Kiev Nightlife

I paid a brief visit to Arena Beer House with my girlfriend's dad during our stay in Kiev in April 2012.

We had a little time to kill while waiting for my girlfriend and her mum who were watching a performance at the Taras Shevchenko Opera House, so we made our way to the Arena City entertainment complex to visit this beer house that I'd read about in our guidebook. I was attracted by the fact that the beer is brewed on site.

Arena Beer House is a large, upmarket establishment. It has a dining area with plush sofas and private dining booths and a huge circular bar that patrons can sit around. We perched ourselves on high stools at the bar and found ourselves surrounded by large plasma screen TVs. We could also see a stage where live music is sometimes performed.

It was a fairly quiet Sunday evening when we visited. We were the only people sitting around the bar area and there were only a couple of tables occupied. We were approached by a couple of scantily clad blonde girls who were handing out cards that advertised their "cabaret show". The staff didn't do anything to deter them. Perhaps these are the services that their business clientele like to be offered. We politely declined their offer.

There are 4 beers on offer at Arena Beer House; Arena Pils (filtered), Arena Pils (non-filtered), Arena Weizen and Arena Bock. We both opted for the Arena Weizen Beer – a 5.4% wheat beer which, like the other beers, cost 38 Hryvnia / 3 GBP for 500ml.

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I visited the Golden Gate Irish Pub with my girlfriend's dad during our visit to Kiev in April 2012.

Emma and her mum were watching a performance of Don Carlos at the nearby Taras Shevchenko Opera House, so we sought refuge in here from the heavy rain. It was an ideal place to watch live English football on a large screen while enjoying a few beers. We weren't the only people with this idea; as we sat and watched Arsenal vs Manchester City, most of the other voices we could hear were English ones – maybe tourists, maybe ex-pats.

Once the Arsenal vs Manchester City game finished, we were treated to highlights of that day's domestic game between Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kiev and, had we been so inclined, we could have stayed on to watch the Real Madrid vs Valencia game that was being shown live later that evening.

If you are in Kiev and looking for somewhere to view a live sporting event, then the following information from the pub's website might be useful to you:

We are happy to accommodate any sport viewing request, providing no scheduled events are being screened and it is available on our satellite receivers.

There is a large selection of beers on offer at the Golden Gate Irish Pub. We preferred to drink Ukrainian beer (Lvivske White Lion at 23 Hryvnia (1.85 GBP) for 500ml), but there are plenty of imported beers (Guinness, Murphy's, Newcastle Brown Ale, Kilkenny, Harp and various German, Czech and Belgian beers) for around double the price.

A full beer menu can be found HERE.

The Golden Gate Irish Pub is not just about football and beer. It's extensive food menu can be found HERE - offering a large selection of snacks, sandwiches and pub food including traditional Irish dishes.

Club44 has lots of live music inparticular jazz music. it is very popular with the young sophisticated university students of Kyiv. A native friend of mine brought me here and I really enjoyed it. It is hard to get a seat so if you want one try and get there early if not you will have to dance, which wont be so hard coz the music is rather good.

You can order your drinks either at the bar or by waiter service. With waiter service you will not get your bill until the end of the night, so you will have to keep tabs on what you are spending!

Also the Kievpost can be picked up for free at this venue which is an english guide of whats going on in Kyiv during that week.

Dress Code: There didn't seem to be a particular dress code at the club but it was filled with young 20-30 somethings and quite trendy people.

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"Sorry Babushka" is certainly the most popular, cheerful and innovative club in our country. The interior space of the club is a three-level complex, where each floor has its own concept of music, design, light and sound, which creates a unique character of the club. Format of the club is absolutely free from stereotypes, and we are glad to see all of you at our parties.
I-floor - erotic intimate bar, where lovely dancers will help you to relax to forget everyday rash and will present their enticing «Non-stop Dance Show».
II-floor - club-restaurant, where parties in style of «DISCO 80-90” take place every day. As well here are four VIP-rooms for those who wish to lay back and enjoy the companionship with their friends.
III-floor - the club area with a large stage, where popular artists and singers perform Friday and Saturday. Here is a home for finest capital's events, concerts and presentations conducted by best anchors.
Our cheerful bartenders, professional guards and positive visitors guarantee best entertainment in Kiev

Pub crawls is the best way to spent an evening in Kiev. FreeTours organizes pubcrawls on Thursdays and Fridays. It includes entrance to several pubs, english-speaking guide and a glass of local beer. The price for the tour USD 30 for individual or USD 20 if minimum 4 persons group.

Dress Code: Pub style

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Attending a concert at the House of Chamber Music: this is the former Catholic cathedral built in pseudo-Gothic style and located in Velyka Vassylkivska Street.

Its full name of the National House of Organ and Chamber Music of Ukraine.

Liturgy is also held there and the city Catholic community would like to get the whole building for itself, of course, but the city administration cannot seat the concert hall in any other building yet...

You can attend different performances of organ, chamber and choir music here.

Dress Code: evening dress

Had been to the Rio earlier in the evening, which was well organised. Penthouse recommended by a taxi driver (no doubt because he got a tip to bring me there). Small, good enough in itself, but they tried to blantantly rip me off with the bill: I paid by credit card, and my credit card company automatically texts me when a transaction has been made. However, the waitress came back and said the transaction had failed, and asked for cash settlement--the text from my credit card company had already come to my mobile, so they had to retract. They didn't offer to show the print-out from the card machine showing failure of the transaction. So avoid--if they're willing to try to rip off anyone, they don't deserve to be in business.

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There are dozens of nice cafes and restaurants to spend at least half of your spare time in the evening, among them Corona Club Cafe Bar.
This nightlife spot includes a casino, a cafe-bar, three halls and summertime terrace.
This place has a European cuisine, downtown location.
Phone: 220 0216
Address: 4 Rohnidynska St.
Tsarske Selo
(“Czar's Village”), a nice Ukrainian-themed restaurant for you!
It offers the traditional dishes of the Ukrainian national cuisine.
It is open round the clock, credit cards accepted.
Reservation by phone +38 044 573 97 75
Directions: 41/1 Hrushevsky St.

Panas
This nice Ukrainian restaurant is located in a picturesque corner of Shevchenko Park.
It offers lots of dishes of the traditional Ukrainian cuisine and is open round the clock.
Address: Shevchenko Park
Directions: Located in Taras Shevchenko Park right in the heart of the city close to Shevchenko University (metro station “University”)
Tel. +38 044 235 01 96