Note from Jakarta100bars: This article about Cebu City's best bars and nightclubs was written by my friend Seb who has been living there since 2013.

Cebu's 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 and bars are almost all located in central Cebu City with a few more in the suburban towns of Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue.

In this article, I will give you a list of my current favorite party spots as well as plenty of tips to help you make your stay more fun. Don't hesitate to leave me a comment if you have any questions or if you feel I missed something.

Dating in Cebu
The good news is that Cebu is one of the best places in the Philippines for dating.

As it is the richest province in the country, it is home to tens of thousands of well-educated and smart Filipinas who come to study or work. Many are employed by US companies that have outsourced their business processes (call-centers for instance). For this reason, they will typically work at night when Americans are awake.

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. They are often independent, smart, and they speak perfect english.

Filipinas in clubs generally come with friends and may not always be receptive if you try to approach them. A less intrusive way to meet them is to use dating sites and apps instead.

Tinder and Bumble work well and you should get a fairly high number of match if you are young and handsome. That said, many girls may not be interested to meet with you if you are only passing by.

Instead, you could check Filipino Cupid. It is the most popular dating site in the country with thousands of girls online at any time. Among them, almost all are looking for a foreign boyfriend. Even if you are not living in the Philippines, they will still be interested to talk with you. Unlike Tinder, they generally won't mind if you are a bit older than them (10-15 years older is still ok).

If you are planning a trip to the Philippines, I recommend chatting with a few girls on Filipino Cupid before landing in the country.

Another dating website that is growing in popularity is Seeking.com. It is more controversial because the girls on it usually expect mutually-beneficial arrangements. That said, it can't be ignored as it is now one of the country's major dating sites.

Where to Party in Cebu?
Before COVID-19, the main nightlife area used to be around Fuente Osmena Circle (Mango Square) and Mango Avenue (the other name of General Maxilom Avenue). 

Nowadays, it is much more quiet but you can still find a few bars and at least one nightclub. In Mango Square, you can go to Uptown club (packed with a student crowd) and Draft Punk. Outside, on Mango Avenue, there are some expat/sports/hostess bars such as Howling Dogs, 301 Ramos and Philly's Sports Bar, as well as some more basic venues whose names seem to change every couple of years (currently Jane, Sister's, Bamboozer). If you are above 35 and you just want to meet new people in a laid-back atmosphere, this is probably where you should hangout.

Outside Mango Avenue, the nightlife is more upmarket. It is spread out between the Alaya Mall and Mandaue City, with the highest concentration of quality clubs, bars and malls around IT Park. This is where more upper-class Filipinos will hang out. If you are looking for swanky clubs and you want to hang out with beautiful people, that's where you should go.

There are other less famous 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.

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.

My first choice would be to sleep between IT Park and the Alaya Mall. By doing so, you will be within 15 minutes by car from the majority of the clubs listed below, and also from the city's best malls, activities and restaurants.

Another option is to be near Mango Square as it is a rather central area with a handful of expat bars, clubs and restaurants all within walking distance. It is also a cheaper area with many budget hotels.

The following hotels are the most recommended for party-goers:
Budget (under 30$ per night): S Hotel and ResidencesABC Hotel, Pillows Hotel, Red Planet
3-star (50$): Cuarto Hotel
4-star (60$): Harolds Hotel
5-star (120$): Marriott Cebu City

Best Nightclubs and Bars in Cebu City

This is a Berlin-style nightclub with techno and trance music in a very basic concrete setting. Probably the best place if you are mainly interested in hearing good DJs. The crowd is relaxed and easy to chat with. There are always a few foreigners.

It is in the same building as another bar called G-spot.

The Distillery is a trendy 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 crowd is fun 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: 

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 in 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 actually. Beautiful crowd, 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.

Instagram: @cebuicon

This club, located in City Time Square Mall in Mandaue, is one of the largest and most modern in the city. Open from Thursday to Sunday, it can welcome up to 900 pax until 6am. The music is mostly commercial EDM but it can change depending on the events. Entrance fee is around USD 2 on regular days and USD 4 when there is an event. For now, it attracts few foreigners.

