The murmur of foreign languages mixed with music in the background, cigarette smoke and expensive perfume. The first Martini of the evening arrives, and you've still no idea on what the night might bring your way; sheer bliss...


L
isted here are links, and a few favorite places that might be trendy, funky or even tacky. They all have one thing in common though, ambiance. This is a completely non-commercial guide built upon the contribution of a circle of friends with the same taste in bars and rest's. Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night..

 


 


Warning; last updated 2001


ParisLondonStockholmNew YorkCopennhagenLos AngelesHelsinkiOsloCannes 













PARIS

The City of lights indeed.. And all the night spots are (compared to London e.g.) within reach by a 10 min taxi ride; Heaven for Barhopping.

MANRAY
Famous owners have made this place ultrapopular but, worth it. Buddha bar like interior but more open and a very ok sushi plate on the menue. Rest of the menue asia fusion, great bar and biiiig...

BUDDHA BAR - 8 boissy d'Anglas; +33-1-53059000
Hottest a couple of years ago but you will still find yourself looking in to some super model's eyes or other star's shades most evenings. Best thing though; the design:

The giant Buddha statue, the fabulous staircase leading down to the restaurant area etc. The music is loud in the bar area, ok in the restaurant. Guest DJ's most nights. Asian ok food. Close to Trocadero.
PS Check Claude Chagalles double CD with fav tunes from Buddha!

BARRIO LATINO - By the Bastille
5 floors of hot latino music bars, restaurant and VIP bar on the top. Food ok but really you go here to drink and dance the night away...


BOCA CHICA - 58 Rue de Charonne, tel: 01-43579313
Tapas bar that turns in to a smoking place around 11PM. Superb on warm summer nights with it's patio under the stars. Close to Rue de Lappe with another 100 bars. Website.

LA PLAGE - Metro Javel 01-40594100
Fish Restaurant (a few meat dishes) overlooking the Seine. Large roomy and nice atmosphere watching the restaurant boats passing by at night. Outdoor serving in the summer.

BARFLY - George V
Stylish bar & restaurant beside Champs Elysees. Same owners as Buddha Bar and about the same flashy clientele. International cuisine.

VILLA BARCLAY
Bar & Nightclub on several floors beside Champs Elysees. Be sure to have women in the party or you might not get in. Best way to get a table; order a bottle of booze (which you might as well with the prices per drink).

LES BAINS - Bourg Labbé 01-48870180
Old nightclub still standing. The Asian cuisine isn't that bad either actually.

TANJIAN - 23 Rue de Ponthieu, Tel 0033-142259500
Moroccon kitchen, M as in mmmm in the hands of chef Ali El Mansouri; Tajine, CousCous, delicious grilled prawns etc etc. Very "sympa" orchestrated by former Les Bains couple Cathy and David Guetta. (see picture)

 


SINALOA
Private nightclub with new years eve feeling and live bands every night. If you don't know a regular, be sure to have girls in your party and be veeeery nice to the sweet but tough female bouncer.

Sent in by Mette T:
LE BAL DE MONTMARTRE, by Sacre Coeur
When you're tired of techno and want some good old 70ties music and a fun time!


LINKS

Extensive guide to pubs and bars

Timeout Paris

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LONDON

The last years London has climbed the "hottest nightlife in Europe" list with amazing speed. Watch out when they get the opening hours regulations sorted as well..

SCHRAGER VENUES - Sanderson Hotel, St Martins Lane etc
The man doesn't stop. In mascopi with Starck he's done the Mondrian (see LA guide), Delano, Hudson.. etc. The St Martins lane hotel in London features the Light bar with the weirdest Starck tables (or is it lamps?). A great restaurant, Asia de Cuba etc. The Sanderson hotel features great restaurants as well and the fab Purple bar (see below). Well if you're "that guy behind Studio 54", I guess you've got some selfconfidence and then some..


Purple bar - Sanderson

TIGER TIGER - Picadilly, 0171-9301885
First of the "Megaclubs" (all at one place) TigerTiger say they focus on the +25s which is bollocks but, if you want drinks before, an ok meal and then dance the night away without going all over town, this is your place.
Website

FABRIC - 77 Charterhouse street, EC1, 0171-4900444.
Big, young, sweaty and loud!

