Buenos Aires Boliches: Nightlife in BA
Posted in Clubs on 11. Mar, 2010
Perhaps more than any other, Buenos Aires is a city of the night. Many of the best things to do here are night-time pursuits, and locals find doing them in the depths of night utterly normal and natural. Meeting your grandmother for a coffee at 1am? Normal. Meeting friends at a bar at 2am? Normal.
Of course if you’re really determined to go an entire night without sleep, then you need something to do to fill that pesky 2am – 7am period. Enter boliches, the Buenos Aires nightclubs that rule the small hours of the day with an iron fist (made of cocktails and house music).
The best thing about the boliches in Buenos Aires is undoubtedly the almost complete lack of pretension. Everyone seems happy to chat to everyone, without the snobbery that you get in other cities. People generally don’t drink to excess either, which means that things stay civilized even at 7am when everyone’s trying to get a taxi home. In other parts of the world that time of the night generally resembles the 5th circle of hell, so that’s quite an achievement.
Really, you can’t say you’ve ‘done’ Buenos Aires until you’ve spend at least a couple of nights dancing until the sun comes up! You can use this guide to help you plan your assault on the wee hours. Note that a lot of clubs have email lists which, if you join them, will get you free entry if you arrive ‘early,’ which usually translates to ‘before 2am’. Unless you’ve really gone native that shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
Note that most of the clubs listed here don’t open until the small hours of the morning, but we’ve listed opening times as if the day before extended until 7am the following day (which, to be fair, is pretty much how Porteños view things). Anyway, by ‘open from Friday at 2am’ we mean the 2am that follows Friday night, not the one that follows Thursday night. Claro?
Fifteen of the best
1. The Roxy Disco (Arcos del Sol, Avenida Casares 4000)
For people who like Rock n Roll, The Roxy is the place to go. As much as Buenos Aires is know as a Club/Electric hotbed, at its heart, it is a Rock and Roll City. The Roxy attracts a younger crowd of locals – no tourists to speak of. The DJ´s will play all your favorite songs. At one moment you might be listening to the Beach Boys and the next moment AC/DC. For those who don´t like the idea of clubs, think of The Roxy as a bar that plays your favorite rock and rolls songs, only MUCH MUCH LOUDER. Unpretentious and a very positive vibe, The Roxy is usually left of of any tourist guide book, but if you miss it, you are missing one of the best clubs in Buenos Aires. It’s open from 1:30am on Friday and Saturday nights.
2. Niceto Club (Niceto Vega 5510)
Niceto is one of the stalwarts of the Buenos Aires clubbing scene, and its enduring success is a testament to how consistently good it is. By far the best-known night of the week at Niceto Club is Thursday, when the baroque Club 69 takes place, but don’t neglect Friday nights either, when the hipsters of Buenos Aires show up to dance to Indie Rock and Electro. Opening hours are from 12:30am on Thursday and Friday nights and from 1am on Saturday nights.
3. The Basement Club @ The Shamrock (Rodríguez Peña 1220)
A nightclub playing electronic music situated in an Irish pub – is nothing sacred? Apparently not, but the funny thing is that the combination works. Unsurprisingly The Basement Club is only small, but its mix of cheap drinks, glitter ball, good tunes from a rotating roster of DJs and interesting mix of laid-back expats and locals always ensures a fun time. Open from 9pm Thursday nights and from 1am Friday and Saturday nights.
4. Pachá (Avenida Costanera Rafael Obligado)
You know Pachá – it’s the club franchise with branches all over the world, most famously in Ibiza, Spain. The Buenos Aires branch is as impressive as you would expect from a global brand – it’s all-white on the outside, with a great location on the river. Inside there’s a large main dance area serviced by multiple bars and also a patio where more mellow tunes features. It’s a reliable option, though the crowd can be a little more stuck-up than in other venues. Open from midnight on Friday nights and from 1:30am on Saturday nights.
5. Jet Lounge (Avenida Rafael Obligado 4801)
A sexy and sophisticated club with a death-grip on Thursday nights. It begins each night with the vibe of a lounge bar (think cocktails, sushi and gorgeous people), but the dancing and partying ramps up later on. Don’t expect anything cutting-edge in the way of music, but it’s consistently danceable. It’s open from 12:30am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.
6. Crobar (Paseo de la Infanta, Avenida del Libertador 3883)
You won’t get any points for originality for going to Crobar, but to most of us that’s less important than simply having a cracking night out. Crobar is famous and popular because it gives you just that. Friday nights feature international DJs and consistently good house/electronic music. Crobar is open from 10pm on Friday and Saturday nights.
The cavernous Alsina nightclub is best known for its Saturday night event, State. It puts on world-famous DJs such as Sasha and Carl Cox for your listening and dancing pleasure. With a capacity of 3000 it’s the perfect place for a night out if you have a group of two or three hundred. There’s a balcony with sofas upstairs for when you need a rest. On Saturday nights Alsina is open from 1am, and when that finishes the party re-starts on Sunday afternoons at 3pm, so you can get one last weekend session in before a well-earned rest.
8. Bahrein (Lavalle 343 y Reconquista)
A multi-level, multi-room nightclub in the microcentro. Its rooms include the ‘Funky Room’ (which plays commercial stuff), ‘XXS’ (where you’ll find darker beats and a sweatier vibe) and a chillout area. You can hear drum ‘n’ bass at Bahrein on Tuesday nights, when the well-known ‘+ 160’ club night takes place. Bahrein is located in a grand old ex-bank, so if you like clubbing in a place with vaulted ceilings and multiple chandeliers you’ll be like a pig in sh*t. Open from 12:30am on Tuesday through Saturday nights and from 9pm on Sunday nights.
