Minton’s

110% perfect experience for Valentine’s Day a few years back. Sat next to a few Harlem locals who had moved to Jersey and were visiting on a whim. The food was excellent, the dessert (my fave course) was divine, and the music was accompanied by dance by a famous choreographer whose name I forget unfortunately. I had been painfully depressed that winter and this one night of authentic jazz with superb vocals lifted my spirits in ways only music and soul food can.

I am sitting in Minton’s right now for the Valentine’s Day brunch.
why 2 stars:
1. Waited out in the cold for them to open doors at 12:05 instead of 11. There were 10 – 15 of us out there and I took it upon myself to bang really loud. It worked.
2. There were supposed to be 2 sets of music for the brunch and a music charge. I’ve been here since 12. It is now 1:30. No music…
3. Staff should be trained on menu. Said dishes would include ingredients they they did no include. Also, stuff on menu was not available.
4. Should be salt and pepper available on tables. Very bland food.
The waiters are very nice… they just need more training

Elegant beautiful setting for an intimate hearing of superb jazz with delicious food! Staff are warm and welcoming.
We enjoyed the signature gumbo dish, with a starter terrific salad, but really flipped out over the collard greens with peanuts side. The desserts were likewise gourmet delectable — different, Southern inspired and not too sweet. We had the cobbler with biscuit crust and the pecan creation — subtle, not cloying. Oh yes, the biscuits! Don’t miss those! Ahhhh! Served with whipped maple butter! A must.
There did not appear to be a lot of weekend parking on the street, but there was a convenient parking garage on the next block.
This historic Jazz club is a delight! We plan to return again and again!

we had such a memorable experience at Mintons. the food is great but not the main attraction. the music was excellent. the ambiance was legitimately sexy. the service was attentive. i would absolutely recommend this place to anyone looking for a memorable New York dinner.
some tips:
–if youre visiting from out of town you may feel timid about going to Harlem. the area was perfectly safe and a very short walk from the subway.
–there are far more reservation opportunities if you call versus what may be online
–you can sit at the bar which still has a good view of the stage if you are traveling solo. i was uncertain if i had to make reservations for a table or not but if you plan to eat dinner it seems to be a must.
–there is a $ 25 charge for the music per person at the tables.
–there is no dancing but plenty of people feeling the music at their table.
–the band played for about 60% of our dinner. then the band took a break and restarted the same set. so by the time we finished dessert we had gotten the full show.
–ignore the haters on this page. service was great. food was definitely better than average. i think this place deserves a round of applause.

Came here to see a performance by a friend of a friend. We had seen her a few years back, at the no-​longer-​in-​business and greatly-​missed Lenox Lounge, and were really impressed. Minton’s provides a step back into a Harlem of a different era. It’s a little pricy, but not extremely so.
We liked our fancy drinks and bottled beers (nothing on tap). I really liked the fried chicken liver appetizer. Smoked-​trout deviled eggs came 2 eggs (4 half-​eggs) per order, and tasted more like egg than trout. Our salad had mixed greens and roasted cherry tomatoes. They have a lot of «Low Country» food, from the coastal Carolinas. We split a seafood gumbo, and we had to try «peanut butter collard greens» made from a gullah recipe. We both thought the greens were delicious. Ask the house-​made hot sauce, it’s plenty hot!
Rather than dessert, we opted for another round of drinks. If you want a real «New York-​y» NY experience, this is a nice idea.

For starters the food was horrible. I had the Lamb Shank the portion was large but it was not well seasoned and delivered well below room temperature. My side dish was the cabbage with ham bits DISGUSTING! it was burnt and over cooked and too sweet only 2 fork tastings and then I pushed it to the side YUCK! My friend ordered the fried chicken which looked like road kill and very dry her side dish was suppose to be mac & cheese NOT! it was more like baked ziti oh but that dish was hot though. If this was Minton’s idea of soul food I give it a D minus. The only reason I gave this review 2 stars is because the ambience was nice and the music was awesome. Please improve the chefs southern cooking skills especially since the location has major competition of soul food restaurants in the area that also include band music FOR FREE! opposed to Minton’s charging $ 15 to $ 25 music fee that’s simply RIDICULOUS. So here is my breakdown
1. Food was nasty (my friend and I agreed on this)
2. $ 15-​$ 25 music charge turns away customers
3. Food temperature not up to par
4. The best part of the night was Alyson Williams and her band encore.
If you need a southern cook maybe my 84 year old mother can help you

