The Dark Room @ The Grandel
Lovely spot for a drink and enjoy jazz. Great ambiance. Food could be improved though. Boneless wings were good, but the steak was not great value and the fries were not crispy at all (bummer).
Always enjoy the music here and they accommodate the people who are eating and not just drinking also.
Fantastic!
Food was good and the service was decent. It got busy pretty quickly and I think our server was stretched thin. She also wasn't overly friendly but it wasn't bad. The jazz trio was fairly loud for the time of evening we were there and lots of people dining.
This place could be great but it is not after several visits. Really slow service. You feel forgotten. You have to wait and wait. This has been at each of our visits consistently slow service. The menu never changes and there are never any specials. Menu is extremely limited. Only a few items and again it never changes. Music is typically too loud to have a conversation during the meal. Saturday the piano was so loud you could not hear the vocals. We have season tickets to the Fox so we stop in here before. I wish this wonderful venue could live up to it but each time we give it a shot we are completely disappointed. Someone needs to inject some creativity and energy and better service and food to keep this establishment in business very soon. On a recent Saturday evening - this place had very few patrons.
Dinner for two with a couple of drinks ran $100. Food was so-so, drinks were so-so, the best part of the Dark Room was the pianist.
Live music was great, drinks were tasty and the service was excellent.
We have eaten at the Dark Room many times in the last year , although our server was very attentive,
the kitchen was slow in preparation and the food not as good as previous dinners.
Also the musical group was terrific but the music was much too loud for early dining.
They only have 5 main entrees on the entire menu and they were out of the one my husband ordered. We dined early so I don't understand how that could happen. Also, we had reserved seating that happened to be right in front of the piano. When the live music began, we could no longer enjoy our dinner and conversation as the music was deafening. I won't be returning.
Visited the venue from out of town. I booked a reservation for a show. I called a couple days in advance to check my reservation. They were unable to find it. I reserved for the wrong day! Karen was SO nice. I explained we would be visiting from out of town, and she was able to get us seats!! The food was delicious. The waitstaff was excellent! If you enjoy libations, you can order with confidence. The Will Harris performance was beyond great. Probably hands down one of the best evenings I've had.
Been working a lot so wanted to take my wife out for a nice evening with dinner and live music could not have picked a better place
Super cool atmosphere with a great bar selection and diverse but relatable menu.
I was pretty satisfied with our waiter, food and drinks. I was not happy that I was facing the bar instead of the stage/performers. The music is a bit too loud for such a small place, but overall the experience was good.
I can’t overstate how much I enjoyed the food, the service and the entertainment. This is a class act establishment for the STL. I truly appreciate venues that understand the need for such ambience?
Brunch before a show in the theatre. Great place, great vibe. Food was good but all of ours was overcooked and therefore a bit dry
Not alot of vegetarian options during brunch. Only downfall is it becomes noisey when there is a show next door and the lines are in the restaurant
Janet Evra is always fantastic and is a wonderful performer. The Dark Room is an intimate venue that’s perfect for jazz. Food is first class and drinks are reasonably priced. Great value and a gem in St. Louis’s entertainment crown.
Dinner before symphony. Need a few more choices on menu.
Service, food and entertainment were great. Went before a show and it was too light - needed to turn down the lights.
I've been to this venue multiple times but never for music and dinner. The atmosphere is really chill and mature. It was a quiet night but overall I had a good time!
First time customers to the Dark Room. The ambience was relaxing and enjoyable; music was tremendous. The food was good and reasonably priced. However, the waiter was not personable at all and very seldom did he check back with us. He wasn’t rude, just too the point and not friendly, sociable or welcoming. We will return with friends to give the restaurant another chance; just hope for a different server.
We had a reservation BUT were put at the last table literally next to the door that the band was entering for set up AND it was very cold. The door opened many many times.
Service was slow. Food was cold (no one even checked on us). Waited over 20 min for our bill and then had to ask for it. No one came back to get it so I had to take it to the bar myself to pay. Not hood. Will not recommend.
The Dark Room venue and food are always amazing. They changed up the menu but have kept a few of our favorites. My steak was excellently prepared. My wife’s Club sandwich and fresh made chips were outstanding. We got to hear some great piano music in the hour we were there.
If you like Jazz and a relaxing atmosphere, the Dark Room is perfect. Great swinging band of jazz and blues with great staff and the atmosphere of the place is great!
Really great place to see a band. Food was good and not too expensive. Free parking in the back was a real plus.
BRUNCH, with Janet Evra! Outstanding couple hours mid day Sunday
Great way to start New Year's Eve, with dinner and music with Janet Evra. The pre-fixe menu covered our tastes, very well. And ended with a sampling of all three desserts. Janet Evra and her group gave us a great show. Happy New Year
Dennis- Thank you so much for the positive review, we are so glad you spent your New Years with us! All of your feedback will be shared with the staff and we hope to see you soon. Cheers!
We've been here before and it was great, but the menu has changed radically. Gone are the flatbreads, briskets, and pasta. In their place, we have cold sandwiches, grilled cheese, and spaghetti. My wife and I both ordered the spaghetti and found it pretty much tasteless, the meatballs were badly overcooked and could not be sliced with a fork (it took some sawing with a knife to get through). There was live piano music, but it was excessively loud.
Fox theatre
Not good - food was boring and tasteless; service was mediocre; menu selection was far less than what was shown on line; piano was great but loud
My first visit (visiting from San Diego, CA), hope to visit again!
Best jazz value in St. Louis, with great food and service! The bar is a bit limited, but the jazz makes up for it in an intimate space.
Pre symphony. Great location. Keep dinner music easy listening.
PTAH WILLIAMS Friday Happy Hour dinner a great experience and value. We enjoyed food, drink and service and especially Ptah Williams at the piano, before our concert at the Symphony across the street.
I rated the food low but they are re-doing their menu. They totally rock because even though the egg plant was inedible (VERY salty) they took that off the bill and brought me Salmon and only charged half price for that. They had a guy there playing guitar - REALLY cool atmosphere! These folks are great they just need a bit of time to figure out the new dishes.
We have eaten at The Dark Room several times and this time, the food was terrible. The spaghetti was cold and the meatballs were hard. I ordered Lemon Brine chicken which turned out to be a chicken breast smothered in bbq sauce.
WONDERFUL, WE WILL RETURN, THE TOMATO SOUP AND GRILLED CHEESE WAS PERFECT ON THAT VERY CHILLY NIGHT
We absolutely loved the music and the room. A terrific place to go on Sunday morning and enjoy jazz. Our server was very professional and gracious. However, the food was uneven in quality. Hopefully it was just an off day in the kitchen. We'll likely try again because of the music, room and service.
Not good - inattentive service and problems with the food. My husband and I both had steak and eggs. Steak was supposed to be medium rare. First time they were both well done and the second time they were both nearly raw. Chef needs to learn how to properly cook steak. Eggs were not much better - scrambled eggs were barely scrambled and overcooked and eggs over medium were overcooked too. And we had to wait a long time for food because they forgot to heat up the grill. Should have discounted our food due to the experience. That didn’t happen either. On the plus side, nice ambiance and live music. May go back for drinks and music but certainly not for food.
FAQs
The Dark Room @ The Grandel is rated 4.3 stars by 269 OpenTable diners.
Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable. Due to local restrictions, this restaurant may not be accepting reservations at the moment.