manager continues to yell at us, accuse us of lying, ignore everything we say, and threatens to call the police on us. This was the most dehumanizing, terrifying experience, as a group of young girls from out of town exploring the big city for the first time.

Based on seeing the other low star reviews, it seems like a common theme that the manager blows up at his customers and accuses them of lying.

To the manager, try to calm down, maybe try to grow some hair back, and realize that not everyone is trying to scam their way into a free jazz show. Out of every scam in the entire world, I promise you, seeing a random jazz show for free is NOT the scam people are trying to pull.

Rethink your morals instead of threatening to send a group of young girls (who aren't even from here) to jail on their first night...

This happened on 22/feb/2025 I wish i can give 0 rating I was really looking forward to visiting Jazz Bistro in downtown Toronto after seeing so many great reviews on TikTok and Google. My boyfriend and I planned our entire day around this visit, expecting a wonderful evening of live jazz music, good food, and a great atmosphere. Unfortunately, our experience was completely ruined by poor service, unfair treatment, and an extremely rude manager.

When we arrived, we realized that we needed to book a table in advance, which was not clearly mentioned when we initially checked their website. We quickly made a reservation online, but the website never provided an option to choose our seating location or let us know what kind of view we would get. Naturally, we assumed we’d be able to sit near the musicians for the best experience.

Upon arrival, we were told our table was upstairs, away from the live music. We politely asked the hostess if there was any way to move downstairs if cancellations or no-shows happened. She agreed, and we accepted our seating for the time being. However, we soon noticed that guests who arrived AFTER us were being moved downstairs to better tables—even when they had the same group size as us.

At first, we saw a couple who came after us being seated downstairs. Then, a group of four walked in and asked if they could move downstairs. The hostess immediately said, “Oh yes, we have a table for four downstairs,” and moved them—right in front of us! Meanwhile, we had asked multiple times, but our request was ignored.

Frustrated by this unfair treatment, I approached the staff and asked for an explanation. The hostess suddenly changed her response and claimed they prioritize moving people based on who booked earlier. But this didn’t make any sense because we were physically there before those guests. How were we supposed to know if they booked earlier or not? Where is this policy mentioned? It was never written anywhere on their website.

At this point, I asked to speak with the manager, hoping he would resolve the situation fairly. Instead, he was even ruder than the hostess. He repeated the same excuse about “booking earlier,” but again, there was no proof of that. And when I pointed out that we had been treated unfairly, he simply dismissed our concerns and suggested we go to another restaurant instead!

A good manager listens to customer complaints and tries to make things right, but this one was completely unprofessional. He didn’t even bother to call the hostess to ask what happened or confirm whether she had been polite to us. He showed no concern for how we felt and essentially kicked us out by saying, “There are other places you can go.”

Honestly, this experience felt like discrimination. We were the only two Indian guests sitting upstairs while everyone else being moved downstairs was not. Whether intentional or not, this kind of treatment was unacceptable. If seating is truly based on priority, then why wasn’t this clearly mentioned in the reservation process? And why were other guests getting priority over us, even when we asked politely and waited patiently?

Jazz Bistro, you need to do better. The staff needs proper training, and the manager needs to learn how to treat customers with respect. If you’re thinking of visiting this place, be prepared for potential discrimination and an arrogant manager who doesn’t care about...

Poor Service, Rude Manager, and Unfair Treatment – Avoid This Place!

I don’t usually leave bad reviews, but my experience at Jazz Bistro was so disappointing that I feel like people should know what they’re getting into before going. My girlfriend and I had been looking forward to this night for a long time. We saw good reviews online and planned everything in advance, expecting a nice evening of jazz music and good food. Unfortunately, our night was ruined by the poor service, unfair treatment, and an incredibly rude manager.

We booked our table online just a couple of hours before arriving. Nowhere on the website did it say where we would be seated, and we were never given the option to choose a view. When we arrived, we were told our table was upstairs, away from the stage. We politely asked if we could be moved downstairs if a spot opened up. The hostess agreed, so we patiently waited.

However, what happened next was shocking. We noticed that other guests who arrived AFTER us were being given seats downstairs with a perfect view of the musicians. First, a couple walked in and got seated downstairs. Then, a group of four arrived and simply asked once if they could move down—without hesitation, the hostess said yes and gave them a table!

At this point, we were confused and frustrated. We had asked politely multiple times, yet we were ignored while others were given priority. When we confronted the staff, they suddenly made up a rule that “whoever books earlier gets priority.” But if that’s the case, why were other people given seats downstairs without question? If all the tables were truly booked, then why didn’t the hostess tell those guests the same thing she told us? Instead of saying, “Sorry, all the tables are booked, you’ll have to wait for a cancellation,” she immediately offered them a table. Why were we the only ones told to wait? Was it because we were the only Indian guests there?

We asked to speak with the manager, thinking he would at least be reasonable. Instead, he was beyond rude. Rather than addressing our concerns, he dismissed us, saying, “There are other restaurants you can go to.” What kind of manager tells paying customers to leave instead of solving the issue? He didn’t even ask the staff what happened or try to understand why we were upset. His attitude was arrogant, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable.

To be honest, this experience felt like discrimination. We were the only two Indian guests sitting upstairs, while all the others being moved downstairs were not. Whether this was intentional or not, the reality is that we were...