The Ultimate Santo Domingo Nightlife Guide 🇩🇴 Best Clubs, Rooftops, & Hidden Gems

[00:00:00]Look, I love a good party as much as the next guy, but I'll be the first one to tell you navigating a nightlife scene in Santo Domingo is no easy task and unlike Copacabana in Brazil or the Walking Street in Thailand, the DR doesn't have a true social hub for foreigners to enjoy the night. So, in this video, I'll be breaking down the Santo Domingo party scene so that you know the must-go to spots, prices, and everything else you need to know. Let's get it. All right, guys. So, before we get into the spots, there's two things that I actually think are more important that we got to talk about first. The first thing you're going to want to know is that nightlife in Santo Domingo revolves around bottle service. Now, this tends to throw a lot of people off because contrary to what you see on Instagram, which is the street parties and the big speakers and all that stuff, people are a bit taken back when they get here and they realize the club scene is more of a lounge-y, chill, upscale kind of vibe. A lot of foreigners when they get here, especially Americans, usually come into clubs speaking English and asking for the biggest name bottle they can think of. Unfortunately, this puts a huge red target on your back, so you're going to want to know the bottle prices and how those work. Here's the breakdown of the bottle prices. Please save this, screenshot this, send it to a friend.

[00:01:04]Bottles in Santo Domingo kind of work in a tier system. You get your lower end, your middle end, and then your top shelf. As you can see on the first tier, it's Stolichnaya Xtra Viejo, and Double Reserva. Now, those three are going to be your introduction bottles. The medium tier, the second level, is going to be your Johnny Walker, Old Parr, Chivas, or your Buchanan's. Last and not least is of course your big boys. That's going to be your Don Julio, Patron, Hennessy. All of that stuff is going to run you like 7,500 and up. Of course, a quick disclaimer, those prices vary. Those are just the tiers and what you probably will get the bottles at, but depending on where you're going, what time you get there, if there's an artist, all those things matter and the prices will change. What won't change is the tier system. So, as long as you're ordering something from the first tier, that's going to be the cheapest thing you could probably get in the spot that you're going. Sometimes they may not even offer it, but it's always good to know. All right, guys. Let's get into this breakdown. Like I said, today I'll be telling you about the must-go-to spots out here in Santo Domingo. I'll be breaking it down into four different sections. The first section being nightclubs, the second section being rooftops, the third section being lounges, and the last section being bars. Getting right into it, I'll start with the spots that are just absolutely no-brainers when you come here to Santo Domingo. The first one being The World.

[00:02:14]And no, it's not called El Mundo, it's called The World, straight English, so you know what they're looking for. But on a serious note, guys, this is like the premier club out here in Santo Domingo. This is the spot if you're coming from abroad you want to check out. They always have the best artists, the best atmosphere. You know, like I said, they give you that full VIP experience, and it's just a vibe. Like I alluded to, this is the type of spot you need to fully be alert. Their audience, at least in my eyes, are foreigners.

[00:02:39]This ain't the time to be trying to practice your Spanish. You need to be very short and clear on exactly what you're ordering, know what you're doing.

[00:02:46]If you need to, don't be too proud to bust out that translator, that calculator before anything comes, just so everything is clear. I cannot tell you how many times how many stories and personal experience I've had in a club where I misordered or somebody misordered, and that thing comes up to two, three, four times more than we expected. But this is a spot you will not be disappointed in. DJs are always the best in the city, the artists are always the most popular. This is the spot you're going to catch people like Jaylene, who was with Tekashi 69.

[00:03:16]Any artist from out of town is probably going to make a stop here. It's the premier spot out here in Santo Domingo, to be honest. They play a little hip-hop, they play a little dembow, they play a little salsa. You know what I'm saying? They got a little reggae, they got a little bit of everything in there. All right, guys, number two, and very similar to The World, is a spot called The Gold Club.

[00:03:34]This is another, you know what I'm saying, English-titled spot that's obviously marketed to foreigners. So, again, this is a spot that you want to go in and have your antennas up. Make sure you know what you're doing, make sure you're doing business right. This spot I've actually never been to, but I've always heard great things about it.

[00:03:48]Again, the best artists, I always see flyers, always see it on the artists' pages. It's going to be highly for the who's who's of the DR of Santo Domingo, you know what I'm saying? Again, it's going to be a lot of foreigners. This is just a spot, it's just a vibey spot. As you can tell by the name, it's elegant.

