Are you looking for an animated and fun atmosphere to enjoy a drink with friends and catch some live tunes? Then you are in luck, because I have recently found a venue called POP Champagne in the heart of Old Town Pasadena which is excellent for just that! I performed here last week with Hai Muradian and Ken Soderlund of Michael Ryan and Friends and we really enjoyed ourselves. This wine and dessert bar is an awesome place to get together with friends while enjoying delectable hor d'oeuvres accompanied by rare alcoholic beverages and quality service.

POP opens for dinner to the public throughout the week and weekend, with Mondays reserved for special groups or events. You can arrange for a party to celebrate those special moments in life at a memorable location with beautifully crafted desserts and imported beers and wines. The staff is also very friendly and helpful which adds to the positive feel of the bar.

Venue Review

POP Champagne is decorated with different artistic elements which match the culinary beauty of the craft. Hai appreciated the decor of the venue stating that,

"It was a very cool looking place. There were different size circular mirrors made to look like bubbles of champagne, and frames without pictures... an eye for the artistic."

Further embracing this art of entertainment, there are sommeliers, or trained wine stewards, who are more than willing to help the patrons carefully select the perfect wine to compliment the delicious deserts and hor d'oeuvres. Hai mentions there are plenty of options to choose from and “as a vegetarian, I liked the selection.” This cozy spot has a classy feel that will entice your sense of taste as wells as visual, and auditory senses!

Performance Reflection

We had a great time playing a wide range of music for our audience from Spanish and Latin jazz to covers of the beloved Beatles. "We mainly played originals and the crowd responded well," Ken noted. Our music fit in nicely with the cocktail hour ambiance of the bar and we performed our set on a small stage set near the corner. There were many people at the venue that evening and through the laughing, story sharing and joke telling of each party we could be heard serenading the diners.

Audience Response

POP Champagne was packed on the night that we were performing! The bar had so many patrons that night that people were being turned away at the door. Ken noticed that "there were a lot of people there; a good mix of those who already knew our music and regular patrons of the wine bar." We had gotten a great response from the audience; several of the guests attending were our own supporters from our hometown of Claremont!

A Reason to Go Back

As Ken put it simply, POP Champagne has “great wine, great food, and a great audience!” There are many new flavorful experiences awaiting at POP Champagne! Hai has actually been savoring a new experience with a rare beer that he encountered at the bar. This Pennsylvania brew hails from the oldest American Brewery and is not found on the west coast. The brewery has been family run since the late 1820’s and even served nonalcoholic beer during the prohibition era. Hai said he “tried to find it the next day and found out it was from Pennsylvania and they don’t deliver it to the west coast.” he continued to say, “I want to go back just to have the one beer!”

So when you have some time to enjoy this delightful treat, go there sometime! It's a very nice place to visit whether there is music or not.

source: http://www.popchampagnebar.com

Take care,

Michael