Quote: (05-19-2011 05:38 AM)The Duke Wrote:
Where would be a good place to pickup new prospects (as a foreigner)?
Hmm... it depends on your preference for type of girls, and on your age and status, I guess. There are places with very different demographics. I will try to group them:
High End
Places to dress up, order bottle service, and try to pick up a beauty - but she may be looking to get picked up by a local drug dealer or thug who will spend money on her. Lots of shiny new BMW's and Benz's parked outside. I imagine someone like the G Manifesto would enjoy these places and be successful there.
Planet Club - this is very close to Alexander Nevsky cathedral, a tall church with a gold dome that is an easily spotted landmark. Not sure why it's called Planet Club as it's actually a bar, but people do dance between the tables as the party starts later in the night. Shiny and fashionable, girls are pretty but may be snobby.
Bedroom - close to the Parliament, another landmark, so it's easy to find. Entrance is not very prominent, the club is below street level and not too big but very high quality girls usually. Expect attitudes.
Sin City - you may walk to it from the center (10 minutes) or take a cab. If you ask people, they know where it is. Has 4-5 rooms with different music, techno, oldies, balkan folk, etc. (the latter is the loudest and fullest room, may not be very tolerable by foreigners)
Mid End
Ginger - one of my favorites, usually has good male:female ratio, but I've only been on Fridays and Saturdays. May not be full on weekdays. Music is funky and unusual for this town. It's right by NDK (everyone knows where this is - a big congress center from Communist times) in a subway.
Brilliantine - also a favorite, many foreigners go there, girls are used to being hit on by foreigners, it is right next to the British Embassy (no drunk brits on stag parties, though). Always full after 12, even Mondays. Girls may be in groups though, with guys in the group too, and there is no dance floor so you might need to approach them as they sit on their tables. Music is 80s-90s but definitely not a cheesy oldies bar of the US variety.
Gramophone - on Dondukov St right accross from the Kama Sutra titty bar where a lot of foreigners go. It is only full on weekends, but a pretty cool bar/club.
Tobacco - this is an outside cafe behind the National Art Gallery that has a small inside room with a DJ too but the main attraction in warmer months is to sit outside, some tables are sit-down and some are tall and just to leave your drinks on, so those may be easier to approach. Great for starting off the night.
Lower End
I can't list all of these, but most noteworthy are the clubs that are in a cluster around Jim Beam in the Student City part of town. Obviously, Jim Beam is an american themed meat-market type of bar/club, and there are 3-4 others right next to it which you can bar-hop as the cover is only $3 or so on weekends and some weekdays there is no cover. They are mostly balkan folk music which the local girls love. Bottle service is dirt cheap (like $30 for Johnie Walker Red on weekdays and $50 on weekends). You may need to be with a local to get these prices, though.
You need to take a cab to Student Town ($5 or so but the cabbie may try to screw a foreigner).
These usually are full every day (except Sunday) but you may need to bar-hop to find out where the party's at on that particular night.
Date Places
If you already have a date, here are some good places to take her:
Culture Beat - this is also by NDK, right on the back of the building actually. I'm amazed why this place does not get a better turnout, it is very fashionably furnished and good music, different every night.
Rock'n'Rolla - already discussed above, good if you are a classic rock fan.
Memento - this is a very cool bar with both an indoor and outdoor section. Weekdays they have different theme nights, with Brasilian music, drum'n'base, etc. On the corner of Rakovski and Gurko St. in the center (walkable).
Enjoy!