Cotton Club

Came in with our tour group to watch jazz and enjoy dinner after a day of site seeing. The team put on a great show for us and invited the guests to come up and play with them. Several kids and teachers participated and ended the evening with great music.

Buffet style food for our large group. Good food and service was fast and pilot.

Highly recommend.

Very excited to have the opportunity to hear the artists perform in such a legendary place. They are open on Saturday & Monday nights, and I believe they may be in the process of bringing back their Sunday brunch. My friend made the reservation, and they have an old fashioned, pen and paper, system. And the only way to contact is via email on their website. Needless to say, plan in advance. The inside was put together fine, you can tell there is need for updating the decor and fixing a few items.

The musicians were phenomenal, they were engaging and each of their songs kept you moving. During their break, we were able to directly talk with them about their experiences and how things have evolved there at the Cotton Club. They were playing upon our arrival around 8:30, took an intermission around 10 and then played for another hour until 11. There were only two other tables that evening, I think around 9 people total. I was shocked at that as well.

I found the temperature to be a bit chilly and it was even worse in the lady's restroom. The men's room had a space heater...so not really sure how that worked out? One of the hand air dryers on the wall was almost falling off as well. Needless to say, I was sad to see the disrepair the building was in when such talent individuals were on stage that evening.

god bless the cotton club - i am from 118th street off of lexington avenue - joe nania born on saturday morning december 20 1952 at parkside hospital on 110th street across the street from the north side of central park

The Cotton Club is a hidden gem in Harlem. I went on a Saturday night and they offered a variety of foods. Covid vaccinations were checked at the door. There was a cover charge of $25 but it was added to our bill instead which I thought was convenient. The band playing was excellent and so friendly to new comers. They were fun to watch and the interaction between the band and the audience was great. I recommend passing by The Cotton Club and showing love to a Harlem staple.

Wonderful joint. I took my cousins from out of town there for a tour of the nightlife. They were thrilled to look at the photographs on the wall. It was a last-minute decision after the Harlem street naming ceremony for my grandma Fannie Pennington. The owner Mr. Beatty was a gentleman as usual and extremely accommodating. Thanks, Mr. Beatty.

The advertised Gospel Brunch was a sad/bizarre affair. The main space was set up as a dining room with candles, tablecloths, cloth napkins. Sure it had cracked walls and a water damaged ceiling but I had some hope that the musical atmosphere would compensate. Not so fast - the next hour plus was something out of the Twilight Zone. We were ignored by the staff (perhaps embarrassed as we were the only two customers in the entire place?) and sat alone, unattended from noon until 1. Served ourselves at the buffet around 12:15. Food was decent but the unwelcoming vibe threw us off. I googled reviews and history of the place while sitting there and discovered the gospel music start time was 1. A little after 1pm, three new people entered, one went on stage and tinkered around a bit. It was then we knew it was time to scram - after a brief search mission, finally tracked down the sole waiter, got the check, and left hastily, realizing that if we hadn't left at that moment, we would have had to pull it together to engage with the musicians and all our energy had been drained.

We went to the Gospel Brunch on Mother's Day. The food was good, but limited. They did not have all the promised buffet items and the (non-alcoholic) drink selection is severely limited. Unfortunately, the service was awful. Dismissive, rude and the man who handed out plates at the buffet was downright mean/abusive. I'm not a delicate flower, but being yelled at whilst trying to give my mom an awesome Mother's Day experience almost had me in tears. If you want customers to handle the buffet line in a specific way , provide them with instructions - don't yell at them because they step out of the designated area without telling them about the designated area. We enjoyed this experience only because of the awesome band fronted by the lovely and amazing Helen Slade. There are other gospel brunches in the city and I highly recommend you attend one of those. Do not go here. I only hope Helen and her band can find a place more deserving of their talents.

So sad the overall reviews for this place are bad-this place is incredible and should not be missed. It is a true journey stepping back into history-the place is very dated but in a good way the type of place an old school Jazz Club should be! You can feel like Duke Ellington is still coming to play when you walk in the doors. Cab Calloway and Ellington played at the original cotton club more downtown years ago along with many other famous dancers and musicians. It is dark lighting inside and all red with tables scattered throughout and all seats are a good view of the stage since it isn't a large place. I attended a fundraiser event at the club and the food was fantastic! It was buffet style with multiple cold salads, two chicken dishes, beans, salmon, broccoli, collard greens corn bread, biscuits and so much more. All the food tasted fresh and delicious with so many options for a buffet. They also had a full service bar for alcohol. The servers were polite and very responsive-they were consistent and very friendly. The emcee was entertaining and fun while the house Jazz band was superb-what an amazing group of musicians wow so talented and they played many familiar jazz standards like Take the A train. The two guest singers were great as well and the audience was really into the show. This is truly a hidden gem I wouldn't miss-it truly makes you feel like you are stepping back in time.

Came here for brunch in January. Food is buffet style. It included cold tuna pasta salad, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, corn bread, eggs and grits, etc. We got there at noon; music started at 1pm, lasted until 2pm.

I feel it is important to share the cost here, because I don't feel it was well advertised on website. It was $43.50 per person. This is just for the buffet...it does not include any drinks, even non-alcoholic ones. Plus, for our table of four, there was a $55.00 entertainment fee.

Our band this day was a pianist, a bass guitarist, a drummer, and a singer.

Glad to know I have been to this historic New York City site, but I see no reason for me to return.

If you are looking for the "Original Cotton Club" you are in the wrong place. It is out in the middle of No Where away from the heart of Harlem.

We went on a Monday Night The Band was a TEN. The dancers were a Ten. The reason for a low review. The place is a little run down for being a newer establishment. I am OK with being in a DIVE if it is authentic. Secondly when the band took a break, the lead trumpeter (who was a fantastic musician) started to pedal his personal CD's with high pressure. Most bands will mention they have CD's for sale, but don't come to my table and push me.

Over all we had a great night that was ruined by one bad act.

NEVER AGAIN