The Blue Llama Jazz Club

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

Where the Music Sets the Table

On South Main Street in downtown Ann Arbor, the Blue LLama Jazz Club & Restaurant runs on a simple conviction: great food and great jazz belong in the same room. Proprietor Don Hicks — who takes the stage himself for late-night sets of jazz standards — has built a venue where the calendar fills with serious musicians and the kitchen keeps pace with them.

The Music

Five nights a week, the Blue LLama presents working jazz artists from the Detroit–Ann Arbor corridor and beyond. The programming ranges from hard-swinging post-bop — Jordan VanHemert's Korean American voice in the contemporary tradition, Kasan Belgrave carrying the torch for Detroit's jazz collective — to the deep blues sensibility of James Gaiters, who has played the Village Vanguard and leads his own ensembles MUV-MeNT and SoulRevival. Past performers documented in the club's gallery include Don Was & the Pan-Detroit Ensemble and Grammy-nominated vocalist Tierney Sutton. Most ticketed sets run in two sittings, giving the room a proper concert feel without sacrificing the dinner experience.

The Kitchen

Chef de Cuisine Scot Livingston describes the menu as seasonally inspired and designed for sharing, "rooted in New American tradition" and crafted to "echo the rhythm and richness of the music performed on stage each night." That's not an idle claim. Small plates like the Crispy Duck Confit with sauerkraut duxelles and cherry-tobacco conserve, or the Salt + Pepper Calamari with benne seed dressing and ginger scallion oil, show a kitchen comfortable with bold, layered flavors. Large plates span from Pappy Ellis's Red Beans & Rice — ham hocks, andouille, Carolina Gold rice — to a Slow Roasted Lamb Collar with eggplant, dates, olives, and ras el hanout, and a Grilled New York Strip Loin with sunchoke confit and red wine-bacon jus. The Caribbean influence surfaces in dishes like the Big Ten Onion Burger finished with bajan green seasoning fries, and in cocktails such as the Little Sunflower, built on Planteray rum with saffron and coconut.

The Wine List

The wine program earned Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence in 2024, and a glance at the list explains why. Champagne runs from grower producers like Fourny & Fils and Joël Falmet through to vintage Bruno Paillard. Old World whites include Didier Dagueneau's Pouilly-Fumé bottlings and aged Chablis Premier Cru; the red selection moves through serious Burgundy, multiple vintages of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Barolo, Amarone, and a thoughtfully curated New World section anchored by Williams Selyem and Kosta Browne Pinot Noirs. It is a list assembled with genuine care, not afterthought.

The Room

The Blue LLama is available for private parties and corporate events, and the space accommodates outdoor seating when the season allows. For a room that does this much — live jazz, fine American dining with Caribbean accents, a wine list that earns national recognition — it remains an unpretentious place to spend an evening on Main Street.