Bar entertainment in South America
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Av Arístides Villanueva
For a great night on the town, walk down Av Arístides Villanueva, where it's bar after bar; in summer, entire blocks fill with tables and people enjoying the night.
reviewed
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A
Vines of Mendoza
This friendly, central wine bar (where everybody, down to the security guards, seems to speak English) offers flights (tastings of five selected wines) and top-shelf private tastings. It also offers wine-appreciation classes which give you an idea of how to taste wine – a great idea before hitting the bodegas.
reviewed
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Tu Candela
The narrow, shotgun-style layout of this bar/club makes liberal use of exposed brick – it feels a bit like partying in a wine cave – and is decorated with tribal masks, old transistor radios and brass instruments. The cover charge is recoupable in drinks.
reviewed
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C
Academia da Cachaça
Along with traditional Brazilian cooking, this indoor-outdoor spot serves over 500 varieties of cachaça. For a treat (and/or a bad hangover), try the passion-fruit batida (cachaça and passion-fruit juice).
reviewed
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D
El Huevo
Ask any heavily made-up 20-year-old where they’re going on a Saturday night and this behemoth of a building will be their answer. For some, its shaking floors are a meat market; for others, they’re dance heaven.
reviewed
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E
Café Suplicy
Santo Grão's rival is smaller, with a refined industrial-chic feel and also outrageously good coffee and pastries.
reviewed
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Zona Rosa
To truly understand Medellín, you have to see its people in party mode. Paisas love to dress up, show off, throw some money around, and have a good time while they're at it.
The center of the action is around Parque Lleras in El Poblado, an area that is also known as the Zona Rosa. Roughly between Calles 9 and 10A, and Carreras 36 and 42, it draws the young, the beautiful, the rich, the surgically augmented and the merely enthusiastic. The area is packed with restaurants, bars and discos, many of which have large outdoor patios. Bars and clubs come in and out of fashion very quickly, so for the latest word on the street head to Parque Lleras and confer with locals. Cove…
reviewed
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Av Pinheiro Machado
The corner of Avs Pinheiro Machado and Presidente Dutra is the epicenter of Porto Velho's nightlife. Three bars in row - Emporium, Estação do Porto and Buda's Bar - serve up beer, mixed drinks, and a cool, bohemian-ish atmosphere that draws a mixed-age crowd. Weekends are busiest, of course, and occasionally feature live music.
Further down Av Pinheiro Machado - to about Rua Goncalves - are several more small bars, restaurants and cafés, if you're looking for something bit mellower (or just a bite to eat).
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G
Klub Killer
Stray off the beaten tourist-drinking path and land yourself at Klub Killer, a slightly upscale bar located in an old house with antique-looking couches and retro touches. The atmosphere is bathed in sexy red lighting, and good international rock fills the air. It’s a great place to hang and order some reasonably priced cocktails, but you might have trouble finding it; following the recent BA trend of ‘closed-door’ venues, there’s no sign outside. Just ring the bell to be let in.
reviewed
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Londra
Rio’s glammiest bar is inside the newly opened Hotel Fasano, and offers a vision of decadence matched by few of the city’s nightspots. The cozy space, designed by Philippe Starck, has an enchantingly illuminated bar, leather armchairs and divans, and a DJ spinning a good mix of world electronica. As you might imagine, the crowd is pure A-list, the cocktails are pricey (R$15 to R$26), and unless you’re a model (or have one draped on your arm), prepare for a long wait at the door.
reviewed
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El Barómetro
This place got too cool for its own good, expanding into a larger space housing lacquered Alerce tables, mismatched leather couches and polka-dot curtains, but with a crowd that has become a tad too rife with cuicos (Chilean yuppies) from the salmon industry. There are DJs Thursday to Saturday and an eclectic bar menu that includes hummus and tilapia, but the see-and-be-seen cachet has worn somewhat thin. That said, everyone still goes.
reviewed
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J
Cervecería Cossab
Beer-lovers unite, and head down to bohemian Boedo and this dedicated beer bar – unique for BA. Around 100 different suds are represented, including seven house-made options. Brews come from around Argentina and many other countries (including Germany, Mexico, Canada). Plenty of snack foods, from cheese plates to sandwiches, help sop up the alcohol, and on Wednesday there’s all-you-can-eat pizza. Occasionally open Sunday.
reviewed
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Kilkenny
Buenos Aires’ most popular Irish bar has become, well, just too damn popular. Weekends are a crush and thumping music makes it hard to chat up your date, but the dark woodsy atmosphere is congenial enough. Come early on weekdays if you want to score one of the cozy deep booths for easy conversation; there’s also a smoking section on the 2nd floor if enough people want to light up. It has a good whiskey and beer selection, too.
