ShortList is supported by you, our amazing readers. When you click through the links on our site and make a purchase we may earn a commission. Learn more

Iconic Blue Note Jazz Club is coming to London

Watch out, Ronnie Scotts

Iconic Blue Note Jazz Club is coming to London

A Blue Note Jazz Club is set to open in London, after being granted a late license.

The Blue Note is one of the most famous jazz clubs in the world, its New York Greenwich Village venue a cultural icon in its own right. And we’re going to get out very own Blue Note in London.

It will join a slew of Blue Note Jazz Clubs, found as far afield as Tokyo and Milan.

The current plan is to open the Blue Note Jazz Club in Covent Garden, in the basement of the St Martin’s Lane hotel.

It’s set to open as a 350-capacity venue in early 2026, while Westminster council has granted a 1am late license, seven days a week.

This follows a tussle between the Blue Note crew and Westminster council, who initially wanted to impose a 11:30pm limit on weekdays, and a midnight one on Saturday.

That license was granted in February, but an appeal was launched, claiming the restrictions would make the venue “unviable”.

Rebuilding London's nightlife

We wrote about how the Westminster’s After Dark scheme could affect London nightlife back in March — designed to avoid the continued choking of the capital’s late night venues.

“As we prepare to open in early 2026, we're looking forward to bringing world-class jazz and a deep cultural legacy to one of the greatest music cities in the world,” says Blue Note Entertainment Group president Steven Bensusan.

“This is exactly the kind of venue we want to see more of in Westminster and which is encouraged in our After Dark strategy as part of a more varied evening and night time offer across the city,” local councillor Geoff Barraclough adds. “As a jazz lover I can’t wait to visit.”

The Blue Note Jazz Club will, with any luck, join Ronnie Scott’s and the Jazz Cafe as one of London’s premier music venues.

It should sit between the two in terms of audience capacity. We’ll keep an eye out for the venue’s first concert listings closer to its proposed opening.

Iconic Blue Note Jazz Club is coming to London