Cafe Nine

Love this place! It’s on the fringes of a classy rock n’ roll dive bar, but it’s the perfect place to see live music. Small stage, intimate setting, great selection of beer & booze. I’ve seen a lot of amazing acts there over the years. Good stuff! — Hey Ho, Let’s Go!

Great place if you are into live music and New talents I would highly recommend this place. Great place

Local talent, indie bands, major recording artists, jazz and blues jams, comedy, burlesque and more — café nine is the spot to see it all, seven days a week. Consistently top notch entertainment.
I’m a regular here, and that’s highest praise I can give any business.

This is a great place for us to hang out after work to commiserate and enjoy the atmosphere and bar staff. Kris and Jamie are absolutely fantastic and treat everyone who enters like they’ve known them for years. I like coming here and the beer selection is excellent! I’ve enjoyed the performances although I don’t frequent Café 9 for that reason. I mainly come right after work for some brews and good service from the outstanding staff who appreciate us. Well done!

While I like an authentic dive bar with quality music and gritty atmosphere this place was a $hithole and not because of the location or the facilities but because of the attitude of everyone employed at the place. They try too hard to ensure their don’t give a f%$& attitude defines the space. For a place that charges a cover to see live music on a weeknight this place sure doesn’t have much business or room to put off potential business. The acts coming through here can be seen elsewhere for free. They also call themselves the musicians living room which is a complete misnomer as they don’t offer musicians anything. See you never.

This place is awesome. It’s a fun bar to hangout with friends and meet new people. Before you go double check to see how much it will be to get in so you can have cash on hand, it may depend on who’s performing. It was a great place for drinks and to listen to some good music. Definitely going back!

Love this little gem. Love the music, yummy pizza, and awesome bartender! Happy hour is a must. Perfect for a chill night of beer drinking and live music. Check it out!

Every time I come here I remember how much I LOVE that blonde cocktail waitress ! And just as I already thought she was fabulous on the floor — I then saw her perform and my heart exploded!!! She makes that place worth going to!!! Defiantly coming for the next show!

Saw Midge Ure Saturday night. Great bar. Best waitress. Good sound. Good drink service. Walked down the street for cocktails during the opening act — arrived back in time for Midge Ure plenty of room — not oversold. Plenty of free and paid parking near by. Easy in and out of New Haven.

My friend and I discovered this tiny little «hole in the wall» looking place (except it’s fantastic) when we saw Eilen Jewell there. It was an awesome experience, and, like others said, the acoustics are solid. Since, we have been back a handful of times and have always left happy. As an audiophile, I’m happy this little place exists because they have some great non-​mainstream type of music. We were there to see Eric Lindell which was another awesome show, great music, and good service! Sara, the server, is a cool, fun, and inviting person, tip her well!
It’s a tiny place and it gets packed so if you want to find a seat during a show, go early.
I’ll be going back soon… like next week!

Great place to see a rock show. Small, intimate space with a dive bar feel. Great acoustics. I will definitely see another show here.

Supremely divey, which isn’t always a bad thing, but they’re really only worth going to if A: you wanna get drunk for cheap or B: you know the band that’s playing. The typical crowd here is 50+ ex-​bikers on nights without bands, so if that’s your scene, you’ll probably have a good time here any night of the week.

Classic neighborhood bar. Kind of a dive bar feel, but clean and mellow. Great mix of people, always interesting conversation. Staff is amazing — Dan, Mike, Sara, Über, Noah — all great peeps. Live music every day and happy hour is full of specials and free food. Seen some great shows and had some fantastic nights here. If you’re cool, you’ll enjoy.

This a small bar with a small stage where small bands perform. Its on a corner and is next to a parking lot which is a good look for a bar. When I went they were barbecuing cheese burgers for free. They mix the performers vocals too low. It’s an okay place.

