"For the uninitiated, Arthur's is a West Village institution and realistically one of the last places in the city where you can find good live music without sustaining hearing damage, melodic insult or a cover charge. The decor is befitting of an old jazz club that has been around since the '40s: dark, smoky, cramped and sporting a comical mix of holiday decorations (Christmas ornaments, New Year's banners, Easter bunnies) that stay up year round. Arthur's is not a club for the claustrophobic; they pack them in tighter than canned oysters, and expect a two-drink minimum while you enjoy two nightly sets. What would normally be considered an odd mix of customers - drag queens, tourists, frat boys and old jazz cats – is somehow status quo at Arthur's. Perhaps it is because everyone here appreciates a friendly jazz club that provides phenomenal live music without burning a hole in your pocket."

-- SHECKY'S BAR, CLUB & LOUNGE GUIDE: 2002

It's amazing there's no cover charge at this "quaint" jazz club, since the music's really "worth listening to", and despite some décor deficiencies, "that's all that matters"; expect lots of "old Village charm" and enough of a "laissez-faire" attitude to make its "touristy" crowd "happy."

--ZAGAT SURVEY: NEW YORK CITY NIGHTLIFE 2002

"Dixieland fans and New Yorkers who like a casual hangout flock to the hear the Grove Street Stompers at Arthur's in Greenwich Village, one of the last true city 'joints.' The six-piece Stompers have been wailing their hearts out [at Arthur's] for 39 years under the leadership of piano man Bill Dunham."

--WHERE MAGAZINE: NEW YORK CITY, DECEMBER 2002

“You remember the bar in the movie Star Wars?  Well, it was modeled on Arthur’s Tavern, or at least that is what I like to imagine.  This place is minuscule, raucous, chaotic, smoky, loud and a serious good-time joint with an infectious air of civilized anarchy.  It sports a jazz trio on a postage stamp stage, a sometime wandering trumpet player, waitresses you could only find in New York, and decor that consists of yellowing blowups of 20-year-old reviews and the dusty remains of last year’s Christmas decorations.  Tremendous fun!”

- Delta Airlines Sky Magazine

Eri Yamamoto Trio
Arthur’s Tavern. 6:30-9pm. FREE
You've gotta love a pianist who prefers rambunctious saloons to jazz clubs, and you have to love her even more when she does it with a mix of elegance and immediacy. And yet, what’s even more interesting about Japanese expat Eri Yamamoto’s regular gig at Arthur’s is that her trio manages to do all that while injecting some icy-cool subtlety into the mix -- and without coming off like party poopers. We strongly recommend searching out her aptly titled debut release, UP & Coming

-Jane Street