For a city of Cairo’s size and population, there is a paucity of venues for straight up booty shaking. Maybe because the concept of “going out dancing isn’t prevalent amongst Cairenes, so there are very few clubs per se. Any place where one can dance often doubles as a restaurant of some sort.
Yet these venues are numerous. And they offer every style of music.
For hardcore clubbing, one must wait for the “raves . But what to do if there is no rave this weekend? Or if one wants to dance to something other than the blip blipping beats of house?
For starters you’ll generally find that the alternative is an assortment of top 40 hits, with a smattering of R&B, Hip Hop and Salsa.
A word to the wise: almost all venues enforce a couples policy on entrance (that’s guy and gal here in Egypt). Groups of girls will of course get in, but if you’re a bunch of guys you’ll probably strike out. This is of course in addition to the age policy, which is legally 21. And it is always advisable to reserve in advance.
Onto the dancing then. First up is Latex in the Nile Hilton, formerly known as Jackie’s Joint.
Latex style is post modern, with smooth surfaces and long curves. But enough about the ladies, Latex offers two types of music depending on which day you go: house and R&B. R&B nights are Saturday and Tuesday with the rest of the week featuring house music and Monday off. The entrance fee is LE 150 after midnight, except on Saturday and Sunday where it’s free. Ladies generally don’t pay an entrance fee any day of the week. Latex keeps banging until 4:30 am so be prepared for a long night of grooving.
Also in the Nile Hilton is the more laid back Jazz Up. Also a venue for live music, Jazz Up features salsa on Sundays and tango on Mondays. For more typical fare, a DJ is available on Saturdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. There is a minimum charge of LE 40.
A more traditional club is Bliss, on Imperial Boat in Zamalek. Also a restaurant, Bliss sports a roomy dance floor by Cairo’s standards. There’s a minimum charge of LE 50. Tuesdays feature Head Candy House music and Wednesdays are R&B nights. The rest of the week is commercial music (a mix of house and R&B, basically top 40 fare) except Saturdays, where there’s no dancing and the evening is all about Sushi.
Downtown head to After Eight which resembles those art deco old school bars of yesteryear (which it probably is). Bands that play in After Eight do so from a room behind a huge glass wall looking onto the guests. It is also a restaurant. After Eight features live music six days a week, but that doesn’t mean you can’t shake it to live music, especially the Latin band that play on Mondays or the Rai (very danceable Algerian music) band that play on Fridays. There’s also a DJ on Tuesdays and the selection will generally be of the salsa/tango variety.
For pure unadulterated Hip Hop there is Bling Bling in Giza, down the road from Fridays. Entrance fees are LE 50 for men. This is a new venue that has recently opened, so it will be interesting to see whether it survives the fickle fate of many a Cairo club before it or if it will wither away due to either a lack of visitors or the wrong kind of visitors.
Finally there is the Cairo Jazz Club. While the name suggests a very different aura to all out dancing do not be deceived.
Yes, in essence, the Cairo Jazz Club is a venue strictly for live music – not only jazz music, many of the bands that play in After Eight also play here including the Rai one – and often the bands that play there play music that is great to dance to, but there are also nights strictly for dancing. Friday, or Digital Friday as they call it, is a celebration of all electronic music. And Wednesday is Boogie Night. Two DJs play alternate Wednesdays; one is a house DJ and the other will play a selection of funk, R&B and seventies disco, so whichever style takes your fancy you’ll find it. Be aware that Boogie Night is often packed so get there as early as you can.
