Addis Ababa Nightlife

My friend and I have been going to different clubs in Addis for these past few weeks. Most of them are pretty good; some have good dancing floors, great sound systems, and spacious seating places. I would nonetheless like to talk about one club in particular.

We went to Club Illusion because of our friend's recommendation. After dancing for a while, we sat on the two seats near the bar. In just 5 seconds an Ethiopian guy and his friends surrounded us and constantly touched us, even after we told them to not do so. The Ethiopian guy then pushed me from my seat, threw me to the floor, shoved my friend to my direction, and threw a glass of alcohol on our faces.

What is worse was that the security did nothing. We talked to a nearby bouncer about this incident. At one point, he told us to not create a ruckus and kicked us out of the club, although he witnessed the whole incident. We too tried talking to the security outside. When the guy walked out and we pointed at his direction, the security people laughed and let him go.

I have never been humiliated and discriminated against in my life. Coming to Addis, I get to understand that faranji-calling is a usual affair that you have to withstand daily. Yet only after I experienced this do I realize that it's a whole lot more than that. The security flat out refused to help us; they constantly stated that they did not speak English and they did not witness this affair, even though it was obvious that the Ethiopian guy tried to hit us once again when he walked out of the club.

Bottom-line: It is recommended that foreigners, especially female foreigners, do not go to clubs and bars alone. While some security are reliable and would immediately react should they sense disturbance, some just stand there to be there.

Dress Code: As long as you can pay the entrance fee, you are good to go.

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If you would like to go for a nice cold beer and a panoramic view of Addis – this is the place. The bar staff are quick and friendly and they have a good bar/hot snack menu. The Balcony is sometimes used for wedding receptions, but you can still go out for some pictures and a look. They also have CNN on the TV in the bar just inside. Despite all this – do not eat at their restaurant downstairs! It’s the 2nd worst restaurant in Ethiopia! Really really bad!

Dress Code:
Respectable

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Loud music is heard from a shanty area between Haile Gebreselassie road, Bole road and Meskel Square. Most of the houses are dilapidated with flat corrugated roof. You don't expect to find bars here. Maybe you walk by without take notice of this place. But there are some small clubs there. Some tourist are invited (or fooled) into this area by local guys to see "traditional dance". They want you to sit down and drink beers and see the girls. Those bars may have a red curtain hanging outside the door.

The nightlife in Addis Ababa is good in the weekends. Many places are found along Bole road (also called Africa road). There are clubs, bars, habesha shows (traditional dances), conserts. They play loud, so just follow the music.

Other bars and clubs in Addis are scattered around the city like Memo Club, Silver Bullet bar, My bar, Concorde, Dome Club, Illusion, Divine, Temtation, Indigo, Utopia, the Cave and Karamara. Some places are disreputable red light places, so it's best to ask a taxi driver first. A taxi costs between 30-50 birr within the Bole road to the centre of the city.

Mostly can be found in poor areas like Meskel Flower Road and off Debre Zeit. These are small ‘kiosks’ or shops turned into bars. Each of these bars wont take more than 5 customers. The door is always shut, so if anybody smokes there, you need to go out every minute because there is no window or any kind of ventilation. Inside the bar, there is the owner, and one or two waitresses. You can buy a drink for the waitress and she will stay with you, but these bars are often visited by the locals who know the waitresses. The cost of a beer is only 10 bir (1$). One thing more, the music here is too high and only the locals can cope with it.

Dress Code: No dress code at all.

The Dome nightclub is attached to Concorde hotel. Residents of the hotel are allowed free of charge but you must mention it to the security guy. It starts at 9.30 with the traditional dance. It’s the same band which performs every night but it’s very good. From 9.30 to almost 11 o’clock, where the traditional dance takes place, most of the locals come with their foreign guests and families. It’s after 11 o’clock that the stage is filled with butterflies. Their target is foreign businessmen and tourists. They charge 100$ and more. A bottle of St. George is 20 bir (2$). Sometimes, they allow taking photos but video is prohibited. The traditional dance is very good and it’s worth a visit.

Dress Code: There are no special dress requirements here. I saw some of the foreigners wearing Jeans.

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Mira Band with dancers play traditional music - Habesha cultural show. I don't know the name of the place or the street. But I remember it on the map. To find it, start Google Earth and enter the coordinates: 8°59'41.13"N 38°46'41.84"E.

Look at one of the video's to see more...

On Bole Road, by the airport, you will see a plane emerging from the building into the street. Inside is a food place (see other tip), but a small bar is inside that hosts weekend live music. It was not the best (local violin and sax), but may be of interest to you.

Lots of nice local people willing to chat with travelling folk.