The Quasimodo – A Berlin cultural institution
The Quasimodo is one of the most renowned live clubs in Europe, comparable to the ‚Jazz Café’ in London or the ‚New Morning’ in Paris. This well-established music club and café is located in Berlin’s western quarter Charlottenburg on Kantstrasse 12a, right next door to the ‚Theater des Westens’. The Quasimodo shares this historic building with the ‚Vagantenbuehne’ and the Delphi movie theatre, which was one of Berlin’s most famous dance halls in the 30s and 40s. The two parts of the Quasimodo are the live club, which is suitably located in the basement of the building - appropriate for a real basement Jazz club - and the café on top with its big summer patio. In 1975, the club was taken over by the Genoese Giorgio Carioti, who originally moved to Berlin for amorous reasons. Carioti renamed the club - which was more of a students’ café until then - ‚Quasimodo’, put he emphasis on the musical program and turned the Quasimodo into one of the city’s most important clubs during the following years. At the beginning of the 90s, Giorgio also took over the café, situated right above the club. Until today, the club and the café belong together and are operated by the Quasimodo GmbH with Klaus Spiesberger as the manager.
The QUASIMODO Club
The ambiance is traditional, as it should be in a real club, with deep black walls, low-lit illumination, the atmosphere being intimate and cozy. The Quasimodo is one of the very few clubs where guests do not have to go to the bar to get their drinks but are being served by our waitresses. Even with sold out concerts, when up to 350 people are in the club, our excellently skilled waitresses will make their way through and serve our guests their drinks. The club is the heart of the company. Since over 30 years, the greats of Jazz have loved the direct contact to their audience here. Artists like Branford Marsalis, Maceo Parker and the German exceptional music and comedy artist Helge Schneider have been performing regularly in the Quasimodo; international stars like Prince, Chaka Khan and Nigel Kennedy also performed on the Quasimodo stage and surprised the audience with fabulous concerts or surprise parties. Besides the big names, the club’s program also offers a number of acts from Jazz, Funk, Blues, Soul, Latin, Rock or singers/ songwriters and quite a few of them started their careers on this stage and are now filling big concert halls. And many of them like to return to the Quasimodo stage or just as a guest of the club.
The QUASIMODO Café
The spacious café offers approximately 120 seats. It is on the same floor as the foyer of the ‚Delphi’ movie theatre and is directly connected to it. But not only visitors of the ‚Delphi’ movie theatre like to meet in the café before and after the show, especially the visitors of the adjoining ‚Theater des Westens’ like to have a drink here or brace themselves with fresh salads or elaborately prepared pita bread. Besides a selection of good wines and several sorts of beer, the café also offers cocktails.
The QUASIMODO Patio
A true gem of the Quasimodo Café is the big summer patio. Based on the historic design, it was remodelled in 1998, so the architectural connection between the ‘Theater des Westens’ and the ‘Delphi’ palace, as designed by the architect Bernhard Sehring, is visible again. Sehring had designed the area of today’s patio as a Mediterranean mansion garden, which was taken up again with stone elements as pillars, vases, reliefs and decorated walls. The monumental Emperor’s stairway was also rebuild and leads up to the former main entrance of the ‘Theater des Westens’, now its side entrance. 250 seats are available on the patio for our guests, the chairs and tables are made of exquisite Mediterranean wood. Lime and sycamore trees are providing shade and inviting for a stay. This unique architectural mix between the Delphi Palace, Theater des Westens, the New Kranzler Corner, the Kant Triangle, The Savoy Hotel and the Ludwig-Erhard-Building of the Chamber of Commerce contribute to a relaxing stay with the big city charm.