I took one of my friends last night who was visiting from Singapore to Minton’s last night. I just moved to Harlem and had heard it was a nice atmosphere.
Pros:
* Music was world class and the sound system made the music very enjoyable
* Even with the music we were able to have a nice conversation within our small party
* Food was okay. Gumbo is probably really a jambalaya but tasty, snapper was good, deviled eggs and crab cakes appetizers were tasty, but the house salad was a little wilted.
Cons:
* Service, service, service… not very attentive or on top of things
* Service on drinks… I asked for a champagne with St Germaine and after coming back to the table 5 times asking about how to prepare it, to say that they only have one champagne and not the 3 on the menu, he finally comes back to say they don’t have St Germaine. A friend ordered Riesling and then they refilled her glass with Pinot Gris which was the drink I had ordered previously. I ordered a Fitz for my second drink and it was horrible.
* Service on food– we had someone join our party late and after 45 mins after placing the order we asked if her entrée was ready which then came but it was now warm instead of hot.
* watched a party of 4 in the lounge leave after they waited an extended amount of time for a server to come help them.
After a 3+ hour ordeal they did comp the second drink but really wish the experience could have been better. I really want these establishments in Harlem to thrive and the neighborhood to be known for spectacular service.

For many of us (not big into jazz, don’t live near Harlem or the 2/​3, A trains) a trip to this spot is for the experience, the history, and quite frankly to change things up and get away from your normal, neighborhoody or trendy spots. I’m giving it 4 stars because we had a great time… however. not sure I’d go more than 1 – 2 times a year due to one big drawback. But first…
The positives…
The band was great (The Willerm Delisfort Project) — and my guess is the acts are on a pretty solid level so that those of us that don’t enjoy jazz regularly, will still have a great time.
The ambiance was really enjoyable. Very laid back, slick, and polished (or seemingly so) and is very conducive to the atmosphere the music sets.
The okay…
The food. We had the prefix as nothing on the menu jumped out to us, except for one of the sides (peanut butter collared greens… eh). The apps (Chilled Corn Soup & Salmon Hushpuppies) along with one of the entrée’s (the Pan Roasted Salmon) were really enjoyable, very solid. However, the rest of the meal… the pork chop was like rubber, my knife was useless and the desserts just completely missed. The S’mores backed Alaska was close to tasteless and looked odd, while the meyer lemon tart was waaaaay to tart.
The eh…
Service was all over the place. The servers are really friendly and seem like they want to give you the best experience possible… but, as a whole it wasn’t working. Our drinks came scattered (you’d think the bartender would complete an order in full), the soup was served without a spoon, and our sides came 3 – 4 minutes after the entrees were served.
The big negative, this place is really expensive. I’m fine with paying a cover for music, that’s pretty par for course. But the cost for the food and drinks is beyond overpriced. I’d really like to come back here to hear more great music in that setting, but when the evening starts at $ 20 pp just to sit down, you need to give me top notch food if you’re charging top notch prices.

Had an awesome time. The food was absolutely amazing. You must try the southern fried chicken with the potato salad, shrimp and crab gumbo a day baked alaskan. Upon walking in you are greeted by top notch service and an appealing and warm ambiance. I would like to thank our server, Shi, the manager, Kyle and the assistant manager, Stephanie for the impeccable attention to detail from start to finish. I highly recommend this establishment for anyone who is looking for a classy place to relax with friends or lovers!!! I wish you guys much success and prosperity.

Such a great venue with amazing music. The ambience is beautiful inside — makes you feel like you’ve gone back in time. Went with a bunch of friends, however, you should know this isn’t really the place for a lot of convo, since the live music is so good. We heard the Biggish Band and two singers. The ensemble was fantastic. What a treat. Only reason this got 4 stars from me was because the Pan Roasted Skuna Bay Salmon dish I ordered was alright. The pea purée in the dish was a bit too heavy for me. Salmon was flavored well on top (where the crispy yummy skin was), but the flavor didn’t really permeate through as well as I would have liked.
Other than the food (I’m also just a pretty picky eater), the place is great. It’s nice to dress up and go out for a fancy evening, and Minton’s is the place to do that.

