Clubs

Achrafieh

The Basement

Electro, Minimal and Tech-House from The Basement residents DJette (Fri) and Jade (Sat). With a long bar, lots of cushioned seats and minimal lighting (but no dancefloor), this is one of the most original clubs in Beirut located on the site of an old underground carpentry workshop where local and international DJ’s play up on high like preachers sermonising to their flock. Gets crowded so your dance moves may be compromised.

01 570505. Charles Helou Avenue, Achrafieh. Thur-Sat 9.30pm-late. Men must be 21yrs old, girls 18yrs old, no singles allowed, no admission after 2am.

BO18 Classic

Bring back the 90’s with a set of jazz, funk and Arabic music played by owner and resident DJ Nagi Gebran. The interior wall is covered with metallic chains and this theme is maintained throughout the club. The place gets crowded and dancing gets dirty so expect queues to get in and a pumped up atmosphere inside.

01 650606. Sodeco Square, Achrafieh. Mon-Sun 7pm-2.30am. Bar food served.

Concerto

Oone of Beirut’s well-known Arabic nightclubs. DJ Robert plays live music until 1:30 am, then the one man show stays late. The atmosphere is looking for a crowd that likes this sort of thing.

03 988944. Facing Bank of Industry and Work, Sodeco Main Road, Achrafieh. Daily 11pm-6am.

Element

Decorated in earthy colours and wood throughout.Enjoy chill out music earlier in the evening and catch heavier new wave ‘80s rock and commercial pop and house later on. Make sure to reserve a table for a more comfortable night, otherwise prepare to be continuously brushed up against near the bar.

01 212100. Damascus Road, Achrafieh. Mon-Sun 8.30pm–4am. Food available. Reservations recommended.

Tycoon

The decor is in a classical style with contrasting modern technologies. Crystal luster hangs from the ceiling and the bar is made of wood. Plays commercial techno, and house music till 1.30am and then features the one man show Khalil singing Arabic till late.

03 242241. Sodeco, Saadeddine Street; $40-$45 approx per person.

Batroun

Bank

Popular Batroun club features a spacious interior and metallic-style furniture and banquettes along the walls. The music is mainly commercial but the crowd is up for it every weekend with lots of dancing on the bar and champagne as well as paparazzi snapping pics for society mags.

03 141516/06 743333. Main Road, Batroun. Mon-Sun 10pm-late; Entry Mon-Fri: $10; Sat: $15.

Centro

This ground floor pub is decorated in a modern style with black leather couches and stainless steel on the walls. Upstairs the nightclub area has leather on the walls, modern red and beige lounge areas and laser shows. DJ plays international music to a twenty-something crowd.

03 222152. Main Road, Batroun. Bar open daily; Thur-Sat: 10.30 pm. Drinks from LL10,000. Reservation Recommended.

Taiga

One of the first nightclubs in Batroun, a traditional Lebanese vault blended with metal effect walls. The place is for all clubbers aged between 21-40 in the mood for R&B and commercial Arabic and international music. At the weekends it may get crowded.

03 499408. Main Road, Batroun. 8pm-5am. $10 with 1 Drink; $20 with 1 drink plus dinner.

Vivas

With R&B and a one man show singing Arabic music and a screen on the wall showing video clips, Vivas is one of Batroun’s chill out nightclubs. Its interior is inspired by traditional Lebanese decorations with homey red and beige colours and a bar and sofas round the sides. Attracts a clientele of all ages.

Main Road, Batroun. 11.30pm-late; $10 at the entrance with 1 drink.

Downtown

Baby M

DJ plays Arabic, commercial, rai and R&B music at this lush underground Downtown club, popular with a younger crowd. Getting in ain’t easy though so dress to impress.

01 992993. El Maliye Street, Downtown. Bar food available.

Buddha Bar

Part of the legendary Paris franchise, this three-floor establishment serves Asian-fusion cuisine in the restaurant, and plays Buddha Bar chill out type music in the bar and lounge area. You can’t miss the massive (and impressive) Buddha statue in the middle of the club, or the smaller ones round the sides.

01 993199. Asseily Bldg, Riad El Solh Square, Downtown. Daily 8pm-3am

Taboo

High class, big money Downtown club features black and beige leather furniture and glass podiums for dancing to R&B, techno, pop and commercial Arabic music. Tough door policy so dress the part.

01 998100. Lazarieh Bldg, Downtown. Tue-Sun 9.30pm-5am. Closed Mon. Sun: Karaoke night.

Greater Beirut

Acid

The only openly gay friendly club in town is huge but gets crowded. There’s an open plan design here which allows you to dance till dawn on a ‘90s rave, hard house and techno vibe. Don’t miss the impressive laser light shows or the bar featuring a huge statue of Indian deity Shiva.

