The Best bars, discos, lounges and adult entertainment in Bogota Colombia.

Bogota nightlife

This post kicks off ´The Best of Bogota´, a series of blog posts that will ultimately highlight all that Bogota Colombia has to offer. I begin with my personal favorite – nightlife. Bogota is a huge sprawling metropolis of close to 7,000,000 people. As you can imagine, Bogota is not lacking in places to party. There are literally hundreds of night spots in Bogota, though most of the best are concentrated in Zona ´T´, La Candelaria, Zona Rosa and Usaquen. Gathering the info for this post was tough work believe me, but here we go, the Best of Bogota Nightlife.

1. Best Bogota Nightclub – Cinema is what I would call an institution. Every major city in the World has one and as far as Bogota is concerned, this is it! Cinema has been cranking out beats in Bogota for over 10 years and the newly remodeled space is absolutely beautiful. World class DJ´s from the U.S. and Europe call Cinema home when they are in Bogota. There may be some ´Rope burn´, so come late but dressed to impress.

2. Best Bogota Pub – With two absolutely amazing locations in Bogota, this choice was easy for us. London Calling is, you guessed it, an English-themed pub with a great selection of beers from around the world and from their own on-site brewery. But London Calling is not your typical hole-in-the-wall pub. Both locations are beautifully decorated and are large enough for a dance floor and live music on the weekends. If you´re lucky enough not to get pummeled by two drunk hooligans watching ManU v Liverpool, you just might want to go back.

3. Best Bogota Lounge – Although I hate the name (there must be a Prive now in every small town in America), it is tough to argue with the simplicity of the design and the stiffness of the cocktails at Privé Lounge. We had a great time sampling all of the beautiful lounges in Bogota, but we loved the way Privé manages to pull off the upscale vibe with a very low-profile design. How are the ladies? This is Colombia, how do you think they are?

4. Best Bogota Late Night Restaurant – I will probably get some negative responses for my selection of this one. But it´s my blog. If you want to create your own ´Best of Bogota´list, feel free! I chose Danzashi as the Best Late Night Restaurant in Bogota. If you love sushi as much as I do, you will not find a better restaurant in Bogota. Not only that, but they play killer house music and if you´re not a fan of sushi, you can always lounge on one of the many leather couches and watch the beautiful women stuff their faces with raw fish and mojitos.

5. Best Bogota Place for Picking Up – No, it´s not necessary to have a Colombian Cupid account and an Internet connection to meet girls in Bogota. In fact, its actually quite easy. My crew and I hit what seemed like every little bar in Bogota and we got slapped around more times than Larry, Moe and Curly combined. But, all was not lost and in the end we came away with what we believe to be the best Bar for meeting single women in Bogota. Scirocco reminds me of the bars I used to hit when I lived in New York. This is a first class lounge with a VIP section on the second floor. Find a way to get in there, and your chances of hooking up that girl on the cover of SoHo magazine just went up. Good luck!

6. Best Adult Venue – If you have small children hovering over your shoulder, you might want to give them a ´time out´while you read through these next two beauties. Actually, if you are reading this and have kids you might as well wake up, I seriously doubt you´ll be making it to Colombia anytime soon. Again, after weeks of fighting it out in the trenches, we have concluded that the best Adult Venue in Bogota is El Castillo Nightclub. El Castillo is really more like an adult amusement park than a strip bar. Aside from the huge discoteca with elevated runway, El Castillo offers several options for those patrons who want to be entertained in private. Now I have personally never been beyond the main room, but rumor has it that El Castillo comes equipped with a gym, turkish baths, sauna, jacuzzi, casino, private bar and several luxury suites. God I love Colombia!

7. Best Bogota Escort Service – In Choosing the Best Escort Service in town we solicited the help of a man who is widely considered the foremost expert on the professional women of Bogota (thanks Mike). Thank God we have yet to need one of these services, but we understand that some of you might find this topic interesting. And the winner is Colombia VIP Escorts. Enough said.

8. Best Bogota Live Music Venue – Believe it or not, Bogota actually has some great places to enjoy a live show. If I were giving honorable mentions, this catagory would have several. There are many great small venues which have regular live bands. But for us, the Best Live Music Venue in Bogota is el Teatro Metro. Teatro Metro is a Bogota classic and seats crowds of up to 1,500 people. The biggest bands don´t play here, but watching a show here is really something special.

9. Best Bogota First Date Bar – Let´s face it. First dates are a nightmare, especially when the only phrases you know in Spanish are ´otra cerveza, por favor´y ´cuanto cuesta los buffalo wings´. This is why we had a hard time deciding on the winner in this catagory. I know its weak but decided to give a tie for the Best First Date Bar. The first bar is Mink. We chose this bar because it is quiet and romantic and provides the perfect opportunity to work on your Spanish and really get to know the lovely young thing sitting across the table. Tying for first place in this catagory is El Patron, a death metal bar named after Pablo Escobar himself. As many of you know, many young women in Bogota get frustrated if they cannot communicate with their potential suitor. I have seen this horror show play out first hand on many occasions and have witnessed more than one ´sure thing´crash and burn do to a “lack of communication”. This is why we chose the loudest bar in Bogota as the co´winner in this catagory. If your date can´t hear you, she won´t be able to tell that you speak absolutely no Spanish whatsoever.

10. Best Bogota Sports Bar – If you´re tired as hell of ESPN en Espanol and want a place to enjoy some Monday Night Football (in English) head down to … well Hooters of course! If you don´t mind dropping $25 to fill up on dry buffalo wings then Hooters Bogota is the place for you. Enjoy the scenery and the many large 36 inchers positioned strategically around the room (I´m referring to the flat screens buddy). Should your bets not pan out, there is always the friendly Hooters staff and plenty of alcohol on hand to help ease your pain.

That concluded this year´s Best of Bogota 2009: Nightlife. Think we made a mistake? Vote for your own Best of Bogota HERE: