Zanzibar

My bf and I came here, paid a $ 20 cover at 11pm, stood around for 30 minutes and left. Total waste of $ 20. Crowd was rowdy and it looks like a sex dungeon in there. If that’s your thing you’ll love it.

Went on reggae and hip hop night (Saturday?). So much fun! Some people in the crowd were a little order but who cares? Everyone was feeling the vibe and having a good time. Drinks were good, got the basics Vodka tonic and Jack and coke. I’d recommend it for a chill night out of drinks and dancing :)

Do you like music and long curtains that hang from tall ceilings in front of girls that dance in lingerie?
Do you like it when you show up to a club and there’s bongos and crazy tribal looking instruments that you’ve never seen before up on stage?
Do you like having to walk down a handful of stairs to get into the place where you will spend a few hours of your time at night?
If you answered yes to all three of these questions, you are a strange person. No one can hear you. Why are you talking to yourself? Do you know how the Internet works?
For the record, I don’t. I think it’s a series of tubes up in the clouds or something but I haven’t ever seen them, not even when I’m in a plane. How do the planes not just obliterate all of the sky Internet tubes? I know that there are specific flight routes because I saw Season 2 of Breaking Bad, but I can’t imagine that there are no sky Internet tubes everywhere that planes are allowed to fly. Though that would explain why the wifi isn’t great everywhere that I go.
I was going to make a Citizen Kane reference but realized that his place is called Xanadu, not Zanzibar. Instead I will make a Big Daddy Kane reference, which is almost as good:
«If you are what you eat, then feed me dope.»
–Big Daddy Kane
Zanzibar doesn’t have any food so no one will feed you anything here. Not even dope. Sorry.

It’s been years since I came to this place.
A very cool spot for some reggae. It was not too packed the night we came (Thursday). Good upbeat music. And danced a whole lot.
The first I came they had like an Afro funk night playing island music. I think that was the first and only time I left a club with my shirt soaked from dancing all night. Not many places play soca or calypso. I was in heaven.
Man I wish they would bring back the Afro funk night. Or maybe they do have it, but not as frequent. I looked online and now it’s reggae night. If the funk comes around I’m there.
Mixed crowd of people. This is like a ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ dance club and lounge. Saw a lot of people lounging.
Drinks…ehh. Not very strong. Wanted to say can I have some vodka with that cranberry juice.
Oh and it gets pretty hot on the dance floor. Not sure if there is good ventilation or a ploy for drinks. But we had to step outside a couple of times.
Cool spot.

I love this venue. My company hosted a live showcase for our bands and we can’t say enough about the management, staff and service.
Everyone was awesome — the sound engineer, bartenders, security, etc. And Destiney went out of her way to may sure everything went smoothly.
After a truly awful experience at a large Hollywood venue, it was refreshing and wonderful to deal with people who know what they are doing.
Just an awesome place with a great vibe.

This review is for Monday nights only! I’ve been there on a Friday night and it was packed, but it was not my scene at all. Monday nights though, you pay a reasonable cover of $ 7-​$ 12, then there’s two «free» salsa or bachata lessons from 8pm-​10pm, and then you dance the night away! I’ve been to it twice now, and it is so much fun. As a woman and someone new to salsa, when I wasn’t dancing I would stand or sit and drink some water and socialize and eventually a gentleman would come and ask me to dance (everyone dancing with everyone). It was pretty much always a fun dance, and they were always nice and patient with me being new to salsa. Everyone there seemed to be out to genuinely have a great time and just dance! Parking is always easy at that time of night.

The dance floor fills fast starting @ 10:30. Additionally the A/​C is perfect when things pop off & heat up. The bass, lighting, ambiance and bartenders are unreal! Great place!!!
Rick has got to be the most on point bartender I’ve encountered! Within seconds of me returning to order another round he throws up deuces to imply another round for me and my girl. I nod in conformation.

Hit up Zanzibar on a Friday and the MC pumped up the crowd with such great enthusiasm. I recommend this place if you’re up for a good night and some cool music. It’s a mixture of music this is what makes it so sweet. Giving this a 5 star.

Best place to salsa on the west side on a Monday! If you are a local or not you have to check it out! Beginner to salsa? The world champion Cristian Oviedo teaches there at 8! Charlie spins the best salsa and bachata! And as a special treat they have a band most Mondays!!!

