A Quick Guide To Jakarta's Nightlife

Ca fait chier de pas parler Francais hein?

For english-speaking expats, we're proud to give you The Jakarta'$ One Hundred, the list of the 100 clubs/bars you have to do before your contract expire.

Ca reste moins bien que Crazy Night$, mais voila, on fait ce qu'on peut... Bonne lecture!!!

Excerpts here:

Alexis Hotel
(Ancol, Jl. R. E. Martadinata No. 1 North Jakarta)

Hotel Alexis is located in Ancol. It’s not really an hotel though, it’s more like a bordello. You’ve got a good club downstairs, The Play, with house/progressive music and sexy dancers, and a very select lounge/spa on the seventh floor, the Bathhouse, with girls from countries as far as Uzbekistan, Myanmar or Russia coming to entertain the Indonesian Chinese elite. Entrance fee for the Bathhouse lounge is Rp. 120,000, and no drinks included!!

Asmoro
(Jl Blora)

The most famous dangdut bar in Jakarta.

"The first time you hate it because you don’t understand it. The 3rd, the place is yours and you are the queen of the dancefloor, requesting ‘kucing garong’." SZ

Bats
(Hotel Shangri-La)

Very, very popular bar among expatriates. Easy to know why, counting the number of pretty girls. Live band, imported from Quebec the more often and playing Top 40 songs. A bit annoying because it's hard to talk and hard to find a place to seat. The entrance fee is quite expensive, around Rp. 80,000, but they will serve you a very large beer. Good to go on Sunday or Monday because it is one of the few places still crowded. Very good steaks at the restaurant.

Bliss-Loft 25
(Menara Jamsostek, Gatot Subroto)

2 rooms, one with hip-hop and Rn’B music, the other one with house music. Very young crowd (16-20) but can be nice sometimes because young kids know how to party. Too many people throwing up though. Nice view on Jakarta by night.

Club 36
(Jalan Labu, Hotel Jayakarta)

Nice small club, with house music and RnB. Topless Thai and Chinese dancers. Popular with the Chinese community. Always crowded.

Club Bulgary
(Jalan Hayam Wuruk, 72)

Opened at the beginning of November 2007, this club is 100% chinese. The lounge is quite small and doesn’t have a dancefloor. It looks like an old fashion cabaret, with baroque paintings on the walls, small marble statues, and an elegant red carpet. There is a live band during the week, singing Mandarin favourites. During the break, some (not so) sexy dancers entertain the guests. According to management, they go topless on week-ends. House music, the exact same as in Sun City. A bit pricey : 42,000 Rp. for 1 Bali Hai (no Bintang). The crowd is a bit old, mostly men above their forties, coming with their cumare.

Eastern Promise
(Kemang)

Friendly, laid-back expat pub with blues/jazz live bands on Wednesday in the nice semi-outdoor “beer” garden. Pool, darts, free wi-fi, newspapers and books available. The restaurant also serves good value British and Indian food.

Heaven
(Dharmawangsa Square)

The most popular gay club in Jakarta. House/progressive music. Entrance fee around Rp. 50,000. Many foreigners.

Manggarai Railroad
(Manggarai)

Toko Disko located on Manggarai Railroad and playing Techno Kota, 15 meters from the bencong. Young girls selling sexual favors for less than Rp. 50,000. Very, very gloomy.

Memories Cafe
(Jalan Jaksa)

The most popular bar in Jalan Jaksa. It has a live music band almost every night, playing a mix of favorite indonesian pop song and classic Top 40. The drinks, especially beer is really cheap, around Rp. 17,000/bottle, so you will meet many backpackers, english teachers and mid-class indonesians. Lots of gays and “professional girlfriends”, hoping to meet a boyfriend among the travellers.

“I had great nights there, but it’s deadly boring most of the times” TO

Mistere
(Ritz Carlton, Mega Kuningan)

Bar of the Ritz-Carlton. Salsa on Tuesday and Friday night. And with a second room with good live music for Jakarta standards. High prices.

Monggo Mas
(Hayam Wuruk)

One of the worst club in Jakarta. Completely dark, aggressive, loud Techno Kota, drugs aplenty and prostitutes everywhere. You have to try it once.

New China
(Kemang)

Popular bar with house/progressive music. Rp 60,000 entrance fee on week ends. Open till late (5am). Always quite crowded with university students.

New Stardust
(Last floor, in Sarinah Mall)

Funny club, the shittiest in central Jakarta. Large room with house music/Techno Kota. The pool bar is very old but OK because very quiet and cheap. Good view on the city.

Red Square
(Senayan Arcadia)

The most popular expat bar in Jakarta, it actually really sucks on Friday and Saturday because it’s way too crowded. Best time to go there would have to be on Thursday night, when they have sexy dancers, pumping house music, people dancing on the tables and shows by the bartenders.
Best night spot in Jakarta if you're single male. Some prostitutes (more and more actually) but most girls aren't.

"Splurge : THE sexy waitress dancing on the table". SZ

Sing Sing So
(Jl. Wahid Hasim, next to Ibis Tamarin)

In a little strip on Jl Wahid Hasim, there are 4 or 5 bars with local bands singing old indonesian favorite. Funny. Sing Sing So is one of them, I forgot the name of the others.

Stadium
(Jalan Hayam Wuruk)

Best disco in Jakarta for me, extremely crowded on week-ends and for special events. It has four flours, each supposedly with different themes but it’s mainly techno played there. It is dark, big and possess a unique atmosphere. Drugs, prostitutes and other things are easily available. Just ask the waiters.

Sun City Luxury Club
(Jalan Labu, 6th floor of Mall Lindeteves)

The newest club in Kota, very big and luxurious. It's starting to become really popular. House/progressive music and Live band during the week. Fantastic podium. Many chinese and many ayam. There's also a spa, a restaurant, a Hotel, a Karaoke, etc... Definitely a place to check !!

Syuri
(Jalan Cikini Raya)

Japanese Karaoke. Very well decorated, it is really kitsch and funny. The mamasan are a bit pushy so it’s annoying if you don’t want girls. Huge choice of songs : japanese, western and Indonesians mostly. A bit pricey.

The rest is on this page: jakarta100bars.blogspot.com