Hot Five Jazz & Blues Club — Restaurant in Porto

UPDATE: On 7/19, I received an official refund email, and the refund was processed to my credit card on the same day. I hope this helps anyone looking for information on refunds. UPDATED It is now 7/18 I have requested an update and still haven’t heard back. UPDATED It is now 7/16, and the promised refund in 3 days since the cancellation on 7/7 still hasn’t come through. ——————————————————————-

I booked the show for July 7th at 9:30 PM. I carefully planned my day to ensure I would arrive at the venue at least 15 minutes in advance, as that's what good patrons do to show respect for the establishment and the artists. So, we arrived at the venue around 9:10 PM, but the door was locked. I knew from Google that the venue didn't open until 9:30 PM, but seeing it locked with all the lights out felt very unwelcoming.

I expected the venue to allow patrons in early to settle and order drinks before the show. With some time remaining, I checked my email and saw that at 8:45 PM, they had sent a cancellation notice. Come on, have some respect for your patrons' time and effort. We even had to cut short our prior activity to ensure we arrived on time, which took nearly an hour to get there. We were en route when the cancellation notice went out. This was my first time going and it will be the last. It dampened my excitement as I am a huge fan of live jazz music.

I don't know who is at fault—the artist or the venue—but ultimately, it's the venue's responsibility to inform their patrons at least a few hours in advance, if not 24 hours, out of respect. Please do better. I have requested a refund of my 20 euros. It's not about the money, but the principle of running a...

One of the coolest jazz bars I’ve ever been! The place is a converted cinema and they’ve kept some of the old features which look really good. The old cinema seats were very comfy although there wasn’t much legroom in some seats. Some seats were positioned quite awkwardly so it was hard to face the stage but not a problem if you sit at the front. You’re expected to be respectful when watching the band so don’t go if you want to talk loudly to your friends. Went to see The Jazz Cats on Sunday night who were incredible - the band was a trio playing grand piano, double bass and drums. The doors opened at 9:30 and they started just after 10:30. They played 2 sets of 1 hour each with a break in between. The second set was a ‘jam session’ where people from the audience can join them if they wish. The volume level was perfect. Some reviews say it was too loud but I do not agree. You pay to reserve a table and they have different sized tables - it works out about €10-15 per person. You can book this online before the performance. The drink selection is good - and they had a decent choice of cocktails. Drinks were average price: about €10 for a cocktail or spirit and €5 for a large beer. The service was quite slow but this was because there was only 1 waitress serving the whole club and she was very busy all night. It would have been good to have 2 servers. The atmosphere and music was amazing - definitely...

The evening started off very well: the club was pleasant, the atmosphere was warm, and the music was excellent. However, feeling tired, I decided to leave during the intermission so as not to disturb the musicians mid-performance. To my great surprise, as I was already outside, a staff member caught up with me to ask for my consumption ticket in order to settle the table bill. However, I hadn’t consumed anything, unlike my two friends who had stayed to enjoy the rest of the evening. Despite my explanations and my offer to return inside to point out the table and clarify that my friends would pay for their drinks after the concert, the staff insisted. I was therefore forced to go back into the venue, interrupting the ongoing performance and disturbing the audience, to find my friend and retrieve his consumption ticket in order to settle the bill immediately. It’s also worth noting that the ticket used to settle the bill also served as a cloakroom ticket, meaning my friend had to retrieve his coat at the end of the night without it, causing further inconvenience. Unfortunately, this incident spoiled an evening that had started off so well....