Note from Jakarta100bars: This article about Cebu City's best bars and nightclubs was written by my friend Seb who's lived there for 6 months. My plan is to visit him in the second semester 2017 so I'll have the chance to make a more complete review.
I love Cebu, both the island and the city. I could write a book about all the amazing things that you can do here, from tanning on deserted white-sand beaches to swimming with whale sharks.
But that’s not what you want to know isn't it?
What you want to know is where you can party and, if you are a guy, where you can meet hot local girls.
The good news is that Cebu City is one of the best places in the world for single guys and probably the second best in the Philippines after Manila.
Because it is the richest province in the country, it attracts thousands of young Filipinas who study or work, particularly in one of the numerous call centers near IT Park. As they are far from their families, these girls enjoy a certain level of freedom and you'll meet many of them in bars and clubs every day.
Even though Cebu City is a tourist hub, the number of foreigners remains low compared to Manila or any major cities in Thailand. The most noticeable community is made of Korean students learning English, followed by the usual backpackers, teachers, executives and pensioners. To be fair, many guys I met don't seem to do anything apart from chasing girls all day long.
Cebu nightlife is pretty straight-forward and you'll only need a couple of nights out to be familiar with the best venues. The major nightclubs are almost all located in central Cebu City with a few more in the suburban towns of Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue.
The main nightlife area is around Mango Square and Mango Avenue (the other name of General Maxilom Avenue). It is a low-to middle class party zone with a dozen of bars and clubs lined up next to each other. For your first time in Cebu, you'll probably find everything you need there. It can be a bit seedy at night though with ladyboys and freelance prostitutes chasing clients until early morning.
As you venture to the east of Mango Avenue from Alaya Mall up to Mandaue City, there are more expensive venues, for instance in IT Park, Cyberpark and City Time Square. This is where more upper-class Filipinos will hang out, including the most gorgeous girls.
There are other party areas, for instance the local red-light district of Colon. The latter does not have a very good reputation at night so I advise you to stay clear.
Meeting Girls in Cebu
While there is widespread prostitution (and sex tourism) in Cebu, you also have hundreds of normal girls that you can date fairly easily. Girls in clubs generally come with friends and may not always be receptive if you try to approach them. For this reason, I recommend you to meet girls from dating sites and apps instead.
Tinder works very well and you'll get plenty of matches. I personally don't find the application very convenient to use though because I hate to type on a smartphone.
Instead, I prefer either Filipino Cupid or Pina Love. Both are free but you should probably update to their premium version (25$ for a month that can be cancelled anytime). They are the most popular dating sites in the country with thousands of girls online at any time.
Pick-up artists usually do the "pipeline" strategy. They contact as many girls as possible on various dating sites months before actually coming. They slowly build a sense of familiarity with them by regularly sending messages and Skyping. Once in Cebu, they finally meet the girl. By then, she is normally ready to take the relationship one step further (strangely forgetting that the guy will leave a couple days later).
Best Hotels Near Cebu Nightlife
If you've never been to Cebu before, you may be wondering what are the best places to stay near the nightlife.
I advise you to choose a hotel between the Fuente Osmena Circle or Mango Square (the heart of the nightlife) and the Alaya Mall (a more expensive area). By doing so you will be within one kilometer from the majority of the clubs listed below, but also from the city's best malls, activities and restaurants.
The following hotels are the most recommended for party-goers:
Budget (under 30$ per night): S Hotel and Residences, ABC Hotel, Pillows Hotel, Red Planet
3-star (50$): Cuarto Hotel
4-star (70$): Harolds Hotel
5-star (120$): Marriott Cebu City
Please consider using one of the links provided to book your room. I make a small commission on every booking but the price stays the same for you. It helps me run the website.
10 Best Nightclubs and Bars in Cebu City
J. AVE Superclub (formerly Juliana's)
J. Ave is the most famous nightclub among foreigners in Cebu City. It is located in Mango Square, next to Ultra (see below). It used to be the top place to go for both tourists and locals, but it has lost its glory in the past couple of years. You now have quite a lot of guys (including 50% of Koreans) and maybe 80% of prostitutes (among which many are exclusively interested with Korean guys).
The club consists of just one big dance floor that is always packed. Expect to be pushed around if you haven't book a table. The music is commercial (clubbing anthems and EDM).
Not stylish but a fun place to end the night. It is also rather cheap (PHP 75 for a beer, PHP100 for entrance).
More information: J Ave Superclub
Liv Super Club
Liv Super Club is an upper-class nightclub located 15 minutes from Mango Avenue in the mall City Time Square. With its small dance floor but numerous tables/sofas, it is specifically designed to attract groups who order bottles of alcohol. The proper way to enjoy Liv is to book a sofa in advance, come with a few girls (why not invite one from Pina Love or FilipinoCupid.com?), buy as many bottles as necessary, get drunk, and finish the night in J. Ave.
If you are alone in Liv, you may not feel that comfortable and you'll probably struggle to order drinks. At least, you should try to secure a seat near the central bar area from where you can more easily meet people.
There are a lot of gorgeous Pinay girls in Liv, but they are not so easy to flirt with. Generally, they are the guests of other guys and they are not interested to talk with strangers. The freelance prostitutes are also more discreet compared to the bars in Mango Square.
The music is commercial EDM. About once every two months, they have a more famous international DJ. The entrance fee on weekends is PHP300 but it's free during the week. Open until 4am from Wednesday to Saturday night. There is only 10% or less foreigners.
