☞ BESPOKE: Harlem's Best Jazz Club

A Bespoke reader asked us what was our opinion on the best jazz club in Harlem.  If this was last year, we would have said Lenox Lounge since the iconic establishment has been at the original location with all of its historic details intact for several decades.  The drinks were not great and the music acts a little bit older but overall this was the authentic Harlem experience in so many ways.

Now that the famous lounge has been dismantled, where is the best place to go in Harlem?  We would actually have to recommend Ginny's Supper Club at the Red Rooster for many reasons.  First of all, the look of the space is reminiscent to the Harlem Clubs of the 1940s such as Small's Paradise or the Cotton Club's second incarnation.  Everything from the ceiling details, the lighting, the bar, the mix of materials or the banquet seating provide a fully designed space for live entertainment that is both current and vintage at the same time.

The music is also a mix of old and new which provides a great update to the local entertainment scene which also attracts newcomers along with longtime locals.  Richard Notar promises to bring a new incarnation of the former Lenox Lounge in 2014 which might be the next contender but we will have to see how the new establishment turns out at the end.  Until then, Chef Samuelsson still reigns as the leader of the new Harlem entertainment establishments.