Industry Cafe & Jazz

This place is awesome. It is kind of like going to an underground music venue with really yummy food. They have vegan selections and the owner made us a special side that wasn’t on the menu. They have all kinds of music, supporting local artists, reggae, jazz, blues and open mics. Very nice vibe. You might be deceived when you first come in Bc it seems to be a very quiet atmosphere in the early evening but gets more lively as the evening progresses.

Are you guys open or what? I went there 2 times over the past 3 weeks, and you guys were closed each time. Will remove this post upon verifying status.

The best food ever! We had the vegetarian platter. Friendly comfortable and just like eating at home but better. Come enjoy!
They will even make food special for you that is not on the menu. Just ask for aron.

What an awesome spot. They provide excellent customer service. We tried the vegetarian platter which was good. The live entertainment was phenomenal! I will definitely be back.

Service was abysmal. No idea what the food tastes like because I cancelled our dinner order after waiting over an hour. We were the only 2 people who ordered food in the entire restaurant so no idea what took so long. Never going back.

Came here to hear a friend play jazz which was cool. The Industry Café itself is less than impressive. The décor is pretty bland, the place looks unfinished and a tad dirty. Their menu is weird with ethiopian food and turkey burgers next to each other. I am not a fan of ethiopian food so I had a vegetable soup which was very good. Service was all over the place and I am not even sure how they keep track of bills for a large party. I went to pay at the end of the night and the girl tried to charge me for things I didn’t order. She also charged me $ 7.99 for a soup that was $ 5.99 on the menu. The guy who was working there earlier was much more efficient than all the girls together. Beer and wine only.

Incredible spot — where else can you enjoy authentic Ethiopian food while listening to epic jazz?! The band was 7 strong complete with two saxes and the music was really impressive. This is one of those neighborhood places where everyone is super nice and all know one another, and even though I was a stranger, I didn’t feel like one by the time I had to leave. I’ll be back for sure!

Please note, I came on the open mic night.
This place would get 5 stars, but the service isn’t even par. On the other hand if you know anything about Ethiopian/​Eritrean culture, the women aren’t always the nicest so it didn’t bother me that much. They aren’t knowledgable about their beverage selections, at all. They aren’t organized and don’t operate in a timely fashion but will eventually get to you. They tried to make me pay my bill twice which was annoying when I left an undeserved 20% tip. Water bottles are $ 2…I guess they have to make their money some how right?
The open mic though, FIRE!!! It was beyond amazing and I cannot wait to return! The real talent that performed was breath taking. Usually you get maybe one person from the bunch that does well, but this place would be a scouts dream for anything! Very friendly and inviting hosts that more than make up for the lack thereof in the service department, make you feel like family. This was the best judgement free zone I have performed in in a very long time. Can’t wait to return!

I bought the discount coupon on
. I was eager to try the Ethiopian food and listen to real jazz at the same time. Our two attempts were unsuccessful. The first time there was no music, therefore we decided to come next time. The next time we came at 10 p.m., one jazz band was already leaving the place. The woman in the door asked for $ 20 payment just for entrance into the restaurant. We thought that we missed at least a half of a jazz concert, therefore it did not cost to pay $ 20 just to enter. Finally, we came next week on Friday or Saturday (music night). The venue was absolutely empty. 6 people came later, 2 of them left the restaurant after looking into the menu. There was no jazz coz «all jazzmen were preparing for some Jazz festival in LA that weekend». One of our meat choice was very fattening. Another one was ok. Their vegetable dishes were interesting. Thin bread seemed and felt like the baby skin with a very strange sour taste ;) But the most important thing that this place is not clean. Their laminated menus are sticky with some spots on them. Their tables with plastic glass tops are sticky, too. My husband told me that there was no soap in the restroom at all. I do not know who wanna come back there after one experience.

I am giving five stars because the place is awesome — live music with Eritrean food is a seriously fantastic combination but it would be nice if the staff was a little more attentive. I had to order the food at the bar then get my seat. I would have bought another drink if I had only been approached and asked (you have to go up to the bar), which is more sales and more money for the business so it would be a win-​win if that was improved. I’m not taking off a star for it because the food was tasty and the music jams were great.

Warning: I’m a band geek at heart and it had been a while since I heard live jazz before coming to this café. Everything about this place has charm and warmth. I came on a Wednesday night and arrived as the band was setting up (jazz started at 9). Everyone at the restaurant seemed to be performing that night or locals who frequented this café regularly… and everyone seemed to know everyone else. It felt like I had snuck into an exclusive club… and I loved every minute of it!

IC&J is batting 4.4 stars on Google, and they deserve it. I lived and worked in CC area for years and it’s all folks say it is. I recommend the vegetarian plate (I forget, it may or may not be vegan), and that you order adventurously. Spicy here is also delicious, northeast African style. They bake injera daily for a bunch of other restaurants; try it here for less and youl’ll see why! Love the staff, food, music. 5 stars. Street parking however is not five stars.

Tried to go there for lunch today with coworkers. We pulled up and they were CLOSED! Make sure you call ahead before wasting your time like we did.

Great Ethiopian food. Great venue for events. I would prefer if they had more beer selections.
The staff is great. The ambiance is decent (small but not surprisingly so). They also have some american style food for those who don’t like Ethiopian or East African style foods (burgers, etc.).

