I had been anxious for Lou Lou’s Supper Club (formerly the Mississippi Room) at the Lafayette Hotel to open. The neon sign beckoned me with the bright red lights that glowed through the glass block and spilled out onto El Cajon Boulevard.
When it finally did open this Spring, I went online in March to get tickets for a Sunday night show. I was sooooo excited to experience an old fashioned supper club with live music and cocktails. The inside did not disappoint! Like the rest of the Lafayette Hotel, it was an eclectic ADHD fantasy.
The jungle theme was evident even in the light fixtures:
Each piece of wall art screamed out for attention.
And that golden bandshell at the end of the dance floor!
Wow!
Two snakes encircled the name of the club.
Unfortunately, the evening was a bust for me. The email confirmation I received when I booked my reservation had this to say:
Absolutely thrilled you're joining us. In the spirit of crafting an unforgettable experience tailored just for you, we've got a quick favor to ask. If you're navigating the culinary world with any food allergies or dietary preferences, do us a solid and shoot an email our way. This way, we can tweak your experience to perfection. We'll manually update our guest lists to ensure your adventure with us is as smooth and delightful as possible. Cheers to you.
For an 8pm show, we were to arrive at 6pm. Two hours to wait for the show to start? Not really an issue; with a cocktail followed by dinner, that should make for a relaxing evening.
It was easy to get a table by the stage; but it was difficult to read the menu with the dim lighting. Having skipped lunch that day, I was hungry and anxious to see the culinary treats that awaited us.
I noticed that the menu had nothing but beverages; no food. When the waitress arrived, I immediately inquired about getting a food menu. “Oh, we don’t serve dinner for the Sunday night show.”
“Ex-squeeze me? The email specifically stated to let the Club know ahead of time about any dietary restrictions.”
The lady at the table next to us whipped her head around like Linda Blair in, “The Exorcist,” adding, “Yeah, we got the same email!”
The waitress calmly replied, “Yeah, the team needs to fix the communication. Sorry. I can save your table for you though if you want to leave the hotel and grab something to eat.”
One tasty (albeit overpriced) cocktail later, we decided to skip the show and get dinner at Beginner’s Diner.
Note: make sure to check out the bathrooms at Lou Lou’s.
Real matchbooks!
That kinda makes up for the overpriced cocktails.
Will I go back? Yes, but you can bet your sweet bippy I’ll confirm that dinner is being served ahead of time!
See more Lafayette Hotel photos at my main website.
Either way, I'm happy you made it. I would have never known if not for you. I lucked out and walked in one night unaware of the need for reservations. Agreed, too dark. I needed glasses AND a flashlight to find out there was no food but in our case the server suggested we order from upstairs and bring it down. Well,... That seemed odd but okay. I wouldn't expect management to really support that statement so we just ate at the cafe as well. Still, that entire room. It's like something from a movie set, but it's all real. Surreal, even.
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