Zentra

I just want to tell people, DO NOT GO HERE! After recent dealings with their management and people in their «front office», I understand why everyone in that club is rude. It starts from the top! They are rude and arrogant. I would advise all to stay away from this place.
I’ve previously witness the bouncers not letting a pregnant woman in who was there to celebrate her sisters birthday. I’m not even sure how they knew the person was pregnant and not just overweight. Who does that? Well, I actually questioned who comes to the club pregnant but hey that’s not my place!

First of all the people at the door had a problem with the fact that if you check in with the Foursquare app as a newbie that you get in free. Secondly, one of the people at the door argued and told someone in my party that it wasnt them on their ID and they wouldnt let her in. It wasnt until the outside bouncer went and talked to him that he agreed to let the person in my party enter inside the club. The woman bartender decided to stop serving the free drinks before 11 and the security had horrbile attitudes. The best part about Zentra was the dj.

Haven’t been here in 4 years… now I remember why! Only reason I was there this Saturday was to see my cousin compete in a Bachata conteset. (no words to describe that mess, but she won which was well deserved)
Flyer and text promoting said ladies would get free entry till 1am. After waiting in line for 15 mins we get in to be told entry was $ 20 but that he would do us a favor by charging us $ 10…um can you not read? FREE TILL 1… it’s 12:50 a-​hole. If we weren’t there to see my cousin perform we would’ve turned around and left.
Get inside & head to the bathroom… NASTY. My stall didn’t have any paper, my friends stall had a toilet that didn’t flush. Not all of the sinks worked.
The downstairs room was a total sweatbox… hot & smelly. Took forever to get a drink because it was crowded as can be… due to the fact that the dj was good, the only plus to the nite!
A firetruck and ambulance were taking up the street outside because of something going on across the street. Valet brings my car directly behind the emergency vehicles so that I have to reverse down to the end of the block in order to leave. Made no sense to me but I was glad to get out of there.
Um yea… won’t be ging back.

Overpriced drinks! I paid $ 44 for 2 long island iced teas and 2 shots of grey goose. I was only there for 2^nd hour, when the DJ started replaying the same song. Bathrooms were clean and really only enjoyed myself because I was with my friends and I always have good time with them. Oh yeah, they have a couple stripper poles too, if u wanna get ur grind on lol

Sweet, finally get to dish out 1 star.
Zentra blows. PURE GREED from these classless schmucks. They’ve got a hostile and abrasive door staff. BUT HEY! FREE COVER, but who gives a rabid rats breath when there’s a mandatory $ 10 coat check.
Glad there’s a line outside and nobody inside this pile of hot garbage. Maybe a glass of scotch, bourbon, or decent whiskey will turn my frown upside down. NOOOOOOOOPE. They’ve got more candles on the liquor racks than… you guessed it, LIQUOR! Drinks are over priced as sin…
With the club almost empty, the music was deafening. I laughed as
I was inches from my girlfriend and was telling her I cant even hear myself talk. We probably looked like drunken Irish sailors as we were screaming at one another to attempt conversation. DJ played decent music, but incredibly too loud.
Zentra’s everything a club shouldn’t be. Perhaps a meteoroid will crash into this place sometime in the near future.

