Jakarta nightlife has changed quite a bit since my previous guides: "Jakarta Nightlife 2011", "Jakarta Nightlife 2012" and "Jakarta Nightlife Tips". Before you head out tonite, these are the latest trends in the Jakarta's partying scene:
The new center of Jakarta nightlife in 2014 is in SCBD (Sudirman Central Business District), in the ex-Bengkel area. In 2 years, many bars and clubs have opened there and they attract the wealthy, trendy youth of Jakarta:
To have a drink, try Lucy in the Sky, Potato Head Garage, Beer Garden, Canos in Foundry 8
For clubbing: Fable (Young crowd, Jakarta International School) or Empirica (Upper Class Indo Chinese).
These places do not have too many tourists or expatriates yet.
Apart from that area, two new clubs worth trying have opened in 2013: Alibi on Rasuna Said (replacing JackRabbit) and the popular Exodus from the Stadium group.
Immigrant was still on top of the game when it closed down for renovation a few months ago. We can expect it will still be popular with a more mature crowd (25-45 years old) when it reopens.
Dragonfly, Red Square (closed) and X2 now attract mostly foreigners and girls looking for foreigners, with a varying proportion of working girls in each (high in Red Square, lower in X2 and Dragonfly). Equinox in X2 is always full on weekends but the crowd is not as upper class as it used to be.
The following bars/lounge/restaurants are usually always busy with expats on weekend nights: Loewy, Bluegrass, Aphrodite, Liquid Exchange, Social House, Cork & Screw, Union, Potato Head, Eastern Promise, De Hooi, Fez, Face Bar, Awan Lounge, Molly Malone's, Murphy's, Black Cat, Melly's, Vin +. Level 5 of Grand Indonesia is nice too with many new cafés like Warung Kopi Tinggi, H5, Ismaya Catering Co.
There are 3 popular rooftop bars in Jakarta: SKYE is the best one with regular events. It is a good place to start a party night and it is busy every day. Cloud is very similar. You also have Awan Lounge in Kosenda hotel but for a younger, cheaper crowd
Hard Rock Cafe has moved for a third time in 10 years. It is now in Pacific Place but it isn't really happening.
Blowfish has been renovated. It is smaller and has become more quiet. Domain as well has some good nights but it is mostly quiet.
Prices have increased. It is not uncommon to pay a 200,000rp entrance fee in the most popular clubs.
Jackrabbit, Luv's Bar and Tribeca have closed. Jaya Pub hasn't and it is still the oldest bar in Jakarta nightlife.
BATS, CJs, Blok M are pretty much the same as before: They have live music, expats and businessmen, and lots of working girls. You can go there pretty much any day of the week and it should be busy. Some other hotel bars are not really happening but they are ok for a drink: Burgundy (Hyatt), MO (Mandarin Oriental).
Tiga Puluh (Le Meridien) and Tempus (Ritz Carlton Mega Kuningan) have live music as well but aren't too crowded.
Bars in Jalan Jaksa change name regularly, but the atmosphere hasn't changed. It is a mix of young indonesians, working girls, professional girlfriends, backpackers, budget expatriates, gays and random people.
7/11 stores are becoming the new cheap bars in Jakarta. On Weekends, they will be full everywhere.
Off the beaten track but very popular too, De Leila is where Saudis go to party in Jakarta.
In Kemang, it is hard to keep track but Nu China, 365 and Triple Nine are still there and crowded. There is a new strip of bars on Jalan Taman Kemang with many recent openings: Umbra, Beer Brother, Parc 19, Liberica, Cowboys Saloon. Hipsters may want to check Treehouse or Cafe Mondo.
In North Jakarta, the music is changing: Techno Kota/ Techno Dangdut/ Funky House is slowly becoming a thing of the past. They don't have it anymore in Mille's and Millenium (but still in Crown, Exotis, Puja Sera). The popular places are still the same: Stadium and Crown are the busiest ones even during the week. (Update May 2014: Stadium is currently closed following the death by overdose of a Policeman).
Still packed as well are Club 36, Malio Club, Alexis, Mille's and Millenium. Sexy dancers and striptease (full naked or boobs only) is the norm in many places: Classic, Malioboro, Crown, Club 36, V2, Emporium, Sumo, etc etc... Even in Stadium during the week...
Prostitution and massage parlours are still operating freely in the capital of the largest Muslim country in the world (Travel Hotel, Classic, Fortune, Malioboro, Alexis, Emporium, Orchardz, etc... basically all the clubs outside of the city center). Drug use is also massive in North Jakarta even though the prices have tripled in a few years.
The only major new nightlife venue in North Jakarta, 1001 (Colosseum) is a surprising success. I consider it to be one of the most impressive nightclubs in the city. Great lighting, great music and good crowd. On the other hand, Illigals, even though it has some interesting events is still rather quiet.
There is also some nightlife that has emerged outside of Jakarta's city center: In particular, in Central Park Mall near Taman Anggrek and in Pantai Indah Kapuk, near Pluit. Those are Cafés/lounges, no real nightlclubs to my knowledge.
