The Cool Vibe at Blu Plate

Since October 2014, Blu Jazz has brought a cool new vibe to the Historic Arts District of downtown, with swinging shows from local, national and international performers. And while patrons could order Southern-inspired nibbles at the club, it wasn’t exactly a fine dining destination. That all changed last summer.

Blu Jazz converted its upstairs kitchen into Blu Plate, a chef-driven restaurant that provides its own fine dining experience and still sends plates to hungry listeners at the downstairs jazz club. “It definitely can be its own experience,” says General Manager Mike Hamad. 

The cleverly named Blu Plate builds on Blu’s reputation for a New Orleans-esque jazz experience by serving up Southern-inspired fare with Akron flair, like the Frenchmen Street Po’boy made Ohio-style with pommes frites tucked inside the seafood sandwich. Or the customer fave St. Louis-style stuffed pork chop that features house-made chipotle cornbread, smoked Gouda and an okra-tomato sauce drizzled overtop. Wash it down with a Prohibition-style French 75. 

Details like piano-shaped liquor shelving behind the bar and a wall plastered with playbills for hepcats like Lionel Hampton and Louis Armstrong bring the funky vibe upstairs from the club and remind you that this upscale restaurant is still all about that swing. 

With windows overlooking bustling Market Street, lunch or dinner at Blu Plate can add spice to a downtown adventure, with the bonus of a solo piano player on Fridays and Saturdays from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. But parlaying your visit into an entire evening comes with an incentive. “If you have tickets to the show and you make reservations to get dinner, we do a dinner and show package with a 15 percent discount on your bill in the restaurant,” Hamad says. That is one hot deal for a lot of cool music and spicy eats.