Hello guys!
I love Zentra. I’m not sure about the bad reviews down below, but they are years old. To make a correction, beer is not $ 9! Holy smokes! It is only $ 4 for domestic and $ 6 at the most for import beer. Drinks are very cheap too for a nightclub. All the drinks are usually $ 8 or $ 9, ANY kind of vodka, gin, tequila, etc. that you like. They’re ALL the same price, except of course for martinis, long islands and such. The bartenders are really nice, and if you are nice to them, they hook it up!
Also, the whole staff is very nice and respectful. I have never seen such nice security guards or bouncers. Friday nights are a mixed crowd, some hip hop, mashups, and top 40 music. Saturday nights is also a mixed crowd with more of a Latin twist with Latin music playing in the VIP room. Everyone is welcome in the VIP room. Sunday nights are hip hop nights. Usually there is no cover before 12am and until 1am if you are on the guestlist. It is easy to get on the guestlist, just be nice to the bartenders or bouncers, and you can get on their guestlist!
Bottle prices are the cheapest I have seen in any nightclub in Chicago. They have moet champagne bottles going for under $ 200! You can even buy a bottle at the bar and drink your bottle at the bar, or you can have a host seat you at one of the nice big tables. There is a bottle minimum for the tables though, sometimes 2 or 3. But they are at a very good price. Sometimes Grey Goose and Belvedere bottles even go for $ 200.
This is a very good place for birthday parties too. They have great deals. Look them up on the zentra website! The club has two floors, and the first floor has two rooms (main room & VIP room). Overall, this is a great place to party with good staff and inexpensive drinks.

I don’t know why this place is getting these bad reviews but I love this place! The security guards are super friendly and their team is very organized. Their bar staff is super friendly and the drinks are not watered down, I find them quite strong actually: P And like any club, sometimes there is a line and sometimes you have to get there by a certain time if you do not want to pay cover. The music is great and they recently re-​did their bathrooms upstairs so its all good! Give ZENTRA a try! :)

I’ve had some of the best times at Zentra! I witnessed some pretty legendary sets from the likes of DJ Sneak, Q-​Bert, & Mark Farina. The atmosphere is truly dope & the music never disappoints, but what takes the cake for me are the awesomely gorgeous bartenders, Maureen & Christine! Not only can they whip up a nifty drink, but they are probably the nicest, most beautiful gals you’ll ever meet, anywhere! See you soon, ladies!

I went to this place for a friend’s birthday. Luckily for him, he got this venue through a promoter and he got hooked up with bottle service and several bottles of champagne.
There was wait trying to get in even when I arrived early. Once we got in, there was barely anyone there, so why the wait? Anyways, there were free drinks from 10p-11:30p, but they were watered down and service was terrible!
I don’t know how I feel about the mandatory coat check. Part of me thinks it’s kind of ridiculous because you should give people the option and not everyone always carries cash around.
The music was decent, but other than that the place smelled pretty horrid and the bathrooms were super dirty.

I must say, I’ve had some decent times at Zentra. I’ve been here a few times. For the most part, the text messages from the promoters have been legit (in my case) so that was cool.
Sometiems the D. js are good… sometimes they’re wack! There is no in between. I can’t even specify which days are better. Smh. It just depends on your luck for the night.
Parking is HORRIBLE! I repeat, HORRIBLE! UGH! And then they want you to pay $ 20 to park in a car wash or market’s parking lot? Please!
Guys here can be kind of thirsty. To the extreme, lol. It actually gets quite annoying.
I’ve realized I have more fun, when my friends and I have bottle service, but I can go to a different club and get cheaper bottle service, w/​better promoting deals for birthday parties. So I wouldn’t waste my time here with that.
The last time I went here (before I left for school this semester) they were advertising an open bar special. And they ran out of alcohol! I was to through. Lmao!

OK lets be honest
Zentras is predominantly a Black club. they have Hispanic nights on saturday. the promoters send out misleading texts, the drinks are expensive and watered down and to use the atm is almost $ 5! They purposely hold up the line till midnight so you have to pay more. The staff is jaded, rude and disorganized. The crowd is ghetto, rude and ignorant. Over all its possible to have a good time but you gotta be there drunk as a skunk!

Let me make this a quicky! Not worth anything, not even saving! «Promoters» sends misleading texts, say «open bar» but NOT! say «with text «get to the door they won’t except forward texting.
Unorganized/​Unprofessional Door Security.
MONEY GREED! PLEASE TAKE HEED!