It’s def a good club. The Dj kept me dancing all night. I went on Friday Hip hop and r&B night. The music wasn’t so loud that you can’t hold a conversation.
Dress code: nice casual (I wore heels)
Parking is directly across the street. It doesn’t get too crowded there is a constant flow of in and out.

The two-​stars might be more of a reflection of my personality than the venue itself.
We went on a Friday night and the vibe was interesting. The $ 10 cover seemed like a lot to me for what we ended up getting.
The DJ played some fun mixes with some throwbacks, but largely today’s Top 40. So if that’s your thing, I think you’ll have fun. Just not my scene, which I guess what is to be expected. We did have fun dancing with a group of friends though.
The age range of people there was kind of all over the place. I was hoping to hang casually with some twenty-​somethings like us, but this wasn’t the venue for that. There were some older folks there who seemed to be trying to find younger folks. Kind of an odd vibe.
Fun for a night, but I probably wouldn’t go back. Club hoppers would like this place a lot more.

When your friends go to this bar a lot and they’re blasting your text to tell you they saw the 35yo creeper you used to date up in here… you just have to write a review so he doesn’t take your fave «secret spot» to dance & unwind.
Sidewalk:
Ladies, watch out for your heels. Some of the sidewalk when you go out the place is uneven.
Parking:
There’s one right across the street. You really CANT miss this place. I don’t know the price since we’d park somewhere else then walk here to end the night up.
Music:
None of them EDM ish! It’s all HIP HOP! I grew up in Georgia so I could never get away from this music.
The venue:
+There’s not a lot of HipHop clubs/​bars in LA so I can see why this place gets crowded
+ dance floor is an okay size. We usually just go to the right side area /​where you are suppose to exit. This side of the floor tends to not be crowded.
Drinks:
I think the drinks are decent. I had a few drinks that were a little bit watered down but for the most part, its okay.
Watch out for:
Creepers. There’s definitely some ugly, thirsty guys up in here. My friends were actually blowing up my phone telling me the creeper guy I was dating 2 months ago was here this weekend.
Watch out ladies especially when you do come back. His name is Andrew/​Dru (see yo regulars… on BLAST) and he likes to add & stalk the pretty young ones on Unilocal (I’m legit SERIOUS). Knowing what I know, this place ain’t too safe no more.
Would I come back?
Its my fave spot but maybe not for a while because of what I know of the creeper above. It’s still a good place though but just go with a group to be safe :-).

So I’m in the middle of getting over clubbing but still love going out to dance. I’ve been trying to find places where I can dance the night away without the craziness of Hollywood (especially with good hip hop). Then I found Zanzibar! I heard about this place back in college when I did salsa because they would send students here for their Monday night salsa dances. Sadly, I never made it out to those nights but always really wanted to go to their Friday night, «The Goods,» — their hip hop night!
They play all your favorites — old school Jay Z, Snoop Dogg, Missy Elliott, as well as more modern hip hop. I had so much fun I forgot what time it was when it was last call! There’s a huge screen where they show graphics or clips of the music video. There is also a stage and the emcee was entertaining and dancing throughout the night.
Zanzibar is pretty small so I’d recommend getting there before 10pm to avoid the line (and save yourself the $ 10 cover!). The crowd isn’t chaotic like Hollywood so even though it can get packed, no one’s belligerently shoving each other.
Highly recommend checking it out! I am most definitely coming back :)

On a Friday night, the music is really great. Mix of old school R&B and Hip-​Hop with current stuff. Dance floor is a good size to where you can still get your dance on. The crowd is pretty diverse, seems like it was mainly older 20s/​early 30s crowd. Also, the hype man was really feeling his job the whole night. Bouncers are chill and bartenders are nice and attentive.
The downside to this place is the $ 10 cover after 10pm, don’t matter who you are. My friend arrived a few minutes after 10pm and they still made her pay to get in. Also, drinks are a bit pricier compared to other places in the area. Beer is about $ 8 and mixed drinks will cost you around $ 14. There are other places that place just as great music without having to worry about all that if it’s an issue.

