Industry Cafe & Jazz

12/05/10

great african music! great food!

by lindsey21188 at Citysearch

great night to go out with friends or on a date.

07/28/10

Amazing Experience

by codybriggs at Citysearch

So i had my birthday party dinner here in July 2010 and really can't even describe how amazing the experience was.

We were a group of about 22 who took up the majority of the entire joint. The staff set us up with the best spot in the house with the band right there. The whole evening we were fairly loud as we were having a wonderful time and it was never a problem. Even when the band was playing we were not asked to hush but just allowed to enjoy the beautiful setting.

The staff was completely accommodating. Even to the point of when a cake was brought out for me, not only did provide the necessary serving utensils but the waitress helped serve it and pass out. I mean, nobody does that. I know my all my friends loved it and will plan on having future events there.

And the food was wonderful. I have had a decent amount of etheopian food and enjoy it and will recommend the soul food over it here, but all in all you cant go wrong.

I wish these people the best success and hope you read this and decide to take a chance to go out and support them.

Really nice manager named Adrien will make sure you are taken care of.

• Pros: staff, music, accomodating, mac'n'cheese, sweet potatoes
• Cons: not full liquor liscence

05/30/09

Off the beaten track

by Sherri323 at Citysearch

This is a GREAT restaurant in the art walk district of Culver City. Ethiopian food was great and they had a terrific jazz combo. Relaxed and easy - you can bring kids. The owner is terrific. Food is a little slow coming out of the kitchen but worth being patient - just come and relax! Great street to walk and explore too.

• Pros: awesome food, great music
• Cons: takes a little while for food

06/23/08

Perfect Blend of Cultures

by Noel16 at Citysearch

I love Industry Cafe` and Jazz. The combination of authentic delicious Ethiopian/Eritrean cuisine at a very reasonable price with the enjoyable jazz atmosphere is really what this city needed. I was getting tired of the walking into overated "exotic" restaurants that do not offer much in terms of ambiance other than mediocre food at unimaginable prices. This place invites incredibly talented jazz groups to perform at no cover charge to the customer (only a tip jar), and the personnel is very friendly and delightful. One small advise, when you go to this place and order a traditional East African food, please try to eat it the food with your hands (no utensils) the way the East African do (after thoroughly washing their hands of course)....it really adds to the flavor of the food. Other than that I recommend this place to anyone, whether you are a jazz lover or just want to take your date in a nice and inexpensive romantic spot.

03/01/08

A Very Disappointing Turn

by superfurry at Citysearch

The Industry Cafe has been open for a couple of years now and in that time I've visited no less than 6 or 7 times. I've always been delighted by the combination of a relaxed atmosphere, typically great live music (with no cover) and authentic Ethiopian food (also beer & wine) at very reasonable prices. After my experience last night, it seems clear that a change has occurred for the worse. First, the menu has changed in such a way that the cost of a meal for 2 people has doubled. A platter with 2 meats and vegetarian stews that once cost about $14 now costs over $30 since you have to actually order 3 dishes to recreate the platter. Honestly, I could have overlooked this since their food was indeed very cheaply priced. But what really put me over the edge was the bottle of wine. We ordered a bottle of white wine (no wine menu to speak of)... we were served a bottle of Charles Shaw sauvignon blanc (a marginally drinkable wine -- $2.99 at any Trader Joes)... and at the end of the evening our bill read $25 for the 1 bottle. Whoa!! I'd been thinking about it during our dinner: what price would be reasonable for this bottle in a restaurant? $18? $20? Yeah maybe... but $25? That's just sad. If you're going to aggressively gouge your customer on wine at least have the decency to go fetch something obscure so the illusion remains that you care about your customer's sensibilities. Word.