Lured by Broke Hipster!
After seeing online that there would be free champagne, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at Zentra to celebrate their tenth anniversary on top of Derrick Carter spinning, I could not help myself and organized a crew to roll up to the club and RSVP’d +3 and another friend RSVP’d +4.
Rolling up to Zentra we got in no problem and they literally had a live camel standing outside while being tended by two farmers from Wisconsin wearing sheik costumes. Cinder blocks were put in front and the side of the camel and a pile of sand was under him so he could sit down. Ridiculous!
After going inside, I asked what the drink special was and the bartender said Pomergrante Smirnoff for the first hour, so ordered myself a drink served in a midget class. I quickly finished and ordered myself a complimentary champagne. On my third trip the second bartender had no idea what I was talking about then I had to yell since it was so deafening loud.
Other than being the only people in the club, the deafening nature of it soured my mood along with a bartender who seemed angry I was trying to get free booze that was advertised! I still tipped the angry girl who shot me a dirty look. There were no hors d’oeuvres and the music was not getting anyone dancing.
A little while later, a few girls came up offering more free cocktails featuring sparkling liquer, tequila and vodka also served in teeny tiny itsy bitsy eenie weenie midget glasses yet again! Our other friends showed up and the doorman would not let them in without paying $ 10 cover even though we had RSVP’d and said that they had to come in with us.
My friend reported the bouncer first told him $ 20, but when we came out he said $ 10, then when we went back inside to get our stuff he told them $ 5. Sorry, but sliding scale cover is ridiculous, especially when the damn club is empty!
Epic fail, Zentra — good luck surviving another ten years!

Uhm someone said its a hit or miss???
We TOTALLY missed it this past Friday! I am so pissed that it was 50.00 total for he and I to get into a place that advertises diverse music rooms but had all teh same music playing in each freaking room! I was expecting house techno or whatever to stay UPstairs and the Hip Hop to be in the main floor… it wasn’t, why?
There was a birthday corner for RSVP’s and the freaking crazy latinas started stuff and it just got out of hand… smh…they wear freaking tennis shoes to the club! The girls and guys! They wear t-shirts…I mean for 50.00 I could have went to the hood and had the music to tap my foot too…
I am just disappointed and won’t ever be going back… I would rather hit Joe’s across the street or any damn where but here

This club is not what I expected.
Well the music is not that bad, the bouncers are some what rude but I guess they are just doing their job. If you like a little diversity and are into a crowd of mostly Asian and Indian this is Your kinda place.
From the last time I went most of the girls seem «uptight» and are not willing dance.
The good things is that my friend has the «hook-​up» and knows a couple of bartenders, so we don’t need to pay a cover price and we don’t really pay for drinks.

I will never set foot in Zentra ever again, it was such a terrible experience. I was offered a free birthday package if I brought ten people with me I would get a free table, free bottle of champagne, and a wrist band for free shots til 1am. I figured this was a great deal and I got a bunch of people to go.
We got there a little early, and the place was basically empty. An hour after we got there I had ten people, but we didn’t get our table, the champagne bottle or the wrist band. I had to badger the door guys for my b day package, which they had me waiting for OVER an hour for the wrist band and bottle. I NEVER got a table.
The bartenders are rude, the door guys are rude, and the general atmosphere was nothing special. The drinks are super expensive! I got a red bull and vodka and it was 9 dollars. The music was terrible and the DJ Allay Soul that promised me this wonderful b day package wasn’t even there, but we left a little before 1am since it was so disappointing.
The only good thing about the place is it’s by the red line. I just felt not only unwelcome at this club, even at Excalibur they are a lot more friendly!