I came here for the first time, Saturday night. Before 10:00 no cover charge, and street parking easy to find. It was pretty empty, few people sitting at the bar, and dance floor was empty. It gets crowded after 10:30 and dance floor gets crowded. $ 5:00 coat check in! They dont let you leave your coat anywhere!!!
Bartender was nice and the drink was reasonably priced and well made:)
They have a big dance floor which i love:)
I had to leave around 11:00 tight when it was getting crowded.
I should check this place out once more.
DJ was good and they had dancers:)

1^st visit — went there on a Monday «Salsa Night» and «Bachata» free dance classes.
It was good — till when the real fun started with live salsa band music played and all dancers from all ages and diverse background started to displayed all their sexy fun moves and acrobatic foot steps. The crow started arriving like right after 10p. By the time I left — DJ started to
spin with the latest bachata top hits.
Public Parking is cool and nearby especially after 9pm (Free).
There is a $ 10 entrance fee and $ 2 for jackets keeps sake.
Bottle of water $ 3…
That’s it!

Strictly ONLY for REGGAE on THURSDAY NIGHTS!
The only reason why I come here on Thursday’s is because of the dj… SELECTA 7! And no, I am not a groupie. BUT, if you want to… you could go visit him at
. And by the way, he is quite crafty when needing to be discreet and re-​package items to be sent to NYC! He’s really good with a shrink wrap melty gun! Did I mention, I’m not a groupie?
Love the mixed crowd, the fairly open space and of course, the music! Oddly enough, I don’t drink a lot when I go there, so I can’t say much about the bar.
This non-​groupie says… GO TO ZANZIBAR on THURSDAY NIGHTS!!! Highly recommended! If you know how to appreciate good music, then you’ll be back.
I took some creeper shots of Selecta 7 and filmed him… although, I don’t know where Unilocal put it! Look for it… =).
Link to IG video:

Great Place to Come and Dance
Different events every night of the week
#SeductiveSaturdays is fun with @djsloepoke

Came out here for the first time last Friday, and they were playing hip hop. No huge line to get in, which was nice. Enough people so that it didn’t feel empty, but not so packed that we didn’t have space to get our groove on.
We ended up in front of the DJ booth next to the stage and the VIP area – which wasn’t occupied – so it was nice to put down my jacket and purse on the edge of the VIP platform. The staff didn’t say anything, so that was cool. I hate dancing with stuff in my hands, and I was carrying my big work purse because I wasn’t planning on going out that night. (We came straight from happy hour after work.)
Speaking of which – I wasn’t dressed for a night of clubbing, either. But I felt fine wearing jeans and a long-​sleeved cotton shirt and flats here. Some peeps were dressed up for a night on the town, but this place is casual enough where you can get your groove on dancing in nearly anything you like. :)
We shut the place down and even squeezed into the photo booth at the end for some silly pics.
Great place for dancing, fun to bring a group of friends, and the drinks and cover were kind of expensive. Cost me $ 70 for 5 Hennessy and Cokes, is that normal? I think cover was like $ 10 or $ 20, I can’t remember. It’s been a while since I’ve gone clubbing in these parts, so not sure if that’s the norm.
I think some of the same beverages tasted stronger than others, but by the end of the night, I had a pretty good buzz, so all-​in-​all, it was a fun night!

3.5 stars really but I will round up. I used to frequent Zanzibar a lot in college and after college. When I first used to attend, Zanzibar had a major issue with air conditioning. It was non existent! The place would get sweltering hot. Thank God they invested some money in a central AC. No more heat strokes while trying to get your groove on.
I’ve only attended on Friday and Saturdays where they play hip hop & r&b. I was there for this past Halloween and I had a good time. Only issue was the female bartenders who virtually ignored me. Finally a male bus boy or bartender came and got me my drink. Interesting. $ 10 after 10pm and no ins and outs (used to allow that). I think I’ve had my fun at Zanzibar and probably won’t return. Only cause I’ve been enough times. It’s a lively bar/​club if you want to hear hip hop and r&b.

Descubrimiento interesante los lunes salseros, antes de las 10 pm clases para principiantes, bien explicados desde la tarima y a partir de esa hora ameniza el ambiente dj y saladura. 60% chicas principiantes 90% salsa liniera, el ambiente se pone muy bueno sobre las 11 pm.
Cover 10 $, consumición mínima 2 €, dress code informal.