BLUEBIRD - Kings Road
One of Conran's many restaurant. This one is one of the nicer due to the fabulous delicatessen store underneath (open late) and a heavenly mash (seriously :-).

THE PHARMACY - Notting Hill Tel. +44-171-2212442
Damien Hirst among others restaurant that features a bar/pharmacy on the first floor. International cuisine one floor up. Had a duck to die for autumn -99.

LUPOS - SOHO - Dean Street
OK restaurant, buzzling bar area and compleeetely loopy waitress :-)


CHRISTOPHERS - Near The Strand
"American grill" cuisine, nice atmosphere with tables tastefully far apart, lights down low and pleasant staff. Pricy though.

MEZZO - Beside Covent Garden
Another of Conran's mega restaurant with 3000 chefs, but it's managed to keep the atmosphere due to the sober design. Jazz bands playing a couple of nights a week also helps. Cheaper menues upstairs.

CAFÉ DE PARIS - Leicester Square, tel. 0171-7347700
Club, bar and restaurant that sometimes have live entertainment as jazz singers etc. Hard to get in Fri/Sat if you're not a member. Fierce 12 pound drinks in the neon lit bar downstairs that will send you ballistic. 

TITANIC - Stay away
Like the ship this must surely sink deep to never be seen again. 1 hour to be seated though reserved and another hour for the average food. Not impressed however many superchefs behind it..

Further out..

SOUK - 165 Clapham High Street, Tel 0207 6224004
Situated at the beginning of bar packed Clapham High street so good place to start a nights hopping. Dark and cosy Moroccan bar and restaurant. Big sofas around big silverplatters where you eat your couscous or  down your mint-tea (not that much nonalcoholic beverages are ordered here though..). Packed weekends so book.

THE WHITE HOUSE - Clapham
New fashionably designed club and restaurant with private area on the second floor which is bound to become a megahit summer 2001.

MOXONS Fishrestaurant, 14 Clapham Park, Tel 0207 6272468
Great fishdishes served by very pleasant and.. perky :-) French staff. Close to Clapham High Street. 

SUGAR REEF, http://www.sugarreef.net/
Too busy for me, getting old, but the cave is fab..



LA RUEDA - Clapham
Favourite spanish restaurant (& tapas bar) that turns into a sizzling bar after 10. Pic from a pretty wild evening..

CLAPHAM GRAND - St Johns Hill, Clapham SW11
Welcome to Tackyville Funkycity Clapham, but good fun sometimes in this old theatre turned club. 70ties night Sat's, 80ties nights Fri's. Once you've downed an army of VodkaRedbulls in the bar at the topfloor; get down on it on the +1.000 dancefloor til you drop...


MINISTRY OF SOUND
Still the club of clubs, and about the only thing you can find in SouthEast. www.ministryofsound.com

 

WIMBLEDON:
- San Lorenzo - Italian chiq, good food, slightly to pricey.
- Al forno - Italian rustic, simple but friendly. Watch out for the Portuguese waitor. barmy! :-)
- La Casa - Bar, restaurant and patio.

Wimbledon village:
- Firestables - Opened up summer 2001 and is going very strong, giving Lighthouse a run for it's money. Nice design, especially the entrance lounge area. Food has varied from superb to ok. Jurys still out..
- Lighthouse - Definitely the best restaurant up here: 75 Ridgway, Tel: 0208 9446338
- Est est est - Italian, medium, nice bar downstairs, ok prices. Service needs major overhaul though..
- Café Rouge, definitely better than the others in this chain.

-
Pitcher & Piano - Again, better than others in the chain.



LINKS

NEW! Foodndrink.co.uk (excellent)



Timeout London

Evening Standards club etc. guide

 

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STOCKHOLM

Ahh.. Beauty on water. Apart from being the beautiful town it is built on it's 4 islands, Stockholm is on the fast track to a big city feeling when it comes to the nightlife. Maybe we feel so far away from everything that we have to keep up with New York and Barcelona, well who cares; just enjoy..


