Africa Nightlife Tips by DAO Top 5 Page for this destination

CHEZ JULIEN: CHEAP LOCAL BAR - TOGO

I liked this place. It a brand new, locally owned, beer bar. A very good beer bar. First of all they sell huge bottles of Flag Spéciale (65cl/22fl oz) for less than other bars sell the 33cl (11fl oz) bottles. Ice cold, massive, cheap beers. You are liking this place already aren’t you? It is a large ‘L’ shape and open plan. So you can sit there and avoid the sun or the rain in a nice warm atmosphere and drink lots of great beer and stay within your budget. They do play music, but you can sit around the other side from the bar and enjoy a quiet drink if you wish.

The ladies that run the place were really nice and helpful. You may need to shout if they are in the back, but they appear instantly. They seemed to be making food when I was there, so there may be some food options to go with your drinks.

They even have toilets. Get in there!

So they have the 3 ingredients that make a great beer bar:
• Cheap
• Cold
• Big

Address: 1640 Blvd. du 13 Janvier, Lomé, Togo

Theme: Adult Spot

HÔTEL ALBERT 1: A QUIET RESPECTABLE DRINK - ALGIERS

Most bars in Algeria are secretive, seedy, dark, hard to find and often not a great place for a woman to go into. If you want a quiet drink in a well lighted and secure environment - have a drink or 3 here. It is a hotel bar, but it does the job. The Hôtel Albert 1 is very close to the main Post Office, shopping, banks/ATM's and is 2 doors over for the hotel restaurant on the floor above the lobby. I was served an ice cold Tango beer (recommended!) at a reasonable price. You can have a laugh and a loud conversation if you want to. Its in a seclude corner of the hotel. Its also a good place for a drink and a relaxing review of your guidebook and travels of the day. Its's air-conditioned as well so you can escape the heat.

The only drawback is that, like very other bar in Algeria, it allows smoking.

Enjoy.

Address: 05, avenue Pasteur, Alger

Other Contact: fax 00 213 21 73 80 34

Phone: 00 213 21 73 65 06

Theme: Eating and Drinking

Website: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g293718-d1644440-Reviews-Albert_Hotel-Algiers_Algiers_Province.html

MOULIN ROUGE: COOL FOR CATS - IN OUAGADOUGOU

This restaurant and bar is an excellent place to sit outside and watch the main street in Ouagadougou. They have nice white linen tablecloths, excellent waitresses, a good menu and cold beers. They even have take-away pizzas you can phone ahead for. I just stopped by for a drink, but had a nice beer and watched the city go by slowly. That's Ouagadougou for you. If you are bar hopping or just want to people watch - this is a great place for a drink.

Food runs along the pizza and burger route, but they offer a few meals, lots of desert, wines and some wild sounding cocktails.

Open 6pm-Midnight 7 days a week.

Address: Avenue Kwamé N’Krumah, Ouagadougou

Directions: in front of the Palm Beach hotel, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Phone: +226 50 30 46 53

Theme: Eating and Drinking

Website: http://ouaga-ca-bouge.net/Maquis-le-moulin-rouge

ADONGLO - Lomé, Togo: WRESTLE WITH THE BIG LIZARD !

Looking for the newest club in Lomé, Togo? Odonglo means 'lizard', so you can come and drink like a reptile, and get wild. I had the pleasure of meeting the owner, Cyrille, who was amazingly welcoming and very happy to invite all VT Memebers! They were still in his first week of operations during my visit. Odonglo is completely new, with amazing lighting, powerful sound system and great seating. They off top dj's, music and a full bar. Its air-conditioned so you can escape the heat outside and be cool inside with your feloow clubbers.

Odonglo is very easy to find. Ask any taxi or taxi-moto to take you to (or near) the Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall). With the building to your back, Adonglo is diagonally to your right.

So go and find your inner reptile!

It's a Toga Party ! And it isn't any fresher than this!


Open Wed-Sat and close when they manage to get you to go home

Address: Ave. de Grunitzky

Directions: Near the Hôtel de Ville

Other Contact: +228 9943 7519

Phone: +228 2241 2424

Theme: Nightclub

Website: http://None

RAS AMBA HOTEL BALCONY: THE BEST VIEWS OF ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

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

Directions: Queen Elizabeth Street, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Near the end of the road East of the National Cathedral and Zoological Museum.

Other Contact: rahot@telecom.net

Phone: +251-11-122 80 80

Theme: Eating and Drinking

Website: http://rasambahoteladdis.com/index.html

Beach Bar at Mount Zion: RASTA ALL DAY, RASTA ALL NIGHT (ZANZIBAR)

Bob Marley still lives! Want an exotic cold drink or just an ice-cold beer. Want to Chill Out? This is the place. The large bar is open on all sides and the bar stools are buried in the sand. Padded benches and tables are also available. Service is friendly and inquisitive. When they ask how your day was, they want details! The guys are superb and will teach you the local board game and tell you anything you want to know about life on Zanzibar. The Reggae music fits well with the tropical weather and creates a mellow atmosphere.

The bar also offers:
A great big hammock
A book Library
Snacks
Cold drinks
Beach side views
The occasional beach fire at night

Enjoy!

Dress Code:
Come as you are. Even if you stay at another hotel, drop in for a drink and then walk the beach back to your room.