[00:04:04]It's a spot that's going to be nice to, you know what I'm saying? Doing your first, second, third night here. All right, guys, and to round out this portion of the list, I'm going to go with Euphoria. It's also a pretty big name out here, but it's just not like those two. Atmosphere-wise, vibe-wise, it's very similar to the first two. I have been here and aesthetically it's one of the dopest spots in the city. It could be thrown on our list, even though I think it's a good gap between, you know, those first two and this one in third. Now, those top three are going to kind of round out the list, but while making a video, I realized these three spots are a little, let's say, in lack of other words, a little too loungy.

[00:04:40]Those would be the other words. So, I came up with like a 1A 1B kind of situation. Those fall in 1A and those will be more loungy, more upscale. So, these next three are still in the nightclub section, but they will be more like dance clubs, more places where people are up, moving around, more action. First option I have for you is called The Gold Club. This spot does have some sofas, but it was one of the first spots that I found that actually had like standing tables and people actually standing up and dancing. Next, we have the Safe Zone, which is in La Zona Colonial or like the Colonial Zone, I guess it would be in English. Um this spot, another spot that you're going to see a lot of people dancing, you're going to see a lot of people being active. This spot is one of the first spots we talked about that isn't like kind of based around artists or you know, sofas. Like I think the whole idea of this is to be like more of a dance club, more of like a open range club, more like the ones we see in like most cities in the US or abroad. Like this is like that spot where I think it's a bit easier to socialize, it's a bit easier to move around and talk to people and mix and mingle. Guys, we're going to round out the list with a spot called Mint. Mint is another spot that's kind of a but for whatever reason the vibe they have, people more like to dance. So, those are my top six nightclubs if you're in Santo Domingo. The first tier being that more lounge upscale kind of tier, and that includes The World, The Gold Club, and Euphoria. The second tier being more of that dance active, more social mix and mingling vibe. That being The Gold Club, Save the Zone, and Mint.

[00:06:10]If you guys are anything like me, I love a good romantic rooftop, good views, good drinks. That's my go-to. All of these are going to be must go-to spots when you're out here in Santo Domingo.

[00:06:20]The first one being Brickell. This is great for date night cuz if you're out, of course your missus going to want that photo opportunity. They got a nice backdrop, so she's happy, you're off to a great start. So, next we got to head back to La Zona Colonial. We got Sky Europa, and again, one of those ones another classy, elegant, smooth. This spot just offers that outdoor kind of European vibe kind of spot. It's definitely one of those places that you'll go to if you're with somebody and you just want to have like an impressive night. Like take them to a spot that they may not be used to getting out here in Santo Domingo. Or even if you're on a solo trip, solo date, whatever it may be, you may want to just go out to a spot that got a nice cocktails um and good atmosphere. This is one of those spots. All right, guys. And last but not least, and this one was tough cuz this spot is hard to categorize. It's one of those things that just fall in between so many categories, but I thought what it really defines it, what really makes it like that spot is the rooftop feature, so I'll go with Vent. And Vent, like I said, it's it's kind of a transformer cuz it's really called Vent Lounge, so it should probably be in the lounge category, but the whole rooftop vibe just it boosts it up to another another level. And unlike the first two, Vent Lounge is more of a like I said, it's not it's not that spot that's going to be a first thought when you think about date night. This one is more of like lounge-y. If you're going to go to maybe a party at night, you could do it.

[00:07:43]Um but it's another option. It's something different than the first two.

[00:07:46]Absolutely should be on your list, something you should try out.

[00:07:49]Great, great spot. Well located, especially if you're in like more of the downtown area. Makes sense we're talking about lounges already, we may as well just get into it. The first one on the list has to be Paris Lounge. You guys see me there probably in a couple of videos, but it's it's just a classic no like you can't lose with this spot. This is a spot that every time I'm just like, "Yo, where should I go?" It's like my over reliable. It's sexy, TVs if you want to watch sporting events, uh a lot of space, outdoorish, it has that theme with the Eiffel Tower there.

[00:08:23]Again, it gives that impressive vibe if you're going on a date, versatile in what you can do with it. You could go watch a game one night, you could go out one night with your chick, you could go out with your boys one night. Super versatile, and that's why it always makes my list. This is going to be a good spot maybe if you're not located in that downtown area, you may be a Santo Domingo Oeste or maybe a little north, it's going to be a nice spot to get to without possibly having to deal with all that traffic. Just the easy, nice, convenient location to go to and really get your night started or end your night. Next guys is going to be a spot called Carpe Diem. I stumbled upon this spot and oh my goodness, I am thankful I did because this is one of my go-to spots. Again, when we talk about sporting events versatility, I could go here Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. It's going to get all the jobs done. Sunday they got a brunch, any day during the week they have like this week they got the World Cup, before they had the finals. It just it just it's a easy go-to spot, loungy, um food, drinks, DJ always a live DJ. The spot is almost always packed. And last but not least on this list, got to go to Mr. Grill. Mr. Grill is that boy, like ask anybody in Santo Domingo, I think it's a people's favorite, the people's champ.

