The Kyiv Post asked four Kyivans who are hardcore club-goers to share their impressions from the city nightlife and tips on what to expect from specific clubs. For the addresses of the clubs mentioned see page 13.
Sasha Katunin, 25, video editor and DJ
On picking the club. Katunin says he picks the club depending on the particular party. “But I would probably recommend BoomBoomRoom for its great atmosphere and Cinema Club for its interesting music shows,” he says.
“Green Theater is a cheap one, the guests there are just over 18, L8 Cafe is usually a great fashionable get-together, strict face control and dress code, Decadence House has an expensive bar and older guests,” Katunin explains.
Worst clubbing experience. Vodka Bar falls to Katunin’s “don’t go there” category. “The music is terrible, guests are mostly foreigners and ladies looking for an affair. But the prices on the bar are really low,” he says. The clubber adds he lacks diversity in Kyiv nightclubs music programs, since he mostly goes there for music, but meeting nice girls also happens, he says.
Alla Tsarenko, 25, choir singer
On picking the club. “Caribbean Club has been my favorite one for a long time,” says Tsarenko, praising the club for “nice atmosphere, familiar faces and feeling like home.”
“But you get fed up with all the same faces very quickly,” she says.
Lately her favorite club has been Disco Radio Hall. It charms the woman with “normal prices, older guests and music that you can actually dance to, not just stomp.”
According to Tsarenko, Saxon and Forsage are good for dancing to different music on clubs’ several floors.
“The men I know say that to get a cheap girl one should go to Shooters or Disco Radio Hall,” Tsarenko says, laughing. The same clubs are recommended for the clubbers with the short budget. Dali and D’Lux are much more expensive. The entrance is usually free there, but the face control is very strict. “Those are the clubs where you can meet celebrities. Once I met Ani Lorak in Dali,” Tsarenko says.
Vodka Bar is known to attract a lot of “Eastern-looking men”, Tsarenko says, adding that the club was “probably designed for them.”
Guests from Europe looking for the ladies attention usually choose Caribbean Club, she says.
“The legend says that the left side of the bar at Caribbean Club is for prostitutes,” Tsarenko says, smiling.
Worst clubbing experience. Sorry Babushka club. “It is just a village club party, people dance there barefoot , while wearing shorts,” she explains.
Anastasia Vdovichenko, 23, shop assistant
On picking the club. “I mostly go to Disco Radio Hall and Bionica, they are pretty cheap. But we spend no less than Hr 500 for three girls anyway,” she says. Vdovichenko names Vodka Bar as good option.
“There are always lots of foreigners there and you can always meet interesting people. On one of the nights there, more than 30 men approached me to start a talk. After that I got drunk and stopped counting,” she giggles. Vdovichenko says she usually drinks Mohito and claims it is the best in Disco Radio Hall. She says that most clubs’ guests “just drink Red Bull with vodka and get drunk very quickly.” “People getting drunk is what I hate about clubs, during the last party at Forsage there were three girls who just got carried out, they couldn’t walk,” she laughs.
Worst clubbing experience. Saxon club has been disappointing.
Anastasia Sergienko, 26, PR manager
On picking the club. Anastasia Sergienko says her tastes keep changing, but she mostly prefers clubs where people come to relax and listen to good music to clubs where women come to meet men. “I used to be a big fan of D’Lux, there is always a nice mix of European and Russian or Ukrainian pop and for a long time it had been the only club where you could lose yourself.” Decadence House, Sky Bar and Mantra are the clubs for rich kids, she says. “Usually they are high on drugs and move around those three clubs. Same faces,” she explains. Caribbean Club, Indigo and Coyote Ugly have the best music parties and entertainment programs, Sergienko says. Sergienko is a PR manager for Coyote Ugly.
Serebro and D’Lux have the strictest face control. “Once I saw two men denied entrance just because guys at face control thought their shoes looked sporty, though the men were clearly wealthy,” she says. “At the same time these clubs are full of girls who bought one expensive dress and wear it all the time, while drinking the same glass of champagne all night long.” Sergienko says she prefers Ukrainian clubs to European ones. In Ukraine, she says, there is more diversity in nightlife. “For example, in Budapest most clubs look like drug shacks and it is not clear what people come there for,” Sergienko says.
Worst clubbing experience. Kalinka-Malinka at Troeshchyna neighborhood in Kyiv.
Kyiv Post staff writer Daryna Shevchenko can be reached at [email protected].
