Charity Café Jazz & Blues Club — Restaurant in Rome

We (both in our early 60’s and enjoying live music) asked our hotel to find us somewhere with live music on a Friday night in central Rome.

The receptionist was a little bemused at our request. Clearly he couldn’t send us to a night club where the kids just jump up and down and scream at each other. So where would he pick.

The Charity Cafe! A little confused by the name at first, Howe er we went and we had a very enjoyable evening. The music starts at 10pm, so food was required first. There are a number of smallish bistro type restaurants nearby and one filled our requirements.

Back to the Cafe at 9.50 and there was space at the bar or on the tiered seating at the end of the bar. Only the top row is padded so beware!

The musicians were certainly accomplished, and a very pleasant evening of traditional Jazz followed until 11.30pm. At which point there was an interval and we left. The music didn’t inspire Lea or I to get up and dance, and even if it had there wasn’t enough room anyway.

The owner of the bar is very welcoming and has a large list of cocktails which we enjoyed tasting very much! Five cocktails came to fifty euros and we had several servings of nuts for free. 😃

A great atmosphere, not a hint of any trouble. Just a lovely friendly crowd enjoying the music. Recommend this place if you are at a loss as to where to go for music without irritating people talking loudly...

Este bar tiene música en directo, cosa que es una maravilla, sin embargo, nos sentimos completamente estafados. El local es pequeño, un antro sin gusto ni personalidad, lo único que destaca es que hacen conciertos de música en directo. Fuimos hace un par de días y estuvimos disfrutando de la música. Los cocteles son realmente malos, tanto es así, que al día siguiente nos encontramos fatal. Tomamos 2 cocteles cada uno, después de una cena típica romana sin bebidas alcohólicas, por lo que no nos cabe duda que el causante de todo fue el garrafón del bar. En una esquina de la barra hay un cartel, en el que se indica que durante los conciertos la primera consumición cuesta 10 euros, y las siguientes a precio de menú. Nos parecía justo y lógico, hasta que recibimos la cuenta, en la cual se cobraron los 4 cocteles a más de 10 euros. En el menú no hay ni un solo precio, por lo que pides a ciegas. El mensaje de la barra es completamente engañoso, porque indica que el primer coctel cuesta un "minimo" de 10 euros, por lo que se deduce que los sucesivos costarán menos de este importe. No os dejéis engañar. Un mojito 13 euros y el resto de cocteles que pedimos fueron 12 euros. No te da ticket, tuve que pedírselo, el precio le inventa sobre la marcha, porque no aparece en ningún lado. Moraleja: nos soplaron 49 euros y encima al día siguiente nos encontramos mal. La cosa es que nunca sabes a quien estás engañando, y precisamente, engañaron a dos personas que están escribiendo una guía en español para una importante empresa. Si hubieras sido honesto, y habrías mostrado los precios de las bebidas, probablemente hubiéramos tomado los mismos cocteles, pero no nos hubiéramos sentido estafados. Sobra decir que no recomendaremos este local en la guía, porque lo que no queremos para nosotros, no lo queremos para nadie más.

EDIT DOPO LA SUA RISPOSTA: Comunque, resta il fatto, che i prezzi non sono mostrati da nessuna parte. Il sapore dei cocktail potevano essere ok, ma non vuol dire che siano buoni, ci siamo sentiti veramente male il giorno dopo. Non abbiamo fatto nessun complimento, questo lo ha inventato lei. Ho dovuto chiedere lo scontrino, perche mi ha detto a voce: 49 euro, che ovviamente non capisco. Il cartello è ingannevole, perche scrive prima consumazione obbligatoria di minumo 10 euro, succesive prezzo menu. Quale menu? perche lei ci ha dato un menu senza prezzi. Ma c'erano coctails di meno di 10 euro? Non lo sapremo mai. Siamo stati truffati, come quando andiamo in paesi lontani, e non hanno i prezzi esposti da nessuna parte, cosi ci siamo sentiti nel nostro paese....

Had an absolutely brilliant time in this small club. On the night I was there they had a band that specialised in covering the Rolling Stones and other classic rock songs. They were great and the tiny venue became a stadium for two hours. I really can't say enough god things about the club. One little quirk is that in order to cover the band the first drink of the night is €10 minimum no matter what you order. If you're cute you'll order a cocktail (generally priced around €10), if you're not thinking you'll order water. They have a great variety of acts on different nights from blues to jazz. Find one that you like the sound of and have a great...