I really want to give this place a five star… But I had to stop because the service I had received was pretty terrible. I think we slipped through a crack between waiter and hostess communication but we sat there literally for 15 minutes without water or anything and waited for our service. We eventually got several waiters to help us but the service was just horrible. I would normally give a service like this 1star but i have to say the music and ambience was just amazing!!! I think it would be a perfect place to take out of town guests or for special occasions. I just hope you get a better service than us!

Fantastic place for date night or if you enjoy music with your meal. If its still available, definitely get the Groupon thats being offered for Mintons. The Groupon includes two appetizers, two entrees, a dessert, and two cocktails. The music was lovely, and the food is what im really going to focus on. Definitely have the crab cakes and mac and cheese. Both were cooked to perfection. But the shining star for me was the salmon. I am going to have dreams about that salmon for a while. Perfectly cooked rare, the crunchy skin, and the bean sauce and vegetables were blended so well.
A must try.

3.5 Stars
It’s been a minute since I’ve been to New York and I had forgotten that their restaurant scene is on point (just like my favorite city… Chicago). There were six of us dining here for brunch. 3 of us got there right at opening so the restaurant was empty, but they still don’t let you sit until your whole party is there. That was okay, except we couldn’t even get a drink at the bar and the bar tender was looking quite flustered and confused. He couldn’t find anything so we decided to wait to order drinks once we were seated.
There’s a fee to eat at the restaurant cause you are paying for the jazz band. That Saturday it was Christopher McBride and he did an awesome job. Can’t wait to hear him in chicago next week.
As for the food… mostly everything was 5 stars:
Mac and Cheese — by far my favorite. We shared 3 of these. The cheese was unique.
Collared greens — delicious and such a robust flavor
House cut fries — yummy
Bacon — okay. One order was good and the other one was too burnt
Fried chicken and flap jacks — chicken was dry and not enough syrup on pancakes
S’mores dessert — ummm hello… delicious
Strawberry Tart — okay. I’m not really a fan of warm strawberries.
Drinks were good, service was much to be desired (the wait for anything was a bit much), band was great, and food was pricey. Around $ 100 a person. Good place to try out at least once though.

Decent place to meet friends for drinks.
I went for midnight breakfast. So that’s what THIS review is for.
You def need advance rsvp.
Portions are very small… for what is suppose to be breakfast dish. And dishes were not «breakfast» like.
Prices were too high for portion/​quality. $ 18 for a very small sandwich you can eat in 3 – 4 bites.
My friend ordered this & sadly she was unfulfilled. Then had bad diarrhea at home. Thankfully I didn’t ask for a bite. not that she could afford to share.
I had the duck hash. They must have forgot the duck… all I kept eating was potatoes. $ 18 for a pot of sauteed potatoes. Lucky for my hungry stomach, potatoes are filling… so that was the only benefit of that dish. Otherwise, I still wonder where if the 3 shreds of strings I saw were suppose to be the duck or were they potato skins?
I did get a side of biscuit. Nothing grand.
I did not try any of the alcoholic drinks.
They had good DJ… crowd seems to be having fun.
I would not do the midnight breakfast again nor recommend it. I can come to have drinks or check out other events the venue offers.

Classic jazz spot In Harlem rich in history and soul.
We came here to experience a lovely performance by Andy Bey. Its a very intimate environment; without a doubt a classy date spot with a mature crowd that genuinely loves jazz. There is an extra surcharge for a table by the stage, which I think is completely worth it if you’re taking a girl out on a date and having a real dinner. Otherwise the seating by the bar is pretty far back by the entrance and while I’m sure the acoustics are great, I know I wouldn’t have enjoyed my experience as much.
Bear in mind that I wouldn’t recommend this as a first date get-​to-​know-​you spot and the reason is this: before the performance begins, talking is recommended to be at a minimum (hushed whispers… if at all). The layout of the place is that you and your date will sit by the wall– super cozy, which does make whispering easier. I remember we were really trying to hold in our laughter a couple of times. lol
Portions are ginormous– I ordered the shrimp gumbo and barely made a dent! Service is excellent, and the servers were exceptionally courteous.
side note: for the ladies– you’ll see some people really dressed up! The lady sitting next to me the next table over was wearing what looked like a gown. No joke. I wore a simple dress, cardigan, heels and didn’t feel out of place. Its a classy place so accessorize appropriately and you’ll be fine :)

