Satchmo Blues Bar

Visited Satchmo’s tonight for the first time to see the Bobby Rodriguez Orchestra and get a much needed date night/​night out. From the moment we arrived, we knew we had made a great choice.
First off, the music was FANTASTIC! The band sounded amazing and they were in top form. Being able to hear Bobby croon some classics and some lesser knows oldies was a lot of fun, and the guest artist, Julie Davis was really amazing. These guys know and capture the big band sound!
The food was also excellent. We ordered the club sandwich. Nothing to get excited about, right? NO! Neither of us could get over how tasty this simple club sandwich was. I highly recommend it.
Drinks? Best Sapphire Martini I have ever had. Ever.
All in all the atmosphere was awesome and the entertainment top notch.
There are TWO things that kept me from giving Satchmo’s 5 stars.
1) Parking: In the parking lot, parking on the edges is free, parking on the center island is metered 24 hours. There is no real signage unless you actually read the meter (which no one does after sundown anyways), so we didn’t realize that the meter was being checked until a $ 30 ticket was left on our window. Seriously? For $ 2.50 in meter costs I am now on the hook for $ 30? The bar should remind people at the door of this fact… even though it is not technically their responsibility, it IS their lot, it is their customers, and it would be a nice thing for them to let their patrons know.
2) Uniforms: The uniforms in this jass/​blues bar look more like a Hooters or cheap sports or country bar. Tight tank tops with the bar logo and tight, short black hot pants. Not really an outfit that bespeaks jazz or blues to me. There should have been more thought put into this… they seem to have thought of everything else.
Anyways…we loved the place and plan on going back… probably sooner as opposed to later… espescially if the BRO is playing again!

Ohhhhh… Satchmo. I really really really REALLY want to love you…
I LOVE JAZZ AND BLUES! lord knows there aren’t enough places to enjoy music in south Florida that aren’t nntss nntss or Latin.
But there’s just so many issues here, that I end up back at old faithful down the street. I’m hoping it’s just growing pains and not a permanent thing. The servers are great — very nice and on top of things, but it’s the little details that make an experience great.
Where to start?
The food… Wow. A little work and TLC and the food could be really good, but the 5 times we’ve been there it’s been pretty, well, not good. A salad with vinaigrette shouldn’t consist of just lettuce and vinegar. Grilled fish shouldn’t have freezer burn. Etc etc etc. The descriptions are better than the reality.
The bands… Yowza. Call and check before you drive out — we’ve been several times and the band playing was not the band listed. If I think I’m coming out to see a classic jazz band and I get there and it’s Jimi Hendrix cover band … Well, I’ve just driven from miami for that. Not that I don’t love Jimi, but you get the idea. On that same note, when the band starts playing and 3 songs into the set the place is clearing out you might reconsider your booking policies.
The bathroom… 1 stall in a giant ladies room? Really? That space has enough room for at least one more stall.
SOOOOO much potential, and I WANT to love this place. Please fix these issues.

Awesome! The waitstaff is very very attentive! The live music is really really great! And if you go get there early enough to catch the comedy show before the music the guy is frickin hilarious! And the food is awesome tooo! It’s not typical bar food!!!

Satchmo Blues Bar just opened tonight, October 14^th, 2011. I didn’t even know it was here, but I was downstairs enjoying a delicious sauerbraten dinner at Fritz and Franz Bierhaus when I heard some very good blues/​jazz coming from the upstairs. Upon going upstairs I was greeted with a complimentary glass of champagne along with some delightful conversation with other guests of Satchmo Blues Bar’s opening night.
Overall, I must say that I was both impressed with the décor and the atmosphere of the newly redecorated establishment. No doubt, somebody tossed some big bucks into the place. To me it spells and obvious and clear effort to make not only the establishment but the location to succeed as a hub for local as well as tourist dinning and entertainment.
I was particularly impressed by the fact that, though the owner/​operator of Fritz and Franz Bierhaus is the same as Satchmo, the dinning menu is rather different. Yes, they have the BierPretzl and the Apfelstrudel as they do downstairs but beyond that they also have spicy chicken wings, a Satchmo burger, Louisiana fish fry, Jambalaya and a few other bar menu goodies.
The entertainment they had, which will change frequently, was definitely top notch.
One thing I would question, however, is whether or not anybody under 30 years of age has any idea who Satchmo was? I spoke with one 25 year old when at the bar and though he was a blues/​jazz fan, he had not idea. Hence I find the name of the place strange because the younger people have no association with it and as for the older people (like me), most of them are in bed (or a nursing home) long before anything gets happening.
Stopping in for a second time, except much later at night, I did find the place packed and with an age range that would in fact know or be able to identify with the legendary Satchmo.
In all, I was very pleased and not only wish but hope they have every success in the future.