The Ragtime Tavern oozes character out of every beautifully curved surface, from the fluid edges of their velvet Chesterfield-style lounges to the bar that flows around the room, to the spinning plate upon which stands their baby grand piano.
LIVE MUSIC is utterly transfixing when it’s being played on a rotating piano shrouded by a smoke machine, which slowly carousels around such a warm, intimate space.
FAMOUS FOR the rotating, motorised piano. Did we mention that yet?
INFAMOUS FOR being a time machine back to the golden age of inns, taverns, jazz clubs, speakeasies and prohibition. It’s like the Great Depreston never happened.
Deep reds and browns adorn nearly every surface, gently lit by hanging chandeliers, while mirrors and renaissance art decorate the walls. There are regular open piano evenings, where anyone and everyone can play the north’s most famous keys. It appears almost everyone who works there is a secret Liberace as well.
In addition to the talented staff and owner, local talent and sing-a-longs abound with plenty of famous faces dropping in from time to time.
With New Orleans front-and-centre in the venue’s ethos, there’s a laidback, anything goes spirit to the Ragtime.
“We try to get them to sing-along, to get people to be part of it as much as we can,” Ragtime’s regular boogie woogie and rockabilly pianist, Ezra Lee, told us recently. “That’s what rock’n’roll is all about, especially this gig because people are literally two feet away from you. Everyone’s yelling out songs or singing along. It’s a big party in there.”
And in case you’re wondering how fast that piano can actually spin…
“One night we tried it out and it’s pretty wild. You’re hanging on,” laughs Lee.
Visit Ragtime Tavern from Wednesday to Sunday at 206 Tyler Street, Preston.