Woodward Cocktail Bar

Queers of color! Strong drinks! Great music! Yay!

This is my BFF’s home away from his parents’ home whenever he visits them for the Christmas holiday. He goes just about every night he’s in town and is always trying to get me to meet him there when we’re both in town. I’ve gone a few times over the years to meet him.
It’s your typical divey gay bar. The things I don’t like:
* The smoking. I am so used to smoke free clubs in IL. And it seems like there’s more than cigarettes being smoked if you get my drift. Hate smelling like an ashtray at the end of the night.
* The feel you up moment. After paying the cover charge which is usually between $ 5 and $ 10, you get to be felt up by security before being allowed inside. The Wood is in «the hood» but uggh.
* It gets packed. I hate feeling like a sardine. The Wood is walls in the balls full of folks. Can get crazy depending who you stand next to.
What I do like:
* The jams. They tend to play a lot of the latest R&B, rap, hip-​hop tunes. The dance floor is usually hopping with folks.
* The drinks. I tend to have to fight to get a bartender to pay attention to me but once I get my rum and coke, I’m set. They tend to make their drinks STRONG so some of the earlier irritations become less and less as the night moves on.
* The clientele. They tend to be in their late 20’s to early 30’s, neither of which is my current demographic. Nonetheless it is a good place for people watching and seeing what the T is. And for the most part people are generally polite which isn’t always the case at bars.
While I don’t need to go there as often as my BFF, it nonetheless is a good place to get your dance and drink on.

This is one of the best gay bars I’ve ever been to. A real Detroit gem. Everyone is incredibly chill and friendly. Definitely worth going to if you want a night out in the city. Entrance is in the back.
Warning: they make really strong drinks.

Miss the good old days of «The Woo.» Andy is spinning in his grave!

Not to be confused with «The Woodward» restaurant downtown, this one is in New Center and it’s a bar that caters mostly to African American gay (and straight) people.
Parking and entrance is in rear and you have to push the buzzer to get in. The main bar is surrounded by mirrors, dark, and kind of cruisy (sometimes social). The adjacent room has a pool table and a small dance area.
The music they play is usually urban hip hop/R&B. Every time I’ve been here, it’s like 90+% black (and 0.1% Asian :). A very unique and «only in Detroit» kind of bar, indeed.