More information about events:
Instagram: Liv Super Club Cebu
Facebook: Liv Super Club
There also have a branch in Cagayan De Oro: Liv CDO
Sentral - Hip Hop Bar and Club
I'm normally not a fan of hip-hop, trap and Rn'B but I had great fun in Sentral. It was opened last August (2016) as a small NY-style bar/club with a different themed hip hop night every day. Weekdays are still quiet but Friday and Saturday are fully packed. Lots of stylish girls who love to dance. The set up of the bar makes it easy to talk to them as well. Few foreigners. Free entrance.
The only problem is the location as it is about 20 minutes from Mango Avenue (in Norkis Cyberpark).
More information: Sentral Cebu
Alchology
Open in 2012, Alchology is one of my favorite clubs in Mango Square, first because it is cheap and second because you have the right mix of Filipinos and foreigners. It has two lounge areas and one big dancefloor where you can easily meet girls. The crowd mostly consists of younger people. The music is commercial (EDM, Top 40).
More information: https://www.facebook.com/alchology/
Club Hype
A basic, unpretentious nightclub located in Mango Square. Weekend nights are busy but not as much as in nearby J Ave or Alchology. Commercial music.
More information: Club Hype Cebu
Club Icon
Club Icon is in the center of Cebu City but a bit isolated from the rest of the nightlife. It is just a few hundred meters from Castle Peak Hotel. It used to be called Roof Hyper Club but was renamed Icon last summer (2016).
The majority of the customers are Filipinos and the rest Korean. It looks like a high-end venue but the prices are quite affordable compared with Liv for instance. There are a lot of hot girls, Pinay and Korean, but as usual in this kind of club, hard to talk to.
It is open every day of the week until 6am, with Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays the busiest. The music changes every day depending on the DJ but most expect your usual trap or EDM songs. The entrance costs PHP100.
You can read my full review here for more information: Club Icon Cebu.
Facebook: Club Icon
Instagram: Cebuicon
Club Holic & Mixx
On the second floor of Mango Square, this nightclub is open every night and it is popular with young Filipinos due to its cheap prices (PHP75 for a beer). No foreigners apart from a few lost souls. It is a friendly place: Customers come here to dance and not to flaunt their money around.
No entrance fee on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. 100PHP the rest of the week with one free drink. They have a ladies night on Wednesday. The music is EDM or Hip Hop depending on the night. You can check the schedule on their Facebook page below.
More information: Club Holic And Mixx
Ultra Club
Ultra is right next to J Ave in Mango Square. It is quite small and not that crowded, even on weekends. Since the entrance is free, you can always have a look and see if there is anything you like.
More information: Ultra Cebu
Lotus
Lotus is a bit out of the way in Lapu-Lapu city on Mactan Island, but it might be interesting for those who want to experience another area of Cebu. You can go there from Mango Avenue in about 30 minutes by taxi.
It consists of a main room which is not really modern except for a large and flashy LCD display. The crowd and concept is similar to Liv Super Club: Lots of Koreans, Japanese and Filipinos, a few working girls and some random Westerners. Their DJs will play commercial dance music.
Facebook: Club Lotus Mactan
Club Bai
Club Bai is a local lounge/restaurant/bar/club with an outside terrace located in One Mango on General Maxilom Street. During the week, it is a laid-back venue where groups of friends come to hang out and talk (Bai means "buddy"). On weekends, it gets more groovy as they have DJs playing EDM, trap, hip hop and Rn'B.
Price are standard for the area: A bucket of local beer costs PHP280.
More information: Club Bai
More Recommended Bars in Cebu:
Stylish Bars and Cocktail Lounges
The Distillery
The Distillery is a happening bar located in the lifestyle center Crossroads, near IT Park. It is part of a larger chain that has branches in Makati, Bonifacio Global City and Quezon City.
It is a good place to go after dinner for a few drinks. The music is generally good, the girls are pretty and there is a really large choice of imported beers. On weekends, don't go there too late as it gets packed very fast. Happy hours from 6pm to 10pm with all cocktails at PHP75.
More information:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedistillerycebu/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDistillery.Cebu/
Morals and Malice
Morals and Malice is a new lounge that may be the most sophisticated in Cebu at the time of writing (Yes, I admit that it is not the impression given by the photo above). They serve good cocktails and food starting from 4pm until 2am (3am on weekends). Gay-friendly yet this is where you'll see the most beautiful girls in Cebu.
Instagram: Morals and Malice Cebu
Facebook: Morals and Malice
Expat pubs
Several expat pubs/sports bars located near Mango Avenue are good venues to socialize with foreigners, listen to live bands, watch sports, play pool, flirt with the waitresses and eat decent pub fare. You can try in this order: Howling Dogs, All Stars Sports Bar and Marshall Irish Pub. The Alaya Mall has a few other bars such as The Social and Gilligan's.
Japanese or Korean Karaoke
To be honest I haven't visited any, but I couldn't resist the temptation to post some photos from several famous karaokes.
Many Japanese/Korean KTVs are located on A.S. Fortuna Street in Mandaue City. They follow a similar concept: There are private karaoke rooms but also a main lounge with 10-20 pretty Filipinas in sexy outfits that dance or sing. To stay in the lounge, you pay a fixed price and you get to drink as much as you want for a certain period of time. In Komachi for instance, the all-you-can drink buffet costs PHP600 per hour. You may request a girl to accompany you and she will get a commission on your drinks + on the ones you buy for her (ladies drinks are generally a bit more expensive, around PHP200 per glass). The girls aren't necessarily prostitutes but some may be willing to do more than singing if you pay them the right amount.
Here are photos of the girls in some karaokes in Cebu:
Komachi KTV's Angels
La Bonita Karaoke (Archbishop Reyes Avenue)
Club Ace KTV
King Japanese KTV girls
Bikini girl in King Club