The Blue Dog Jazz Club

I got to try out the Blue Dog Jazz Club as part of a Yelp Elite Event! I hadn't been downtown in a hot minute and this was a perfect excuse!The location is right on Canal downtown, so that has it's pros and cons, but we didn't have any trouble getting there. I would say it's not superbly well advertised, so it might be easy to miss from the outside.The blue mood lighting inside and ambiance was nice. It felt classy, yet casual. Some people were wearing jeans and a t-shirt, others were wearing a suit. There were tables with seats available for those with food, and there were also comfortable seats and couches around too! With no cover charge for the live jazz music, jazz lovers will surely enjoy this spot! The drinks and food is a bit pricy, but it's similar to a lot of places located in the area.You are asked for your vaccination records at the door, so don't forget to bring that! We enjoyed the drinks and music! we had a great time! I hope more people find this place!

Honestly this isn't normally something I would attend but I was curious and wanted to try something different, and I'm glad that I did. The process of getting tickets was pretty easy. I got 2 show tickets and a valet ticket online. Once I arrived I drove to the Sheratons valet parking and handed over my car. This part was such a relief. Who the heck wants to walk these New Orleans streets in heels to attend an event? Not I. So I was glad they offer valet parking. When I walked into the hotel finding the event space was a little difficult. I found a staff member and they pointed me in the right direction. Once I got into the event space it was really nice. It looks like it's an art museum with nothing but different variations of the famous blue dog painting, which I thought was cool. Rachel was my bartender. She was very polite. She let me know that I would be served drinks at the table/area I chose to sit at so I didn't have to wait at the bar in order to get a drink. I ordered a French 75 which was great and I also had a cheese plate. They didn't skimp on the cheese plate. It was a decent size for the price and it included about 5 different cheeses, strawberries, grapes, and blackberries. Very tasty. The jazz musicians started playing around 8:45 I think. The music was great. It wasn't the kind of jazz you get up and dance to it was the kind of jazz you sit and listen to while really taking in and appreciating the amount of skill it takes to create music like this. It was a very soothing experience. The lighting didn't allow for great pictures but I still managed to snap a few.

Jazz venue in the Sheraton Hotel. Good music and expensive drinks. Several Blue Dog paintings in the venue. A sedate environment for more of the seated type of Jazz enthusiasts and not the dancing type.

Value: 3 starsStaff: 5 starsMusic: 4 starsAtmosphere: 4 starsDrinks & Food: 3 starsThe staff at the hotel are very pleasant and helpful, even when things aren't fully 100% back to normal. You can definitely tell they're short staffed based on wait times, and not having full menu offerings, but overall they seem very happy to accommodate or make alternative suggestions.They do have valet in the hotel for easy parking. You can wait a little while if they're busy, but they were very careful with all the vehicles and all very nice. It's not the easiest place to park, so I appreciate the valet option. The band was great though not who I would expect to be playing in that venue I guess; I thought more bebop or contemporary Jazz for this space. Duke's band was playing more swing style, but of course, no one was dancing, so it was a bit odd. There wasn't much of a crowd so they took a rather long break in the middle of the set. I don't blame them, but there was a $10 cover charge so after a while it was annoying. The staff is top notch, even during these odd pandemic times of shortages. A staff member offered to walk us directly into The Blue Dog, and once inside the bar tender checked our vaccine card and tickets, handed us some menus, told us we could have a seat and she'd be around for our orders soon. She made a few drinks for those that came in before us, and it wasn't long before she was around to take our order. We ordered their cheese plate and pretzel dish along with two drinks. What my guest wanted couldn't be made because they were out of one of the mixers, but the bartender offered something else and he was happy with what she made. I went with wine, and had a good pour for the price. The food was over priced for what was served, so I'd skip that if you go. They couldn't find crackers for our cheese plate for a good 15 minutes, but two staff members stopped by to let us know they were working on it and apologized for the delay - and they eventually brought us crackers. Kudos to the staff again. I appreciated their extra level of service for something as mundane as crackers, and how nice everyone in the hotel was overall. I'll definitely recommend this place based on service to my tourist friends. For a night at a jazz club though it ended up being a bit pricey with parking, drinks, food, and cover charge. If you're already in the area or staying at the hotel, and you've grabbed food elsewhere, $10 cover per person plus one drink each isn't all too bad. Small complaint - the doorman had the door open - I know it's a New Orleanian thing so people hear the music and want to pay to come inside - but it was the first night the temps dropped, and no one was really prepared for that door to be open. If it's a cold night, bring a jacket and be prepared to keep it on all night. That was my only real complaint, was them keeping the door open and making it cold.

Very intimate jazz club right on canal downtown. Great venue for tourists that don't want the hustle and bustle of Bourbon or Frenchman. It's a place id recommend if your family is visiting. My only criticism would be the drinks/ bar. It's a limited menu and feels a bit like ordering drinks on an airplane as they come in a little tiny plastic cup. Parking is a nightmare and not worth the validation, I recommend Parking elsewhere