Great, intimate space to see a show! Drove from Providence to see The Dictators here and it was worth the trip. It’s tiny… REALLY tiny. You walk in and it’s basically one room with half of it being the bar, and it gets crowded so not for claustrophobes. No all ages shows, strictly 21+, no food so eat before the show (plenty in the area), a bit of a dive… but great, no frills, no nonsense place for pure rock and roll. Loved it! Will definitely be going back.

Slammin’ tunes and an intimate place,
The acoustics will put a smile on your face.
Impressive beers at a reasonable price,
The décor and exposed brick look really nice.
Great place with great local music. The sound quality is great, aside from a few squealing microphones.
$ 3 PBR bottles and Naragansett tall boy cans for the budget-​conscious and nice $ 5 craft beers for the beer connoisseur. Table service is provided to ensure your glass is never empty.
There may be a cover, so check the website. I will continue to visit this place and keep the CT music scene alive.

If I lived in New Haven, I would come here for probably every show that they put on. Even though I live in the Hartford area, I will still try to make this my newest dive bar/​music venue. In my opinion, this place is so great mainly because it’s small and intimate (allows you to get up real close to the bands)!
I had heard a lot about Café Nine for a while… as a Manic Productions goer during high school, I had seen their name around but four years as Storrs made me lazy to venture to New Haven.
I am SO GLAD I finally went last week! I saw Dignan Porch, this incredible British hazy dream garage rock pop band (think a mix between Born Ruffians and Real Estate) and oh my god did I have a blast. I freaking love dive bars and especially dive bars that play good music (my fave used to be The Pit in Collinsville… more formally known as The Fireplace) and serve good beer! Cheers to the doorwoman as well!
Please check out Dignan Porch, I would not be surprised if they are the next Modest Mouse. Café Nine, you’re the best!

What a fantastic live music venue! I came here for the first time last night to see You Scream I Scream and Girl in a Coma — the music & crowd were fun and high energy, the divey bar (and the bathroom!) were both clean, and — as just important — drinks were absurdly cheap and well made.
My gin & tonics were $ 4 each — and Nick’s draft beers rang up around $ 3 (usually local places try to charge a lot more for a damn Narragansett!). The space was conducive to mingling, since they have quite a few high top tables and stools that don’t take up much room.
Glad to finally make it here, and happy to know that they feature live music every night and book lots of talented local acts. Wish I lived closer, but definitely don’t mind making a trip down here!

3.5 Stars, I tend to round up
Yup, definitely a dive bar. Could not see well enough to find my ID in my damn wallet, almost punched my significant other with his comments about me losing my ID when I just couldn’t see the damn thing!
On another note this place has good beers on tap (no commercial watered-​down crap) and what seems to be a okay selection of liquor for drinks. The table we had was pretty wobbly but at least we had a table.
No cover to see a stand up-​act and two bands. Which is a huge plus because cover fees = less beer for me. The bathroom was disgusting and smelled like someone peed all over the walls but that is to be expected at this sort of establishment.
They serve chili if you really need something to munch on (they should serve some chips too if they do that!). Overall a great experience and sure we’ll be back.
Not much parking, there is a lot behind it that is supposed to be one of those monthly fee lots but doesn’t seem to be a problem to park there later at night.

I really like Café Nine. It has that dive bar feel while still maintaining the qualities of a great live music venue.
One of my favorite things about local music venues is going back and seeing completely different acts on stage. I’ve seen upbeat pop, electronic dance music with puppets, a burlesque show, and good old-​fashioned rock and roll on that small stage in the corner of Café Nine, and I’ve always had a great time. Space is a little tight — there’s seating at the bar, a line of small high tables, and standing room. I often end up standing, but it’s not too bad, and I’ve never found it uncomfortable — not too hot, not too cold, not too crowded. My boyfriend and I were back about a week or so ago and had to step back a little because we realized all over again how cool a place Café Nine is.
I’ve never ordered any mixed drinks — just beers. The tap list isn’t bad, but if I’m at Café Nine, with its dive bar feel, I’m all about the $ 3 cans of Schaefers and Narragansetts. All-​around great place to spend an evening, especially if you like the music/​show that’s going on.