03 650904. Near Futuroscope, Sin el Fil. Fri-Sat 9pm-6am; Entry $20 for men; women FREE.

E.O.M.

Featuring a huge fibre optic lamp hanging from the ceiling, you can rest on large leather sofas and huge chairs. Rested? Dance on to superb progressive electro house music while keeping an eye on what’s happening outside from the enormous windows at the back of the villa. E.O.M. is also popular for its mixed gay nights.

03 111281. Facing Rotana Academy, Sin El Fil. Thur-Sun 11pm-late. Reservations recommended. Mon: $8-$15 drinks; Thur: drinks LL12,000.

BO18

Internationally famous underground club designed by architect Bernard Khoury to a distinctly morbid theme – the place resembles a tomb. Red curtains cover the walls, vampyric seats are lined along the bar and low wooden tables across the club are meant to look like coffins. A retractable mirrored roof catches the rising sun’s rays so clubbers can dance under the open sky. Music includes hard techno, house and acid jazz. Recently featured in the Lebanese film ‘A Perfect Day’.

03 800018. Charles Malek Avenue, Karantina. Mon-Sun 8pm-3pm.

Jounieh

Medusa

Medusa has a large plant-filled exotic interior with the dance floor reached via a staircase. Metallic chairs covered by leather and wooden tables are scattered around the club. The DJ plays remixed Lebanese folk songs and some commercial English music to a diverse, hip clientele. Gets busy, especially on Fridays.

03 27066. Medusa Bldg, Maameltein, Jounieh. Fri-Sat 10.30pm-late; Friday: Ladies night, Men LL20,000; Sat: minimum charge $10.

Millenium
This rather large place fits about 200 people, and is divided into two floors. The decoration is very Lebanese with brown couches and chairs. Arabic and English songs are the music of choice.

03 813399. Next to Oscar Palace, Maameltein, Jounieh. Fri-Sat 7.30pm-3am. $15 Dinner and Drink. Fri: Ladies night.

Monot

Blush Boutique Club

This new club at Monot is designed to appeal to the ladies as staff uniforms are designed by fashion designer Hanna Touma, hairstyles are by Simon Mendalek and women have their own powder and make up room. This fashion-conscious and elegant club is themed by the colours of the year, with part-owner DJ Said Mrad playing loud Oriental and commercial music. Check out the revolving bar and special sushi shots.

03 555375. Monot Street, Achrafieh. Tue-Sun 9pm-3am.

Crystal

One of the most luxurious clubs in Beirut, and one of the most famous. It features a large interior, decorated in orange and red and is furnished with mirrors and banquettes. It also has the best sound system in town, which means that the music is extremely loud, so don’t expect to recuperate your hearing ability directly after leaving the place. There’s also a good size dancefloor although there’s also plenty of dancing on tables and chairs. DJ plays contemporary international tunes, house and Arabic music.

03 854455. Monot Street, Achrafieh. Mon-Sun: 9pm-6am; $50/person. Reservations recommended.

The House

If you’re lucky enough to get into the VIP section enjoy the burgundy sofas. Two balconies provide a view of all Monot pubs which are closed at 11pm when the place turns into a nightclub.

03 947917. Monot Street, Achrafieh. Thur-Sat 9pm-4am. Approx drink prices LL10,000-LL15,000. Wed: Ladies night with house and trance music for LL25,000 for men; Thur: R&B night; Sun: Karaoke and Oriental night.

Mandaloun

Mandaloun’s interior is typically Lebanese with immense green windows giving you a view to the exterior. The retro decoration and colourful lighting throughout gets you in the mood. One-man show Fady sings Arabic songs during dinner and later on Zeina sings a collection of French and English songs. There’s also a large screen which shows pop and R&B video clips.

01 611311. Sodeco Square, next to Monot Street, Achrafieh. Daily 9.30pm-Late. French fusion cuisine served.

Rai

Commercial latin, house and heavy R&B with oriental techno beats plays here. Live music from 10:30pm till late in this Arabian Harem style bar exquisitely decorated with Persian mirrors and carpets on the walls and furnished with wide sofas decorated with earth coloured cushions and low tables.

03 999016. Monot Street, Achrafieh. Tue-Sun 10.30pm-4am. Closed Mon; Drinks $20 and up. Reservations recommended.

Sidi

This place can host around 300 people and is divided into 5 sections. It has traditional Lebanese decoration throughout the bar. Melhem Zein, Hussein El Jassimi, Ragheb Alameh and many others come every week to entertain the customers.

03 551172. Monot Street, Achrafieh. Fri-Sat 11pm-5am. Prices $20 with 2 drinks. Wed: Ladies night; Thur: Karaoke night; Fri-Sat; One Man Show.