Typically, I go to these megaclubs about once or twice a year to flail around on the dancefloor like a 20something. Since my friend is a 20something megaclubber, we got the «hookup» to get in free and have many free drinks. No queues, no covers, so, chello, time to dance like mad!
I hadn’t been to Zentra in years, and was pretty disappointed to see that they’ve pretty much abandoned the «exotic» vibe they seemed to be cultivating back then. The club looked pretty shabby, and the dance floor was cramped and shaped strangely. Nag champa incense burning — that was good, as it’s my favorite. Nice touch, that.
The DJ — and here’s where the starts really fly away. Don’t put on a fabulous song like Madonna’s «4 Minutes» that makes me grab my friend and shove him onto the dance floor with glee — and then you stop the song and throw on some crappy no-​name rap muthaf*ckah? Really!?! You pre-​empted a MADONNA song? She was defining club music when you were squirting into your damn Cubs-​logo diapers, son.
Speaking of Cubs — does the DJ really need to wear a Cubs jersey in a *club*?! Attempt to have SOME style, man, and put on something black like the rest of us fashionistas. I don’t want men around me wearing sports team stuff unless they are ON the team (except for the occasional soccer jersey of some cool Euro team — I’ll allow that). And quit cutting off songs after 2 minutes, it was really bumming my dancefloor chi by the end of the night. And my friend repeatedly requested a Mariah Carey tune that is pretty popular right now — can’t you just make the patrons happy and play a request now and then?! Hey, but the six seconds you played of Panjabi MC’s «Mundian de Bach Ke» was appreciated, I guess.
But, I did manage to probably dance for 2 or 3 hours straight, which means I probably burned about 3,457,758,735,673 calories, so that’s all good. That’s what the one star is for.
Oh, but the bartender was utterly sweet, cute, charming and attentive. We’ll throw in another star for that.
But the music. Really. Why the hell else would you go in here? Oh yeah — that. I already have that, so I go for the music. ;-)

I will try to keep this brief.
Zentra is, to me, the little superclub that wasn’t. Coming from the perspective of a long time dancer and clubber, I am pretty open minded to clubs, but the cons outweigh the pros for Zentra.
Pros:
Diverse crowd
hot bartenders
people actually dance
cons:
music is pretty weak, consistently!
soundsystem blows
This place just doesn’t have the right mix of elements to work for me, and everyone I talk to agrees, this place consistently conjurs comments like «that was a waste of our time» and groans. haha. «ooohhhh, grrr, Zentra».
I dunno, its popular, so obviously works for some, but I will go ahead and say it, I think that «some» are mostly random people looking for a large club to get sloshed in and find someone to bang. It also seems like half the people are suburbanites coming into the city?
Last comment, it’s like a «hip» version of Excalibur. haha.

This is a decent club. It’s not huge, but it’s got a couple levels wich is nice. The cover can be pricey on certain nights (up to $ 20 but everytime I was there I only paid $ 5 or $ 10). I would never pay $ 20 for a club such as this. The atmosphere and the crowds are pretty much Euro and Asian based which I don’t mind since I am 1^st-​generation European (was born here). The layout of the club was not designed that well, and the service is below average. Try not to host your birthday party here as my friend hosted his here, and Zentra’s «open bar» was bs. The bartender limited us to drinking UV Vodka drinks which are equivalent to kool-​aid with a dab of cheap and unsatisfying vodka. Yuck.
The music on the first level is more hip-​hop and mainstream with some euro and house mixed in while the second level is more upbeat dance music such as house, trance, and euro. I prefer the latter so I usually hang out on the second floor. The DJs are cool and play great sets of good music so this is definitely the highlight of the club and the only reason I gave it 3 stars.
Overall, this is a decent club, but it is still disappointing and is on my long list of disappointing clubs in Chicago. I would never pay more than $ 10 to go here. Even $ 10 is too much, but I enjoy the DJs and their mixes enough to give in to the $ 10 cover.

The 2 stars are for my friends. Because they are the only reason that Zentra was even ballpark tolerable. Crowd is a bit sketchy and the music? Monotonous hard techno. We tried dancing upstairs but it was a hot mess. I’ve got stick straight hair, and 30 minutes later, I walked out looking as if I had spent the better portion of the evening in either a Turkish Bath or a Costa Rica rainforest. C’mon… crank up the A/​C, Zentra!
Oh, and thanks to my friend who said my hair looked «straight out of Vidal Sassoon». Appreciated, but you’re a terrible liar :)