reviewed
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Adega Flor de Coimbra
In the same building that was once the home of Brazilian painter Cândido Portinari, the Adega Flor de Coimbra has been a bohemian haunt since it opened in 1938. Back in its early days, leftists, artists and intellectuals drank copiously at the slim old bar looking out on Lapa. Today, it draws a mix of similar types, who drink wine and sangria with Adega’s tasty bolinhos de bacalhau (codfish croquettes) or feijoada.
reviewed
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Unico
If you like your bars loud and crowded, you’ll love this classic corner magnet – still popular after all these years. It’s not overly large, so on weekends people tend to spill out the door and onto the sidewalk tables and even the street. Plenty of tapas, sandwiches and salads, along with the ultra cool music, could make it a long night – which is perfectly acceptable since it’s open till 6am.
reviewed
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Rubia Y Negra
A true rarity in BA, this bar-restaurant also makes its own beer – right on the premises. You can see the shiny metal tanks up above the bar, brewing up eight beers from stout to wheat to barley wine and a cream ale. It’s an upscale lounge sort of place however, so don’t expect a homey publike atmosphere. Come on a Monday, Tuesday or Saturday and see if the all-you-can-eat sushi (AR$55) goes with the suds.
reviewed
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El Hipopótamo
Hanging out by a picture window at this classic old bar, watching San Telmo street life go by against the backdrop of Plaza Lezama – not much could be more indulgent on a lazy afternoon. It’s the atmosphere that makes the difference; wine bottles in glass cabinets and antique wall signs both add to the charm, and while the basic Argentine fare isn’t inspirational the eclectic crowd here is fun to watch.
reviewed
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P
Bardobeco
This spirited bar has more than 40 brands of cachaça - beware! You can ask for meia doses (half shots served at half price) if you want to retain some semblance of sobriety while you sample. There are also creative caipirinhas (the unofficial national cocktail made from limes, sugar, ice and high-proof sugarcane alcohol; try the tangerina do beco), tasty snacks and live music.
reviewed
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Q
The Library Lounge
The low-lit Library Lounge, all dark wood with plush forest-green armchairs and stuffed moose-heads, feels out of another era. It’s the kind of place where gentlemen once gathered to smoke cigars, play billiards and schmooze. Order a classic martini and let the sultry lounge singer do her thing. Rojo Tango, the sexy cabaret dinner show staged at the adjacent theater, is great, decadent fun – be sure to book ahead.
reviewed
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R
Alto de Ponta Negra
The Alto de Ponta Negra , a neighborhood in the upper part of Ponta Negra, around Rua Manoel AB de Araújo and Rua Aristides Porpino Filho, away from the tackier after-dark scene nearer the beach, is dense with a variety of fun bars and restaurants. It's packed with locals and visitors having a good time till dawn, Wednesday to Saturday nights. Just wander along after 23:00 and see which places draw you in.
reviewed
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Buddy's
If you're looking for something on Sheriff Street that's a bit less raunchy than the Sheriff Bar, try Buddy's, which has a metal detector at the door and is a favorite with the upper-middle class East Indian crowd, or Avalanche, the newest trend with a young clientele. Cover charge is usually a few dollars and the street does not sleep. For a listing of upcoming events and live music check out www.gtvibes.com.
reviewed
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Youkali
This big, bright, white bar at the whimsical Youkali hotel is a wonderful place for a drink any time of day. In the afternoon you can sit in the sunshine by one of the enormous windows or at night prop yourself up at the bar for a fabulous cocktail. Try a pisco-based Peruvian Lips - they're addictive! Every evening there's a happy hour from 18:00-20:30 and the places buzzes Tuesday nights when the DJs spin.
reviewed
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La Terraza del Ateneo
The breezy, upstairs terrace of the Ateneo cultural center, La Terraza del Ateneo, becomes an after-hours gathering place for a diverse, arts-minded crowd in the mood for relaxed conversation and off-the-wall music. Meanwhile downstairs, the Café Rajatabla, adjacent to the famous experimental theater of the same name, is an even more laid-back, open-air affair frequented by performing arts types.
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Janio
Still one of the trendiest, most popular restaurant-bars in the neighborhood, Janio boasts an excellent corner location on Plaza Palermo Viejo. By day lounge at a sidewalk table watching the crowd, while at night the airy rooftop terrace is an excellent hangout. Nibble from the international menu while sipping a frozen margarita or cool whiskey shot – you’re with the cool crowd now.
reviewed
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El Verde
What sets this downtown pub apart is its orientation toward a hip, older scene. You may not find anyone under 50 here, but that doesn’t mean everyone’s sporting a cane. Live music and dancing gets the old blood going, and this place can really rock – it gets as loud and hoppin’ as any of its younger counterparts. Boar heads on the walls add a touch of quirkiness.
reviewed
