First of a series

In response to tons of requests from our readers for a listing of our top nocturnal picks in Metro Manila’s exciting nightlife being in the business of providing all the information we have at our disposal under the sun, or in this case, underneath the moon and stars, we always gladly oblige. This is definitely not a comprehensive listing of watering holes or wormholes but a pretty good sampling of what kind of nightlife this raving mad city can offer. So go ahead, paint the town red and make your friends green with envy!

The Dance Clubs

Republiq, 2/F, Resorts World, Newport Mall, Pasay City: A bigger sister of Embassy, in fact, with twice the real estate to shake your booty in. It’s Manila’s current rage according to the city’s tens of thousands of vampires. If dancing’s not your thing, then you can always hop next door to the sparklingly new and massive Resorts World Casino where the gambling and foreign-inspired shows will temptingly suck your wallet dry.

Encore, The Fort, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig: The original big club when it was known as Embassy until several untoward incidents forced it to be born again as Encore. When Embassy opened its doors more than 5 years ago, humongous caverns and warehouses then started mushrooming all over town and called themselves clubs only to close down faster than you can say “unceremoniously.”

Manor, Eastwood City, Quezon City: From the same group that gave life to Embassy and Republiq, this club is a mini Encore located in the call center hub of Quezon City. This place is usually packed with residents of the surrounding northern communities and frequented by nightlife denizens who want a welcome change from the usual Makati/Fort Bonifacio scene. Best place to go to if you’ve got creditors hounding you or paparazzi staking out the more popular nightspots down south.

Icon, Hotel Intercontinental Manila, Ayala Center, Makati: Rising out of the ashes of Manila’s legendary discotheques Where Else and Euphoria, this venue has the best sounding address like its high flying predecessors, 1 Ayala Avenue. Now who can beat that? It’s the only club with a 5-star hotel’s swimming pool right outside where you can drown your sorrows if you’re partner turns out to be a date from hell or if the DJ doesn’t make you pirouette like MJ or Justin Timberlake.

Club Bureau, A Venue, Makati Avenue, Makati: Right smack dab in the middle of Makati’s famed red light district is this mid sized club. You might want to check this place out if you want to avoid the crush of LV and Hermes-toting ladies at the other better-known dance halls. Parking is definitely not a problem here; they’ve got hundreds for you to choose from. The big bonus is that you can always take a walk down the street and savor the sights of the more “exotic” and varied nightlife in the district before calling it a night.

Club LAX, Mall of Asia, Pasay City: The Philippine branch of the popular Los Angeles club, it has one of the best views in the city, the world-famous Manila Bay. Makes us wonder why there aren’t any more of these bay side clubs nowadays. The most famous discos of the 70’s to 80’s were all situated along Roxas (aka Dewey) Boulevard: Stargazer, Queue, Louie Y’s, On, and we’re not even mentioning the dozens of ubiquitous casinos and racy nightclubs that ran the length of the 7 kilometer boulevard from the 50’s until Martial Law authorities shut them down in 1972. Although the strip clubs made a comeback in the mid 70’s, maybe a bay side revival should be in order?