Address: Mount Zion Long Beach Bungalows

Directions: At the North end of Jambiani, Zanzibar

Other Contact: znzmountzion@yahoo.se

Phone: + 255- 713 - 061900

Theme: Eating and Drinking

Website: http://www.mountzion-zanzibar.com/HTML/e_beachbar.htm

CHARLIE NORMALS !: THE BEST BAR IN ALGERIA

My new friends in Ain Taya kept saying to me ‘lets go for a drink at Charlie Normals!’ I thought this was an odd name, but they told me it was THE place in Ain Taya (a suburb of Algiers with a beach). We arrived at a control parking area and stepped through an arch into a very pleasant garden area with lots of trees, plants and a great atmosphere. Stone tables and reasonable plastic chairs are organised across a large area, so you sometimes have to waive to get service. Outside you can drink alcohol, smoke and enjoy the conversation. The music is at a low volume so you can hear easily and settle in for a night of drinking under the stars. Well except where vegetation hangs down. The whole atmosphere is relaxed, a bit tropical and you are near the beach if you really want to go for a late swim.

They have several choices of beers and a full bar. Not cheap, but no alcohol is cheap in Algeria.

If you are hungry they do have a fantastic restaurant back by the entrance. I enjoyed a great peppercorn steak dish that was awesome. In fact you could even sleep here as its also a hotel.

The real name of this place is Hôtel Le Chalet Normand. But just ask anyone to point to “Charlie Normals” and you can walk here from just about anywhere in Ain Taya.

I ended up have a few pleasant evenings here. In fact this was by far the best bar I saw in Algeria. If you are in Ain Taya – don’t miss out.

Dress Code:
Modest. Even if it is a bar - you are in Algeria.

Address: 67 Avenue de la Victoire

Directions:
Hôtel Le Chalet Normand, Surcouf, Ain Taya, Alger, Algeria

Phone: 00 213 21 86 86 26

Theme: Eating and Drinking

Website: http://www.bledco.com/business/Ain-Taya/Resorts/Hotels/Hotel-Le-Chalet-Normand

ASK ALECH TEJ HOUSE (Lalibela, Ethiopia): TEJ, TEJ AND MORE TEJ !

Tej is a thick and tart honey wine that actually tastes pretty good. They ferment this stuff for about 1 year. Yep, a year. This Tej House serves 3 varieties:
• Normal
• Strong
• Kick your ass (so my local guide said)
It can be very strong and so tart that you may only want one. It is served in something resembling a laboratory beaker. You hold the neck with your first 2 fingers. Please finish what you order. They really don’t appreciate having to pour away something that took so long to produce. The décor inside is a fascinating mini-museum of Ethiopian life full of musical instruments and native crafts. Worth at least one drink.

Dress Code:
This Ethiopia, so dress smart. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but its quite nice inside.

Directions:
On the main road on the left about 100 meters below the main entrance to the rock Churches

Phone: none

Theme: Adult Spot

Website: http://www.whats4eats.com/recipes/r_bev_tej.php

BIKINI TAM TAM: EVENINGS ON A VOLCANIC LAKE - RWANDA

The Bikini Tam Tam Beach Club is the best beach bar on Lake Kivu between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is actually more beach than bar, but that is what makes it so good. Essentially it is a beach area with gardens overlooking Lake Kivu and a fantastic place to watch sunsets while enjoying a ‘sundowner’. The ‘restaurant’ part of Bikini Tam Tam is mostly plastic tables and chairs stuck in the sand. Don’t worry, they do have covers they put up if it really starts raining. In addition to food and music on the beach, they also have a (safe) boating and swimming area. You can enjoy a massive (720ml) cold Primus on the beach. In fact you are less than 1 km from where Primus Beer is brewed!

Tam-Tam's are musical gongs from Southeast Asia and no one is quite sure how the bar received its interesting name. This is a great place to unwind and see in beautiful sunsets over the lake.

To add to the excitement you can see the nearby active Nyiragongo Volcano and you are right on the beach of one of only 3 Exploding Lakes in the world. And Nyiragongo destroyed 20% of the twin town of Goma in 2002. You need more than 1 beer!

Weekends are packed, but you can always sit on the steps of the kitchen building or on the sand. They have shower facilities, but bring your own towel.

The restaurant menu is mostly beef burgers and chip (thick French fries, but you can get some steak and seafood dishes. The atmosphere is the real charm here. It’s fun and lively.

They also offer camping in their beautiful gardens underneath the dense trees.

Dress Code:
Anything goes. Visit during the day and bring some swimwear and a towel!

Address: Ave. de la Production, Gisenyi, Rwanda

Directions: On the beach in Gisenyi on the road to the Primus Brewery. Less than $1 on a Taxi Moto for the town centre.

Theme: Eating and Drinking

CHEZ NTEMBA: INTERNATIONAL AFRICAN DISCO

Chez Ntemba prides itself as an international nightclub of the highest standard. They combine African music with the hottest dance music from across the globe. They have some nights where ladies in bikinis get in for free and get free drinks. Genius! They have loads of events, guest DJ’s and even road shows.

They can be found across Africa in:

ZAMBIA: LUSAKA, KABWE, KAPIRI, NDOLA
DRC: LUBUMBASHI, KINSHASA
RSA: JOHANNESBURG
ZIMBABWE: HARARE
MOZAMBIQUE: MAPUTO
BOTSWANA: GABORONE
TANZANIA: DAR ES SALAAM
SWAZILAND: MANZINI

Also in Brussels Belgium

Dress Code: Please make sure that, if you are a man, you adhere to the proper dress code and conform to the rules.

There is a story here about the owner of the Chez Ntemba in Windhoek Namibia being injured after the security guards of his own club enforced the rules!

CHEZ NTEMBA STORY

Other Contact: info@chezntembanightclubs.com

Theme: Nightclub