Jazz Live At The Crypt

Intimate jazz venue in the crypt of St. Giles’ Church, nice staff, nice food nice drinks. Get there early or reserve a table if you want seats at the front. Utterly recommended.
Food rotates depending on the evening. This past week was lebanese, but in the past I have had Italian as well
How to get to St. Giles Church in Camberwell for people across the river:
From East London: Overground to Denmark Hill Station, walk down the hill to Camberwell Church st. is 10 mins. Alternately, there is a bus 35/​N35 from Shoreditch
From elsewhere: Tube to Vauxhall or Elephant & Castle, switch for bus to Camberwell Green or St. Giles
Taxi: about 15 – 20 minutes from central london depending on traffic
Note: the staff will assertively shush loud talkers during performance times

Summary:
+ Secret underground dungeon jazz club
+ Weird but awesome
+ Hard to find
Overall:
This is a great secret underground jazz club situated in a crypt of a church in Camberland, South London. Yes. It’s a crypt, a cellar, underground. But it’s also a jazz venue.
It’s a very small and intimate venue. Everything from the dark, dingy space and pieces art on the walls gives this small venue a underground (in every sense) feel.
This place feels like a perfect setting for jazz. I’ve only been here once but I loved the experience.
When I went there, their official website was practically non-​existent. There were postings about this place on third party websites and jazz bulletin boards. I had to piece together these info, identify the name of church, and then locate their address on map. And then it was a crypt, located at the side of a church. It was pretty dark. So it was really hard to find. The whole journey added mystery element to the experience. It was not once during the journey that I questioned if this unicorn land actually exists or I was fallen into some kind of trap that lures people into this parallel world.
Luckily, I found the place and can confirm that the place does exist. I believe they only have music on certain nights of the week. They seem to have a proper website now, which has all the usual information including their address!
Their food looked really good but I had eaten beforehand so I can’t review that element.
It’s also best to get there early to get good seats.
My only problem is that this place is very far from the part of London I am based.
If it were closer, I would definitely go more often. But then if it were, it would be discovered and be packed with tourists and people and tourists and tourists and more tourists. How many tourists? Yes, that’s a lot of them. So maybe it’s best to keep this venue in the abyss of time and space as it is.
(Sorry people from that part of London. It’s just pretty far from where I am.)

London has lamentably few good Jazz venues compared to most world cities. More than any other musical form, the right atmosphere is utterly crucial to appreciating great Jazz. One of the best places to listen to Jazz is underground! Add to this the fact that no-​one who just want to be ‘seen’ in a Jazz club is likely to trek beyond Camden or Soho to do so, and this makes The Crypt a shining exception to the otherwise unremarkable London music scene.

The Crypt, hands down, is probably one of the best jazz clubs in London. While other more famous places seem intent on sullying the good name of jazz, the Crypt offers a good «stripped to basics» experience that I think most would enjoy.
Having been set up by a church minister with a strong fondness for Jazz, the Crypt resides in the basement of a church. Of course, the classic smoky jazz-​bar element has changed a bit due to the smoking ban, but one can truly cop a feel for that odd «David Lynch» romantic notion of what a jazz club ought to be; dark, dingy, edgy, and with high leveled spirits being sloshed about the place (in a very dignified way of course).
Being a jazz geek, I have come to love this place. The tables are intimately gather round the centre stage and the music is usually pretty spot on for the environment (none of the cheesy crap you’ll hear at Ronnie Scott’s and the likes). Unfortunately for me, I have yet to eat here so I cannot pass judgment on the food (largely vegetarian), but it’s there if you fancy it. Even if it’s not your bag, I think you’ll still manage to enjoy the setting and the atmosphere.

Even if you don’t like jazz, you’ll appreciate the Crypt. It’s one of my favourite places to go to, and introduce to others.
Deep underneath the gothic St Giles church, whose steeple towers over bustling Camberwell, is JazzLive, every Friday night in the church’s crypt.
Wooden tables and pews are grouped around a corner stage where jazz bands from around the world perform. The space is like a grotto. Its nooks and crannies are filled with jazz lovers, art students and anyone else lucky enough to have found it. Even the vicar makes occasional appearances, serving drinks with his dog collar on.
Get there early and you can sample hearty vegetarian meals from the small on-​site kitchen hidden beside the bar at the back.
Camberwell Crypt’s hand-​painted walls and haphazard décor help it retain a homespun feel, and stay true to its historic roots. The fact it was partly funded by a pile of old coins left by a mystery donor just adds to its appeal. This crypt is eerie with its darkened corners, candlelight and an inaccessible occupied tomb lurking behind the bar.
Camberwell has no tube station, but the Crypt, one of London’s hidden gems, is well worth a visit.

Even if you’re not keen of jazz this is a great place to hang out on a Friday night. Popular with students from Camberwell Art College and locals, the church has a weekly jazz night each Friday in the crypt of the church.
Each week a different band visits the venue and performs a few sets throughout the evening from 9:30 until around 1 a.m. The venue opens at 8 with a small restaurant serves good value food, and a bar sells cheapish beer, wine and spirits including absinthe.
Its £6 to get in (discounts for concessions) and its recommended you get there before ten since its a small venue and normally operates a one in one out policy later in the night.
Recommended!