BAZURTO SOCIAL CLUB
Bazurto Social Club
Getsemaní, Av. del Centenario, Cra 9 #30-42 call (5) 664 3124 mail info@bazurtosocialclub.com click http://www.bazurtosocialclub.com Thurs-Sat: 9:00 pm - 2:00am ish Good for: live champeta music; crazy, sweaty, colourful fun; late kitchen with tasty ceviche and crab epanadas |
UPDATE: CLOSED DURING COVID RESTRICTIONS 2020 - Fingers crossed they are able to re-open
MUST VISIT. For a 100% guaranteed good time and a giant serving of Cartagena sabor, Bazurto Social Club is your jam.
It's as though owner, Jorge Escandon (the man behind the mega-successful, Bourdain-visited restaurant, La Cevicheria) somehow managed to cram the very essence of Cartagena into his Getsemani bar.
For starters, it's colourful. Like, really,crammed to the rafters, colourful. Or as they would say if you were in very informal local company,Que cul'e color! The walls are full with examples of Costeño humour and local icons such as Kola Roman and Kid Pambelé. The chairs are shaped as red crabs or bear the faces of even more famous Colombians or members of the "Club".
Things get pretty packed on Friday and Saturday nights from 11pm, so arrive early, stake out one of those chairs, and get stuck into some seriously good eats. The menu is simple and mostly seafood-focused, but you can't go wrong with the famous ceviches, and the crab empanadas are deeeelish. Line your stomach in preparation for a few of the equally tasty Machacao house cocktail and life is good.
Then there's the music, which is what Bazurto Social Club is really all about. This is one of the very few places in the world you can regularly hear live Champeta music, spliced with some of the country's best tropical DJs. If you've been lucky/unlucky enough to come along on one of our tours, you've been introduced to the phenomenon that is Champeta music and dance (I may have even demonstrated a few dance steps). Here's where champeta comes to life; gyrating singers, live dance shows (plus free dance classes every Thursday from 9pm) and a whole lotta sweaty folk lapping it all up and dancing and singing along. I mentioned it gets crowded, right?
It all makes for an energetic, fun, unbeatable atmosphere. One in which, if you pause and look at everyone around you, there's not a single face that doesn't have an enormous smile. When you're in Cartagena for the weekend, hop on your cabellito and make your way to Bazurto for one of those nights out you just can't find at home. Sabrosura!
It's as though owner, Jorge Escandon (the man behind the mega-successful, Bourdain-visited restaurant, La Cevicheria) somehow managed to cram the very essence of Cartagena into his Getsemani bar.
For starters, it's colourful. Like, really,crammed to the rafters, colourful. Or as they would say if you were in very informal local company,Que cul'e color! The walls are full with examples of Costeño humour and local icons such as Kola Roman and Kid Pambelé. The chairs are shaped as red crabs or bear the faces of even more famous Colombians or members of the "Club".
Things get pretty packed on Friday and Saturday nights from 11pm, so arrive early, stake out one of those chairs, and get stuck into some seriously good eats. The menu is simple and mostly seafood-focused, but you can't go wrong with the famous ceviches, and the crab empanadas are deeeelish. Line your stomach in preparation for a few of the equally tasty Machacao house cocktail and life is good.
Then there's the music, which is what Bazurto Social Club is really all about. This is one of the very few places in the world you can regularly hear live Champeta music, spliced with some of the country's best tropical DJs. If you've been lucky/unlucky enough to come along on one of our tours, you've been introduced to the phenomenon that is Champeta music and dance (I may have even demonstrated a few dance steps). Here's where champeta comes to life; gyrating singers, live dance shows (plus free dance classes every Thursday from 9pm) and a whole lotta sweaty folk lapping it all up and dancing and singing along. I mentioned it gets crowded, right?
It all makes for an energetic, fun, unbeatable atmosphere. One in which, if you pause and look at everyone around you, there's not a single face that doesn't have an enormous smile. When you're in Cartagena for the weekend, hop on your cabellito and make your way to Bazurto for one of those nights out you just can't find at home. Sabrosura!