Jakarta Nightlife in 2015

Jakarta nightlife has been a bit disappointing recently. After living over 10 years in Jakarta, 2015 is so far my worst year in the city, nightlife-wise. 

As Jakarta is becoming more developed, its unique craziness is starting to diminish: Stadium has been closed, probably for political reasons, just months before the Presidential election. It hasn't really been replaced yet. Illigals organizes parties regularly with the resident DJs of Stadium but it is absolutely not the same. The club is rarely crowded and it closes early. Other people go to Colosseum, which I find impressive and worth a look, but totally boring. Most of the crowd there is made of males, glued at their tables with escorts from Alexis. It also closes early. The best choice would be Mille's, especially if you are looking for an after-hour venue, but it only attracts the hardcore clubbers using drugs. If you are not into drugs, you won't manage to stay in Mille's for more than an hour. The karaoke rooms of Golden Crown or Level 5 in Kelapa Gading can be used as small, private clubs and they can be considered as an alternative if you are with a group of friends.

Apart from Stadium, Red Square and Millenium too have been closed. To compensate, not many new openings. You have Nebula in Central Park which is not really happening. Kemang has its new favorites but I can't keep up with the scene there. Immigrant has been renovated and it is a disappointment now, I've stopped going there. Blowfish's renovation on the contrary was a success and it might be the best club in Jakarta at the moment.

The hottest/hippest nightlife area in Jakarta in 2015 is in SCBD, not far from Pacific Place. The lease of this land is supposed to expire soon so all those bars and clubs are built for a short time only. You have the "old" places like Fable, Lucy in The Sky, Potato Head Garage, Empirica. Each of these bring their own kind of crowd: Fable the spoilt kids from international high schools, Lucy in The Sky the spoilt students, Potato Head Garage the spoilt young executives, Empirica the spoilt young Chinese. The area has welcomed new bars and lounges too such as Hide and Seek. On weekends, all of these will be packed so it's easy for you to move around and to find which one best suits you. During the week, it is much more quiet unless there is an event.

Most of the new trendy places have been targeting Indonesian wannabe hipsters. The hipster trend is great for business: Basically, you can charge premium prices for people to hangout in dumpsters and receive zero service. I love underground places when they charge underground prices. But places like the ones mentioned above (+ a few like Bauhaus, Awan Lounge, etc.) are abusing. I hope this trend will fade as it has become ridiculous. 5-star hotels restaurants with great service and setting are sometimes cheaper.

Almost all the clubs and bars in Jakarta have completely given up on trying to be original in terms of music. Apart from a few exceptions such as Safe House, Cloud, Skye or 365, the music played is mostly horrible. Clubs have no identity and they all seem to be satisfied with the current mainstream hits. I don't want to sound too snobbish, but hearing weeks after weeks and clubs after clubs the same songs over and over again makes me depressed. I don't understand why they have a DJ since the guy just plays the same mix-tape every night. There are so many great musicians and DJs, it's not too hard to check on internet what is going on in the world of electronic music. Your only chance at hearing good music in a club in Jakarta is to patiently wait for a "famous" invited international DJ to play. Fortunately there is one about once a week either in Blowfish, Dragonfly, Illigals, X2 and others.

The cost of clubbing has dramatically increased in Jakarta. It is quite hard to have a decent night out without spending at least 2M rupiah in entrance fees (200,000rp is standard in upscale clubs), drinks (easily reaching 150,000rp/glass), food or taxi fares. If you are into paying for girls or massage parlours, it will be even more. The most famous clubs are also increasingly segregating customers between those booking tables/bottles and those simply ordering drinks at the bar. It is probably the curse of every city to become more pretentious as it develops but it surely makes me feel nostalgic. On the other side, in the absence of real bouncers, the entrance of clubs and lounges is regulated by overzealous hostesses and security guards who will let in a guy wearing a 10$ polo short but refuse entry to another guy wearing a 300$ branded t-shirt.

On weekends, the clubs and bars have become full of expat tourists from Southeast Asia's other capital cities. X2 was once a club with 20 or 30 "bules" maximum. Now you have at least 100 on weekend nights. Same things in Immigrant, Dragonfly, etc. I am a foreigner too so I'm not in a position to criticize it too much, but I just regret the time when Jakarta was more authentic and less international. It seems people were more friendly then too. Naturally, tourists are one of the reasons the prices are going up.

Some people still come to Jakarta thinking it is a 24-hour clubbing city. Unfortunately, apart from the most extreme clubs in North and West Jakarta, you will most likely be home by 5am. It is still not bad compared to other cities in Asia, but it is another sign that Jakarta is becoming a more reasonable city. 

In spite of all this, I still consider that Jakarta nightlife is among the best in the region. My Jakarta Nightlife 2014 guide is still rather up to date except for the closing of Stadium, Red Square and Millenium. Most places haven't changed: CJs, BATS, Golden Crown or 36 are the same as they were 5 years ago. With all the talk about fighting drugs we hear from Jokowi, I am also surprised that some ecstasy factories like Sydney 2000, Exotis or Mille's still exist.

I will also post in a few days my recommendation for the best clubs, bars, restaurants and spas in 2015. In the meantime, please comment on this article if you don't agree with me or if you have some interesting information for others to read. Thanks a lot!

Read more: The Best Bars in Jakarta in 2015