9. Fugees 99 (Bolivar 1190 y San Juan)
Feel like getting your wigga on? Fugees 99 in San Telmo is just the place to scratch that rap and hip-hop (what is the difference?) itch. It’s an entirely more underground and intimate experience than the Buenos Aires superclubs like Pacha. The music is excellent, the drinks cheap and the spontaneous breakdancing not infrequent. Its open from 2am on Friday and Saturday nights, but the party doesn’t really start going off until around 4am.
Small and intimate, Levitar’s not-so-famous DJs play typical electronic music that’s reminiscent of the Berlin scene (or so I’m told). It has good vibes, and an outdoor terrace that’s really indoors and therefore perfect for smokers (don’t pretend that’s not important smokers). Levitar is a bar/boliche, so you can go there early if you like, but it only tends to really get going late (like 5am).
Cocoliche is a cool microcentro spot that’s a favorite amongst the more hardcore Buenos Aires clubber. It’s a big-name club but still underground. Its dance floor is huge and its laser lights will keep you entertained whatever your state of inebriation. Open from 11pm, Tuesday to Saturday.
12. Asia de Cuba (Pierina Dealessi 750)
During the day Asia de Cuba is an Asian restaurant, but when night falls it slips into a phone booth and emerges as a boliche. It has a cool, smooth, upmarket kind of vibe, as you would perhaps expect in Puerto Madero. The people are generally very attractive but it’s dominated by tourists. If you want to go for the dancing/clubbing as opposed to dinner, don’t go before 1am (probably a good idea, as the restaurant is expensive and doesn’t get good reviews).
13. Caix (Complejo Costa Salguero)
Sure you COULD go to Caix at a normal time, say 2am on a Friday night, but that’s not really what it’s all about. Much better to head there at 10am on a Sunday after eight hours of dancing somewhere else. Yes, Caix is an after-hours club on Sundays. It has five dance floors to choose from. It’s open from 12:30am to 6am Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays…and 9am to 3pm on Sundays.
Two rooms at the very cool Kika aim to please everyone by playing pop music in one and house in the other. It’s a mid-sized place, perfect for when you don’t want to waste time looking for your friends after you’ve had a few drinks. There are plenty of bars nearby (it’s in Palermo) where you can meet and wait until ‘the right time’ to go in (that is, 2-3am). The crowds are generally young and beautiful, especially in the VIP section. Kika is open from 1:30am on Friday and Saturday nights, earlier on Tuesday nights (see below).
15. Voodoo Motel (Dorrego 1735)
Why not spend your clubbing peso somewhere a little newer…like Voodoo Motel, which opened its doors recently, in 2008. On different nights you’ll hear house, electro, techno, cumbia and reggaeton, and some live performances mixed in with DJ sets. It’s very cool. Open Saturdays from 8pm.
Daily Club Recommendations
Picking a club earlier in the week isn’t so hard, but as the weekend approaches the options multiply and it starts to get hard to choose. But never fear! Just turn to the following list and you’ll be fine:
* Monday: La Cigale (25 de Mayo 722)
La Cigale is in fact more of a bar than a boliche, but come on, it’s Monday night! Don’t worry, you can still stay until 4am and they have DJs (or sometimes live music). It’s a French-themed place with a lovely turquoise bar. Happy hour runs from 6pm to 10pm. If you can’t make it on a Monday, Tuesdays are French Soirée Nights featuring techno, trance and French expats. Open from 6pm to 4am Monday to Friday and from 9pm to 6am on Saturdays.
* Tuesday: Hype @ Kika (Honduras 5339)
Hype at Kika rules Tuesday nights. And why not? International DJs play beats from hip hop, dubstep and drum ‘n’ bass, and a big crowd comes to pack out the two rooms. You won’t find anywhere better on a Tuesday. Go before 1:30am to get discounted entry.
* Wednesday: Museum (Perú 535).
Museum on a Wednesday night gets pretty trashy, so unless you enjoy seeing them get groped you might want to think again before taking your Significant Other there, but for singles it’s a lot of fun. The interior of Museum is beautiful, as you would expect from a building designed by Gustave Eiffel. The fantastically popular after work event kicks off at 7pm and goes until 10pm; then it becomes a full-blown boliche.
* Thursday: Club 69 @ Niceto Club (Niceto Vega 5510)
Club 69 is a theater company who put on a transvestite show (…with B-Boys) at Niceto Club every Thursday night. It’s been running for 11 years now, which gives you an idea of its popularity. It draws a big crowd of mostly tourists and a fun night is pretty much guaranteed.
* Friday: Crobar (Paseo de la Infanta, Avenida del Libertador 3883)
Crobar is a classic Buenos Aires boliche, and Friday nights is what it does best. You won’t see transvestites, a sweaty after-work crowd, French expats or Goths with multiple tattoos, but you will get a night of great house music from top DJs in pleasantly boisterous surroundings. ‘Nuff said.
* Saturday: Mandarine (Avendia Costanera Rafael Obligado)
Mandarine has been through a lot lately since it changed its name (it used to be called Mint), but now it’s well and truly back, and Saturdays (from 1am) are the best nights to check it out. Big crowds will help you get your dance on.
Because it’s Saturday night we’ll throw in an alternative: State @ Alsina (Adolfo Alsina 940) is the place to be when you want to see international DJs with a few thousand of your closest friends.
* Sunday: Amerika (Gascón 1040)
F*ck yeah! Technically Amerika is a gay disco, but all are welcome and there’s always a huge crowd with plenty of people of every sexual orientation. Two dancefloors and four bars will help you forget that it’s really Monday morning. Open from midnight.
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Loooooove Asia de Cuba! You HAVE to party all night to REALLY experience BsAs.