Blue Note Napa — Restaurant in Napa

It is not often that you can report high quality food, low prices, and great entertainment in one breath. But I can authoritatively say that the Blue Note Jazz Club got two out of three right on April 30, 2025 (Locals Night). WOW, I’m massively impressed with the food service and the outstanding “Napa Value” for a short list of some of my, now favorites, Flatbread Pizza, French Fries, and other tasty entrées at this classic venue.

But I didn’t go to the Blue Note for the food and that’s this story gets dark. Because when the lights dimmed down, and the show started, I thought I was at a Metallica, Led Zeppelin, or ZZ Top Concert. It was sooo loud!

The band, Los Cochinos, (can someone translate that Spanish?) began by announcing that they were there to play their original songs. The audience cheered wildly but then I learned they had brought all their drinking buddies besides the full drum section of the Nebraska Cornhuskers Football Band. I could have guessed that this band would be just perfect for an outdoor beer festival or street fight by looking how full the stage was with equipment; but for a small venue like the Blue Note, it’s like pounding your head with five-pound sledgehammer. I should have known better when I noticed the keyboard player and the vocalists all signaling to the sound engineer to raise the volume of the floor monitors. The engineer knew better because that just added to the overall sound levels . . . can we say, “threshold of pain.”

The band leader, Alfonso, took great pride in name dropping legends like Santana throughout the single set: Though his simple, single note style resembled the artist, playing the classic custom-made Paul Reed Smith guitar that Carlos Santana made famous, he drove an amplifier of the legendary MESA/Boogie which is renowned for its powerful volume. (Turn it up to eleven.) The talented bass player from Vallejo, CA seemed to know better but looked resigned to support this circus.

I began to believe that every song sounded the same and began to measure each to be exactly six minutes each. Lyrics were weak and the huge sound volume covered up any musicianship there might have been on stage. I doubt these guys will be back to Blue Note again unless it’s an outdoor concert. It was just the wrong venue for them.

Note to the Blue Note booker: Next time, try...

Comfy padded chairs in the concert hall. Had to get that right out there because if you are like me, the first question on your mind when they announced the opening of Blue Note was: did they replace those horrible chairs? Yes. Yes they did.

[Pause for a brief moment of gratitude]

My husband and I went to see Timothy Schmit last week. It was my first time at Blue Note, not my first time in the building. I've been to performances in the renovated opera house before City Winery moved in and I went to several concerts (and movies as part of NVFF) while it was run by City Winery. I have to say last weeks concert was the sweetest of all of those in terms of sound quality. I could hear each voice and each instrument working together so seamlessly, without overpowering each other or the audience. If this concert was any indication, I'd say the venue takes great pride in the quality of the sound experience they provide. For this I was relieved and delighted. Even the band playing downstairs in the restaurant/bar did not distract from the exquisite sound experience unfolding before us. I mean it isn't the Sydney Opera House for crying out loud, but it might feel like it in comparison to your prior experiences in the building.

I didn't try the food downstairs. There is not food upstairs. I like that you can just go to a concert without being pressured to buy food.

There is a bar in both areas, but the selection upstairs was very limited. You could go to the bar downstairs and get a drink and bring it up, you just had to tell them it was for the concert hall because they don't allow glass up there. (The bar downstairs will give you a plastic cup.)

I'm looking forward to trying out the downstairs portion of the venue. It looked like a lot of fun for hanging out with some good music.

If you aren't sure if you want to try this place out or not, just do it. You'll have...

I recently attended a Carla Morrison concert put together by Bluenote Napa attended the Carla Morrison concert The performance was great however, the logistics put in place or lack thereof were disappointing. Upon arrival I learned from the attendant at the entrance of the parking area that “someone oversold the parking” dismissed me and said good luck finding parking. That was a great inconvenience that I did not expect. No offer as of yet for compensation/refund. Once inside the venue my wife and I arrived at the silver section. There was no seating available. There were also no staff readily available to usher guests or to coordinate getting a chair/table. After looking around for someone in a leadership role or on an uniform someone in another section offered me two chairs. Completely unacceptable. There was no security presence nor staff checking bands to assure the people occupying spaces really were supposed to be there. How do you over sell parking and seating? Again, this was unacceptable. Additionally, once the concert got started people from all over came towards the area between the gold/silver sections and stood behind the sound engineer tables to take photos. This prevented everyone past that area to be able to see the performer. No ushers/security or someone in a leadership role to ask these individuals to return to their seats. I did not enjoy the show, I did not feel I got my money’s worth. I worked in hospitality for 15 years and have never taken the time to write an something like this. I expect a full refund for parking and compensation for this horrible experience. Thanks, Update: I was refunded parking and ticket fees. Obviously this is not enough but they cited their policy of no refunds unless there is a cancellation. BlueNote Napa is not up to par to put together these type of shows. Skip it and go see that artist at...