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Places to go outside the clubs

Phandy

Texas

So spent quite a bit of time recently outside clubs and not much inside and here's a rundown of what we've found:

Bars:
El Copeo - solid mix of latin and 80's/90's music with a live band that typically starts around 10 or a little later. Live band varies from Spanish to English songs and is enjoyable. Younger crowd including guys who will grope your girl on the way to the bathroom to try to get her to come with them. Overall good vibe and cheap drinks ($9 for a bucket of 8 or 10 beers). Usually busy after 9 or so though there are people there most of the time which is better than most places in TJ where most clubs don't really get going until much later so if you need a place in the earlier hours this is a good "go to". People usually start dancing when the live band gets rocking.

Las Pulgas - only been once but music seems to be much more Spanish than English with a slightly older crowd. Similar prices though a bit more expensive than Copeo. I personally am not a big fan as this place is massive and just feels a bit too large. I could imagine with a live band in the main room that it would be a good time though as they have a killer setup for a band to play. There was not one the night we were there (a Thursday).

Cheers - This place clearly doesn't get going until later as we got there around 9 and it was dead, maybe 10 other people. We decided to wait it out a bit as it was "ladies night" and she was curious to see the male strippers. By 10 the place was starting to roll and by 10:30 it was jam packed. Younger crowd (20's and 30's) and lots of Spanish/English crossover songs - Daddy Yankee, etc. Definitely a great vibe here and it's pretty large. No smoking in the main club so you also don't smell like an ashtray and even though I'm a bit of a social smoker it was a nice change. The male strippers were fun for her to watch and she even thought I got jealous which was fun to play up. Drinks slightly more expensive here - think i paid around $40 total for everything we had but it was quite a bit and she was drinking mixed drinks so not really sure pricing exactly. That said, in the US that would buy 2 mixed drinks at a club and this was a LOT more than 2.

Le Conteiner - This is the closest I've seen to an actual US nightclub though still has all the tables and what not I've come to expect from the TJ bars/clubs. Similar music to Cheers here - again Daddy Yankee, Shakira, etc. Good vibe overall. They have a VIP area as well as an upstairs though we stayed down most of the time. This place is also non-smoking in the main area. Doesn't get hopping until 10 or so and then fills in quickly.

Plaza Rio (across the street - can't remember the name of the actual area but it's across the major street from Rio) - TONS of bars here with a variety of music coming from all of them. Cool place to go if you want to hop from bar to bar and try out craft beer, mixed drinks, dinner, you name it. It's pretty quiet over there until 8 or 9.

Plaza Chapultapec - A few decent bars here upstairs. It's a much more "upscale" area and a lot more chill vibe though a lot quieter as well. Not a nightclub feel but more a classy bar kind of place to go grab a nice drink and relax/talk vs dance and party. Some decent people watching here as well as some decent restaurants - see below.

Restaurants

La Cayetana (near Plaza Rio) - Really solid Mexican food but also not cheap - we spent around $50 for a couple drinks and dinners though we both got steaks.

Bodega 8 (near Plaza Chapultapec) - Good Mexican food again though not quite as good as Cayetana. They do have some decent seafood options as well. Whatever you do don't let your girl get a Sangria here (or if you've checked your man card then you shouldn't order one either) as hers was horrible - maybe the worst I've ever seen.

Churrascaria - Lots of choices here and can't remember the name of the one we went to but for $50 compared to US prices it's a great deal

Guiseppes - Good cheap Italian food - they are a chain and the one we went to on Revolucion had a mix of families and couples.

That's all I can think of right now but if anyone has questions feel free to ping me. It's been a whirlwind of "dates" with the CF and learning all about TJ in the process which has been enjoyable.