[00:09:35]Everybody love Mr. Grill. It's just a It's a It's a more of a restaurant, I guess, but they didn't just turn the whole joint to more of a lounge-y spot.

[00:09:42]Everybody just I mean, it's eat, drink, hookah. That's what they do there.

[00:09:47]That's That's live DJ again, big screen.

[00:09:49]All of these spots have a very similar aesthetic and a bit of a different vibe, but Mr. Grills, I guess, is the OG. I would say I put this third cuz it's not on that aesthetic level as the first two, but trust me, it holds its own weight and it's always when it comes to like just of a spot. You're going to run into again the who's who's there. You're going to run into foreigners. It's just It's just a spot you got to check out.

[00:10:13]I'm doing this video kind of in three, so I'll just say this is an honorable mention, but Mix and Lounge will be my last one to close this thing out. Again, another spot on the Malecon, so you got that nice breezy, nice romantic backdrop. Monday, this is the spot you need to be. They're always doing it big.

[00:10:30]You will not regret it. Sometimes they throw foam in the pool. Sometimes they have a pool party. It's one of the most spontaneous spots I think you may find in Santo Domingo. Always something different going on in there. So, Mix and Lounge, lounge-y, vibey. Mondays is the go-to day for that. All right, guys, and last but not least are the bars. Now, my hands down number one, numero uno, without question, is going to be Zytros. Zytros bar. And just so I'm clear, guys, I think as you can see, like all of these places, especially when we get to the bars and the lounges, they're kind of a mix, so you won't see one pure lounge, one pure bar as far as like a bar just with like, you know, tables and stuff. I think each place may have tables and each place may have sofas, but I'm talking about purely like atmosphere-wise, this place feels more like a bar and the drinks is the reason I go cuz them things be busting. One of my go-to when it comes to deals, two for one mojitos, two for one margaritas, brunch on Sunday. Again, nice little island vibe, that background is Malecon.

[00:11:32]So, you got a couple options on that Molly Cone. All of these spots, Zootro's, Mix and Carpe Diem all on the strip. They're all walkable if you want to do that. So, another option, but Zootro's is just my absolute go-to. Great drinks, great energy. All right, guys. The second place is going to be D'Oro Bar. D'Oro is another one just amazing aesthetics. One of my favorite places to go to grab a drink.

[00:11:54]Again, it has that dual thing going on.

[00:11:57]It's also like a club a little bit if you go in. I've had a lot of nice nights inside of the spot. To me, it has some of the best music, especially when it comes to like diversity cuz one thing about D'Oro, they could get very, very salsa and bachata happy out here. So, I love D'Oro when I want to switch it up a little bit, hear some reggaeton, hear some hip-hop. They got me covered. Game nights lit. Atmosphere outside lit. All around. Again, if I got somebody coming in town that want to see the town, I'm taking them to D'Oro cuz they're going to get the visuals they need. Another spot, great service. Also not located in downtown. If you need something that's a little more convenient if you're in the North East, they got you covered. To round out the bar section, I'm going choice, guys, cuz I got a lot of spots I really like, but I'm going with Odette.

[00:12:43]Odette is a spot that I think some people may say it's more restaurant, but for me and how I see it and what they provide is their drinks and the bar there. Oh my goodness. It's a spot that I got to go to at least like once every two weeks. The happy hour there is what I really think kind of sent it over the edge. You see their page here, you can see a lot of it is more focused on the bar.

[00:13:07]Um I don't know. If you guys want to say it's not a bar, say it's not a bar. But to me, it's a bar cuz I ain't never touch a a chicken wing, a turkey sandwich, or any of that stuff while I was there. They focus and really go crazy with the drinks. The happy hour they got like $6 Don Julio shots. They got strong Oh my goodness, man. Like that was one of the only places I've been that spot in Zuktro's that like one or two drinks is going to get you like going to get you where you need to go.

[00:13:38]One or two drinks, that's all you need at Zuktro's and Odette. Like they ain't with the games. They going to get you where you know you need to go.

[00:13:45]And like that guys, this video was longer than I expected, but I wanted to give you guys some nice options so you know where to go. I think it could be so hard maneuvering Santo Domingo. It's a city that I truly feels like an insider city. I feel like this is a city that you feel like you may need to know somebody and that's why I think people say they come to Santo Domingo and don't really have a great time because it does feel like a place that you need to know somebody that at least know somebody that could get you around. It's hard to navigate the city without having somebody who's from here, but hopefully that was helpful guys. Leave a like, comment, subscribe if you like that video.

[00:14:19]Until the next time. Let's go.