San Diego's Lafayette Hotel is dialing up the nostalgia with its latest venue, Lou Lou’s Jungle Room, which swings open its doors this Friday for a sold-out show featuring Thee Sacred Souls. The supper club and music venue brings back the historic Mississippi Room, now revamped, and is set to jive with traveling bands and local grooves, as reported by Eater San Diego.
With a desire to bring big names to the local scene, CH Projects founder Arsalun Tafazoli hopes that Lou Lou’s will become a magnet for notable acts that typically breeze past San Diego. The space, featuring a restored sunken hardwood dance floor and a clamshell stage from the 1940s, aligns perfectly with Tafazoli's vision, and The Casbah’s Tim Mays has been roped in to help set the rhythm with a curated lineup of performances scheduled from Thursday to Saturday, and occasionally, special events.
Not to be overshadowed by the tunes, the supper club's menu, orchestrated by chef Ted Smith, formerly of Born & Raised, dishes out chophouse-style meals on select show nights, including a standing residency with jazz maestro Gilbert Castellanos. Alicia Perry, Beverage Director, anticipates a sparkling champagne program alongside tableside cocktail service, aiming to quench the thirst of patrons looking for that extra splash of luxury.
In a nod to history, the room’s famed circular bar, made famous by a scene from the 1986 hit "Top Gun," serves up both glitz and simplicity with offerings like espresso martinis and saffron-infused gin and tonics while also handing out standard call drinks to those dropping in post-show. The watering hole is just a part of the broader ambition detailed by The San Diego Union-Tribune, which includes LouLou’s as one of the most anticipated new restaurant bars to grace San Diego this year.
As a new pearl in Lafayette Hotel's lineup, Lou Lou’s aims to deliver that Big Apple jazz club ambiance to University Heights with double-take-worthy décor and acoustics that will make every performance an intimate affair. Capacity tops out at 580 music and dining enthusiasts, ready to be swept off their feet, whether during an early dining set or a late lounge session. Guests looking to sink into those swingin' nights should keep their eyes peeled for the start of a uniquely rhythmic era at 2223 El Cajon Blvd., San Diego.
