Bars
Caramba
Fort Bonifacio, Taguig
Opened in October 1999, Caramba is a trendy and spacious new place to go out in the Fort Bonifacio development outside the Makati business district. It's a two-floor Latin style club that features live music and a small dance floor. This area of the city, which also is home to bar/restaurants Fat Willy's and Mondo, is quickly growing in popularity, especially for the city's yuppies. But it can be very difficult to flag down a taxi to take you back to the Makati business district, especially during the early hours of the morning.
Cheers
Upper Basement, Glass Tower Building
115 Carlos Palanca Jr. St.
Legaspi Village, Makati
Formerly known as Blarney Stone and O'Reilly's, Cheers has undergone several ownership changes in the past few years. But it remains one of the popular billiard venues frequented by expat businessmen. The bar features live music every night, a trivia contest on Thursdays and an eight-ball pool tournament on Sundays. Also a good spot to knock back a couple of pints of Guiness and watch sporting events on a giant screen TV. Located in the basement of a building in Legaspi Village, Cheers can be hard to find.
Click here to see the map.
El Cirkulo
Milkyway Building
900 Pasay Road, Corner Paseo de Roxas
Quiet and elegant place to have a drink after work. Also a good place for light meals or appetizers. Walking distance from the New World Hotel. Click here to see the map.
Hard Rock Café
3rd Level, Glorietta 3
Ayala Center, Makati
Part of the international chain, the Hard Rock offers the same standard mix of rock memorabilia, live music and drinking. But it has never acquired the popularity of some of its sister clubs in other cities in Asia and around the world. Click here to see the map.
Heckle & Jeckle
Ground Floor, Villa Building,
Jupiter St., corner Polaris St.
Makati
Tel: +63-2 890-6904
Walking distance from the Mandarin Oriental at the foot of Makati's red-light district, this bar with a cartoon motif has become a favorite watering hole for Manila-based expats as well as Filipinos.
From happy hour until closing, customers crowd around the pool table and discuss sports, movies, music and business over a few cold drinks. On weekends, local bands pound out blues, rock 'n roll and ska tunes until after 2 a.m. The owner, a Dutch-Indonesian named Jerry, is a member of local motorcycle club, the Mad Dogs. But don't be concerned if you find the entrance jammed with Harley Davidsons, because most of the owners are expat executives who bear little resemblance to the Hell's Angels. Click here to see the map.
Hobbitt House
1801 Mabini Street
Ermita, Manila
This Manila institution is one of the most unique bar experiences you will ever come across. All of the waiters and service staff are midgets (or little people). Located downtown near Manila Bay, the Hobbitt House also offers some of the best music in the city, especially if you are looking for homegrown sounds.
Insomnia
610 J. Nakpil Street
Malate, Manila
The hippest club on the hippest street in the hippest part of Manila. It is dimly lit inside, but that doesn't match the party ambience. As the night wears on, the yuppies give way to a younger set that often pours onto Nakpil Street and dances to rave music until the sun is peaking over the horizon.
Click here to see the map.
L.A. Café Manila
1429 M.H. Del Pilar St., corner Romero Salas St.
Ermita, Manila
Opened in July 1999, L.A. Café has become a hot new place to go out in downtown Manila. It has two pool tables, a dance floor and is open around the clock. Walking distance from the Diamond Hotel.
Prince of Wales Pub & Grill
Basement, New Plaza Building
Greenbelt Centre, Legaspi Village, Makati
For years, one of the most popular hangouts for Manila-based foreigners, especially Europeans. Expat businessmen often stop by this British-style pub (located near the Greenbelt Cinemas) after work to enjoy happy hour and wait for the notoriously awful Manila traffic to thin. Walking distance from the New World Hotel, Shangri-la Makati and The Peninsula Manila. Click here to see the map.
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Nightclubs
Prostitution is illegal in the Philippines, but houses of ill repute abound. The government generally turns a blind eye, but every so often police raid establishments suspected of prostitution and haul the employees down to the station. In Manila, it is not uncommon for businessmen to entertain their clients or partners with a night on the town at some of these clubs. Business travelers should remember that unprotected sex with one of these ladies carries a real risk of catching a disease, including AIDS.
While in one of these bars, you can ask one of the dancers or "guest relations officers" to sit down with you. Most of them speak a passable level of English. If a girl does keep you company, it is expected that you buy her a high-priced cocktail known as a ladies drink. If you want to take a girl out of the bar, you have to pay what is called a "bar fine" or purchase a minimum number of ladies' drinks (the latter being legal sleight of hand to avoid the appearance of prostitution). The bar fine goes to the bar, not to the girl. The fee for any extra services from the girl must be negotiated between the two of you. Agree on this figure in advance and don't accept "It's up to you" for an answer, because it rarely is and such uncertainty can lead to arguments later. Top hotels usually insist that a lady visitor sign in at the front desk (this is for your protection against theft etc.) and often will charge you some sort of guest fee even if she doesn't spend the night.
P. Burgos Street:
Foreigners generally stick to two main areas if they go out to girly bars, as they are referred to in Manila. P. Burgos Street in the Makati business district is a neon-bathed strip of bars that cater to the business traveler. These bars generally are small, dark and smokey with a stage near the back, where five to 10 girls dance at a time. There is no nudity. The waitresses tend to be aggressive in urging customers to buy ladies drinks, which can cause your bill to grow very rapidly if you aren't careful. Although you sign a chit for every drink, business travelers should take the time to check the bill at the end of an evening to make sure it hasn't been padded with a few extra. While the prices on P. Burgos may seem inexpensive by the standards of other Asian cities, keep in mind that other parts of Manila are cheaper (though less convenient to get to from the central business district). With only a few exceptions, you should expect to pay 100 pesos for a local beer, 250 pesos for a ladies drink and the equivalent of 10 ladies drinks (2,500 pesos) as a bar fine. Papillon, Bottoms, Dimples, Ivory, Cuddles, and Friday's are well-known clubs that fall in this category. Jools is a larger and popular bar that features modern dance shows every night and music in addition to the regular line dancers. Café Mogambo, Geronimo's, and Banditos tend to be cheaper and more relaxed than the other clubs.Click here to see the map.
Pasay City:
The other area of town where expat businessmen frequently go out to girly bars is the Pasay section of Manila. These bars tend to be larger and less expensive than those on P. Burgos. They are usually run by expat managers, who keep the aggressive solicitation of ladies drinks to a minimum, which creates a more relaxed atmosphere. In most bars, expect to pay 70 pesos for a local beer, 180 pesos for a ladies drink and 700-800 pesos as a bar fine.
One of the most popular and largest nightclubs in the Pasay area is Chaos (formerly called Vixens and Axions), facing Manila Bay on Roxas Boulevard near Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue. It has about 50 girls at a time clad in neon-colored bikinis dancing on stage to thumping disco and pop music. On weekends, it can get crowded with expats and some Filipinos. The manager is a friendly Belgian named Patrick, who takes good care of his customers as long as they behave.
Click here to see the map.
The Complex is an indoor mall housing about eight girly bars, the most popular of which is Firehouse. It is located across the street from the Heritage Hotel on EDSA, the main highway running through Manila. Like Chaos, most of these clubs are large and less expensive than those on P. Burgos. Firehouse's manager is an older American gentleman -- dubbed Papa Don by some of his customers -- who is always ready to pass on a bad joke.
Click here to see the map.
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