Really awesome spot in the Culver City arts district. We came on a Saturday night and used a
voucher for dinner. They have basic comfort foods as well as Ethiopian food, which I didn’t try. The fried chicken was very good, as were the fries. I wasn’t nuts about the mac & cheese, though. The carrot cake dessert was good. Service was attentive and the music was great. If you enjoy jazz music, this is a great spot for some live music. During the band’s break, my husband (a drummer) talked to the drummer of the band and he let my husband sit in on a song during the second set. That was pretty cool. We also learned that on Wednesdays they have open mic night so my husband went back on a Wednesday and played again. A cool way to switch up a regular night out and do something different.

I haven’t had the chance to experience the Ethiopian food or the jazz at this Ethopian jazz joint, but I can tell you one thing — they do a great breakfast! My husband’s office is right next door so we’ve had a casual breakfast together there before starting the day. There are a couple of tables out front to appreciate a sunny morning on this pleasant (but busy) street.
The meal started off on a delicious note with a perfect glass of fresh squeezed orange juice. I’m not sure why it’s so hard for cafes to get such a simple thing right, but Industry nailed it. Then came a perfectly prepared 2-​egg breakfast, which in the morning hours is a fantastic deal. (Sadly I can’t remember the exact price, but I remember being flabbergasted at how affordable it was).
The waitstaff is friendly and efficient, though sitting at a table makes it a bit easy for them to forget about you once in a while. The only other complaint is that this restaurant happens to be on a street with a ton of fruit flies all over the place (not the restaurant’s fault), so be ready to do some swatting as you enjoy your delicious meal!

The vegetarian plate was delicious and music great once the band arrived — an overall good experience. The service was not the best: Had to keep reminding the younger waitress to bring things I had ordered, unfortunately. There was no cornbread and the «baked» macaroni & cheese should be BAKED, not Kraft/​boxed style. The waitress was also, although friendly, very difficult to understand and did not seem to comprehend English well. Also slightly overpriced. Again, overall I’m glad I was there, but as a fellow-​business owner, I would want someone to share how I could improve the service. SN: Can we add nuts to the carrot cake? :)
GLAD TO SEE A PLACE THAT IS KEEPING THE JAZZ MUSIC EXPERIENCE ALIVE! Will be back eventually to relax with another glass of that fabulous honey wine.

Let me start off by saying that I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THE MUSIC AND OPEN MIC! It was down to earth and everyone was so welcoming! They have something every Tuesday night and there is a $ 5 cover to get in. 5 stars for the entertainment.
I loved it until I ordered food. I had the chicken wings with fries and corn bread. IT WAS HORRIBLE! They literally just dropped frozen food into a fryer. Meat was dry, and cornbread tasted like paper mixed with cat litter and was slightly burnt. There was only one waitress who probably had a vocab of only 15 English words.
Here’s the part that bothered me the most.
I get my bill and it says $ 36.90. I ordered 3 things with friends so I did the math myself because $ 36 seemed kind of high and I added everything up to $ 30. I approached the waitress and she said I was wrong and that I didn’t include the $ 3 tax. EVEN If I ADDED $ 3 to $ 30 IT WOULDN’T COME OUT TO $ 36!!! After arguing about simple math she added it up and corrected herself. She brought back my receipt and said she overcharged my card by accident and gave me the difference. WOW! VERY SKETCHY! Point is, DO NOT order food and if you do, make sure you are not getting over charged.
Other than that, very talented people and perfect place to perform if it is your first time!

If you don’t wish to drive all the way to Fairfax but are in the mood for some Ethiopian, this is the place to go. And unlike most other Ethiopian places, this place seems to actually be a little better at customer service. It seems «normal» that there is a lot of waiting at Ethiopian restaurants; they are fast runners but slow servers. But, IC&J seems to have realized that some folks want their checks soon after they are done eating and occasional visits to replenish water (and injera) without hailing each request.
The vegetarian platter is pretty damn yummy, as is the chicken plate. And, you can usually cut the bill by buying a
coupon on your way over. And, if you go on the weekend late enough (~9pm), you may get to enjoy some local jazz. On the other hand, the jazz will take away your ability to have a talk and be heard – so keep that in mind if you wanted to not only share a platter but also conversation.
Bottom line: I’m not sure about others’ bad experiences with the food here – especially the Ethiopian, as I’ve been satisfied every time I’ve gone. It’s not as good as, say, Merkato, but it’s still pretty great. And, you can walk just down a few blocks to Coolhaus afterwards for a stellar ice cream sandwich.

They try to be very eclectic by hosting cultural musical events on different nights of the week and this is good. This is definitely worthy of five stars. A smart marketing move to get people from different interests from the community to come out.
However– the service is horrendous. I came here for an event called Tribal LA where i was invited to perform and i walked in with my coffee and my water. The server shoved a menu in my face and i told her i wasn’t hungry i just came to perform an go home and she gave me the dirtiest look, snatched the menu away from me and walked away. About 10 minutes later she comes back and tells me i have to finish drinking my coffee outside. I wanted to be like «Yo! Lady! I’m performing for your customers tonight as a favor to my friend and no one is paying me jack sh*t! I’m not asking you to get me a free glass of wine, a free beer. Nothing! Stop trying to sell me food. Leave me the f*ck alone and let me drink my damn coffee!
Two stars for the cool events. I know they have jazz some nights, other nights they have spoken word, other nights they have World music– this is awesome– but don’t treat me like I’m an a**hole just cause i don’t wanna buy anything– especially when there is a cover charge to get in! Or when i was asked by the organizers to give up my free time to entertain your guests for free.