Closing hours for the night clubs is very unpredictable. Officially, it is 3am but it seems to change every week. Normally, clubs in the South close at 5am maximum, and clubs in Kota around 7am-9am. Clubs that can be used for afters are Mille's and Exotis. It is very common to rent a karaoke room to keep the party going in some clubs like Stadium, Millenium, Crown.
Since I cannot be everywhere all the time, please drop a comment if I missed something! Thanks a lot!
More pictures of Jakarta Nightlife's new venues (Empirica and Exodus):
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Apart from that area, two new clubs worth trying have opened in 2013: Alibi on Rasuna Said (replacing JackRabbit) and the popular Exodus from the Stadium group.
Immigrant was still on top of the game when it closed down for renovation a few months ago. We can expect it will still be popular with a more mature crowd (25-45 years old) when it reopens.
Dragonfly, Red Square (closed) and X2 now attract mostly foreigners and girls looking for foreigners, with a varying proportion of working girls in each (high in Red Square, lower in X2 and Dragonfly). Equinox in X2 is always full on weekends but the crowd is not as upper class as it used to be.
The following bars/lounge/restaurants are usually always busy with expats on weekend nights: Loewy, Bluegrass, Aphrodite, Liquid Exchange, Social House, Cork & Screw, Union, Potato Head, Eastern Promise, De Hooi, Fez, Face Bar, Awan Lounge, Molly Malone's, Murphy's, Black Cat, Melly's, Vin +. Level 5 of Grand Indonesia is nice too with many new cafés like Warung Kopi Tinggi, H5, Ismaya Catering Co.
There are 3 popular rooftop bars in Jakarta: SKYE is the best one with regular events. It is a good place to start a party night and it is busy every day. Cloud is very similar. You also have Awan Lounge in Kosenda hotel but for a younger, cheaper crowd
Hard Rock Cafe has moved for a third time in 10 years. It is now in Pacific Place but it isn't really happening.
Blowfish has been renovated. It is smaller and has become more quiet. Domain as well has some good nights but it is mostly quiet.
Prices have increased. It is not uncommon to pay a 200,000rp entrance fee in the most popular clubs.
Jackrabbit, Luv's Bar and Tribeca have closed. Jaya Pub hasn't and it is still the oldest bar in Jakarta nightlife.
BATS, CJs, Blok M are pretty much the same as before: They have live music, expats and businessmen, and lots of working girls. You can go there pretty much any day of the week and it should be busy. Some other hotel bars are not really happening but they are ok for a drink: Burgundy (Hyatt), MO (Mandarin Oriental).
Tiga Puluh (Le Meridien) and Tempus (Ritz Carlton Mega Kuningan) have live music as well but aren't too crowded.
Bars in Jalan Jaksa change name regularly, but the atmosphere hasn't changed. It is a mix of young indonesians, working girls, professional girlfriends, backpackers, budget expatriates, gays and random people.
7/11 stores are becoming the new cheap bars in Jakarta. On Weekends, they will be full everywhere.
Off the beaten track but very popular too, De Leila is where Saudis go to party in Jakarta.
In Kemang, it is hard to keep track but Nu China, 365 and Triple Nine are still there and crowded. There is a new strip of bars on Jalan Taman Kemang with many recent openings: Umbra, Beer Brother, Parc 19, Liberica, Cowboys Saloon. Hipsters may want to check Treehouse or Cafe Mondo.
In North Jakarta, the music is changing: Techno Kota/ Techno Dangdut/ Funky House is slowly becoming a thing of the past. They don't have it anymore in Mille's and Millenium (but still in Crown, Exotis, Puja Sera). The popular places are still the same: Stadium and Crown are the busiest ones even during the week. (Update May 2014: Stadium is currently closed following the death by overdose of a Policeman).
Still packed as well are Club 36, Malio Club, Alexis, Mille's and Millenium. Sexy dancers and striptease (full naked or boobs only) is the norm in many places: Classic, Malioboro, Crown, Club 36, V2, Emporium, Sumo, etc etc... Even in Stadium during the week...
Prostitution and massage parlours are still operating freely in the capital of the largest Muslim country in the world (Travel Hotel, Classic, Fortune, Malioboro, Alexis, Emporium, Orchardz, etc... basically all the clubs outside of the city center). Drug use is also massive in North Jakarta even though the prices have tripled in a few years.
The only major new nightlife venue in North Jakarta, 1001 (Colosseum) is a surprising success. I consider it to be one of the most impressive nightclubs in the city. Great lighting, great music and good crowd. On the other hand, Illigals, even though it has some interesting events is still rather quiet.
There is also some nightlife that has emerged outside of Jakarta's city center: In particular, in Central Park Mall near Taman Anggrek and in Pantai Indah Kapuk, near Pluit. Those are Cafés/lounges, no real nightlclubs to my knowledge.
Closing hours for the night clubs is very unpredictable. Officially, it is 3am but it seems to change every week. Normally, clubs in the South close at 5am maximum, and clubs in Kota around 7am-9am. Clubs that can be used for afters are Mille's and Exotis. It is very common to rent a karaoke room to keep the party going in some clubs like Stadium, Millenium, Crown.
Since I cannot be everywhere all the time, please drop a comment if I missed something! Thanks a lot!
More pictures of Jakarta Nightlife's new venues (Empirica and Exodus):