FORMBAR - Hagagatan 4,  08-32 06 22
Trendy design yes (see picture of bar section below) but the FOOD. absolutely gorgeous at our visit April 2001. Can they keep this up??

ETT LITET HAK - Grev Turegatan 15
Relaxed, cosy, not very cheap but well worth it. Perfectly situated close to the shopping area so you can easily slip in when you've had enough off the stress and need to go aaahhh...

BEIRUT CAFE - Engelbrektsgatan 37 , 08-21 20 25
A little bit off the normal restaurant areas but well worth it for the fab Lebanese kitchen. Nicely decorated Lebanese Moderne and with a bar underneath the cellar vaults.

LYDMAR - Sturegatan, City
Hotel bar with a life of it's own. Small but great bar and jazz bands playing the odd evenings.

T/BAR - Strandvägen 7c, Tel +46-8-4596802
Another hotel bar but bigger and nicer than you're used to. Extra points for the open fire, niiice... Perfectly Ok restaurant adjacent.

STORSTAD - Odengatan
Mainly restaurant  but with very busy bar area. Good music, good food, good music.

HANNAS - Skanegatan, South island
Restaurant & bar with club in the cellar. Classic in the rugged style of rest's that popped up in this area end of the 80s beginning of the 90s. Watch out for the cow in the cupboard coming out to moooh once in a while..


TEMPEL Duo - Kungsholmen
A great bar in this more quiet but booming part of Stockholm. It's small even for a bar AND it's got a restauarant in there as well. Well designed and good food.

SPY BAR - Birger Jarls gatan, City
Apart from temporary clubs, this is considered The late night place. Set in an old upperclass flat, this is probably the most celebrity packed place and hence hard to get in. Not the ambience it could have had due to the number of overly drunk persons looking for the last chance of the night.

CAFE OPERA - Kungstradgarden, City
The most famous night spot in Stockholm still holding it's own. Overlooking the water / the Kings park and located in a fantastic building; it is a must visit. Good restaurant, will set you back a bit though.

By Andreas S:
KOH PANGAN- Skanegatan, South island (opposite of Hannas)
Excellent Thai bar and restaurant. Very good food and reasonable prices. Colored lamps in every corner and teriffic service. Koh Pangan is worth a visit just for the atmosphere. No table reservations avaliable so be there in time.


LINKS

NOJESGUIDEN

ALLT OM STOCKHOLM, only in Swedish

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OSLO

Oslo is a strange creature when it comes to the nightlife, it's not like anything else really. At the same time as it can feel a bit tacky, they make up for it in enthusiasm, and there is plenty of places to choose by for a town of this size. Now if they could only get the drinks prices down..


BAROCK - Universitetsgaten 26
An Oslo classic. Stylish and superficial Osloites sinking beers for Ł5/8$ on several floors.

BARONEN & BARONESSEN Stortingsgaten
Open late, techno on one floor, older stuff on the second. Last call for.. type of place.

COSTA BRASSERIE - Klingenberggt.
Restaurant with international cuisine, city.

LAST TRAIN - Universitetsgata
Club & restaurant. Different kind of music styles depending on night & floor. Concerts frequently, mostly rock.

LIPP - Olav V's gate
Like Barock but with a bit more.. noveau riche crowd.

MINIBAREN - Stortingsgt.
Music: Hits/rock/pop.

SMUGET - Rosenkrantzgt.
Looooong queues takes you into this club thats playing the latest hit music. Age; +23.

STUDENTEN - Universitetsgt./Karl johan
As the name implies, lots of students. Again. Haven't been able to find a place in Oslo with a +27 crowd actually..


All above around the city centre. Don't be afraid to go further though, you are bound to meet more interesting and less drunk people..


LINKS

Nattguiden - in Norwegian though..

Night and day - in Norwegian though..

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NEW YORK


NY, where to begin. I've been the most amazed in my life while having dinner at La maison de sade, set a new world record in time before snogging at LIFE, had the biggest Martini ever in China Grill and so on; but, it's so big that you're better off using one of the services below giving you recommendations nearby.
Whatever you do, that town will simply amaze you..


LINKS

Search for bars by location, price and specialities!

Search +200 nightclubs!

Search +2300 restaurants!



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