*This review is for the brunch only*
I have visited the sister restaurant right next door (The Cecil) on several occasions. While I know both locations have brunch on the weekends, I noticed Mintons had a jazz brunch; therefore I KNEW I would try this brunch first.
When you walk into the location, you instantly feel like you are back in 1930’s Harlem waiting for one of the great jazz legends to hit the set! There are pictures of jazz legends on the walls and the décor is extremely elegant. I also enjoyed the intimacy of the restaurant and the ability to sit anywhere and have a full view of the band. That brings me to the band…
These four men were incredible! It was clear they have been playing for years together. We were advised that one of the songs was composed by one of the members. Each member is extremely talented and definitely added to the memorable experience. Well worth the $ 10 music charge.
The food is quite tasty. The red velvet pancake and fried chicken was excellent. We enjoyed the brunch cocktails as well. The service was attentive and knowledgeable of the menu, a great factor when visiting a restaurant for the first time. All in all, we were extremely satisfied and will be returning!

I live a couple of blocks from here and literally stumbled upon it while taking a walk by myself one afternoon. I stopped in around 5PM for dinner and a drink.
The smoked praline pork chop was delish – perfectly cooked medium, juicy and nicely seasoned, with mashed sweet potato side and green beans. At $ 29 this is a big, gourmet-​type pork chop and definitely fit the bill.
Drinks were strong, which may make up for being a little pricey ($ 12 for Titos vodka and soda), and the chocolate peanut butter tart ($ 12) was an imaginative and delish ending.
Finally, the $ 10 music fee seemed fine with me for sitting at the bar. I simply deducted that amount when calculating my tip.
The only issue is that the music fees run from $ 10 – 35 in the bar and $ 20-​$ 50 in the dining room PER PERSON. I have family visiting soon and wanted to go here but they informed me that the music fee for that saturday night would be $ 50/​person in the dining room! That’s $ 200 for four people JUST TO SIT DOWN. That was too expensive for my taste.
I will definitely be back to sit at the bar and enjoy the good food and music. I assume management has done the math, but I can say that when I was there, which was on the early side, the dining room was mostly empty. If the music charge is keeping the place empty, then they should come up with a better system. If it works, then by all means, keep up the good work.
–1 star for making it too expensive for me to come back!

Very elegant and classy. When you enter there is a $ 20.00 seating charge to sit at a table near the band or $ 10.00 if you sit by the bar. The food and drinks were amazing. They are next door to Cecil’s which is their sister restaurant, so you have a choice. The prices for a starter is $ 15-​$ 20 an entrée is $ 27-​$ 130. Gratuity is not included for parties of 2, I’m not sure about larger parties. DO NOT GET THE OXTAIL APPETIZER. You will thank me later.
Four stars for having to pay $ 20 to sit closer!

1^st time experience was bitter sweet… Lets start with the fact that we were not informed of the $ 10 fee for live music at time of reservation… Found that out at the door… Ambiance was great, food was great, music was great… Disappointed that there was no more coconut for the «Pineapple-​Coconut Cocktail», pineapple alone did the job… Baffled at why «Chicken and Waffles» was ordered, but «Chicken and a Pancake» came to the table… We later learned that the waffle maker had broken… Nonetheless the dish was delicious!
After some time, the manager did came over to iron things out.
Oh… And after paying the bill the waitress came back to the table to question her service because she noticed she got less than 18% tip… Really?!
My fault for mis-​calculating… But really?
Overall… Food and Vibe was great… Great for an intimate date… Based on my 1^st time, service and communication needs improvement.

BEST JAZZ CLUB in the CITY!
Bought a Gilt City Deal for my Father in Law’s birthday and it was great…
First of all, Open Table was acting up and my reservation never got to the restaurant BUT the hostess says «it’s fine I will honor your reservation and seat you asap.» She did not disappoint.
Second, this place has a Dress Code… no jeans, no t-​shirts, etc. So great to walk through a dining room and see everyone dressed nicely!
Third, the food… oh em gee. Great. What can I say. I had the Arugula Salad to start (yes, it’s lame but I was eating super fatty for the main course… read on and you will see, lol). The rest of the table had the mac n’ cheese (it was Gouda! lol Corny)…and the fried Oysters. Main course… there was the Rib Eye, the Snapper, the FRIED CHICKEN (that was me! lol) and the Duck! Everything was prepared perfectly and sooooo good. Desert was an Apple Pie and the Smores. The Smores put me in a coma… it was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good!
Fourth, the entertainment… excellent!!! The staff was perfect. The décor was great.
We will be returning. My father in law was thoroughly impressed. So happy! Thank you Minton’s!