Small club on two levels in Waterfront Hotel. Young student crowd. DJs play mostly famous songs. Entrance USD 4 on weekends.

Sentral - Hip Hop Bar and Club
I'm normally not a fan of hip-hop, trap and RnB but I had great fun in Sentral. It was opened in 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).

Hip hop nightclub with affordable prices and a fun local crowd. It has some food (tacos) and monthly drag queen shows.

Located in Streetscape Mall in the northeast of the city, it is a simple bar but quite busy on weekends. Not really worth it unless you live in that area.

Small, elite club that targets an older crowd (over 30). 


I didn't go there but it exists in Lapu-Lapu City (Mactan island).

Japanese or Korean Karaoke
I didn't visit any Japanese or Korean KTV but I know there are quite many 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 KTV, 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). 

20 comments to '' Cebu Nightlife: 10 Best Nightclubs and Bar (Updated 2023) "

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  1. Thanks for the info...While We life in Cebu, nightlife in Angeles City tops Manila and Cebu

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  2. nothing about arena ktv & east paris ( if i remember correctly )

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  3. As of February 2018, J-Ave has been renamed to Oqtagon and moved from Mango to Mandaue City. I would also add El Gecko to the list of expat bars to visit.

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    1. Oqtagon is a Korean only bar. You're allowed in if you're not Korean, you just aren't welcome. Trust me on that.

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    2. Normal Nomad is absolutely right! +The music can be really annoying.

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  4. All the Mango Ave bars are filled with hookers and ladyboys. If you're looking for a "normal" girl, you're going to have a hard time.

    Just visited Club Lotus tonight. I can tell you as a young decent looking American guy, if you're not Korean, don't waste your time. I was rejected more there and more harshly than I was in the USA.

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  5. Visiting in May with 3 Asian America buddies in their 40s who don't have much game but they're fun. 1) will they be able to pull non-hooker chicks, and 2) should we stay in Cebu city or at the resorts near the beach?

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  6. Mango Square is a boring place. Most places has closed during 2017. Beat, the meeting place on the entrance corner to Mango plaza closed, replaced by Familymart, then by 7-Eleven. Beat reopened 2 times, in 2 different location, up the road from Mango Square, renamed Diva. Lost their regular clientel, and these days only a few old hookers on drugs and ladyboys. Almost no customers. The contry wide public smoking ban from 2017, and fines Usd20-100 for smoking, don't help either. Mango Square in 2018 is a dead boring place, 7 days a week.

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  7. What will be the best place to visit tonight to dance and drink? Any recommendation

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  8. So now what's better than Mango Square?

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  9. I've been coming to Cebu for more than 10 years and I never felt discriminated by any business establishment, specially night clubs. All foreigners should know all that "The Hype" charges people based on their nationality. Most specifically, mostly week days its free entrance for everyone except foreigners. As far as I am concern I will never go back to this "racist" place and make sure all my foreigners friends will know this so that they will never go back there either. The Philippines, currently relying on foreigner visits mostly, should not tolerate this to happen. Shame on you The Hype!

    Filipinos from cebu please help me to distribute (share) this message so that the appropriate measures are taken to avoid this to happen again here in this place and other places.

    Cheers!

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  10. I tried so manny times the discoos on mango square...
    Its just loud pumping music-all of them.
    And dark. not like on the pics.
    Even my 23 year old pinay who likes to dance runs away.
    Wel i tried in Davao pinoy disco but you get fights with the Red horse drinkers
    and the guards protect the drunks (drunks spent more money) so dont count on them..

    Last June the bikini bars Maxilom Ave where almost empty.
    Planet X boaring and all other 5 bars belong to the same owner..
    My advice why dont put all girls in Viking bar...
    Near Planet X is a kind of beerbar owned by a white who had a problem I was hugging his streethunter girl ...OMG Cebu so went down..
    Even no nudy bars annymore even not in Colon

    You say Manila nice? If you have an own girl like I have yes--than head to P.Burgos and leave all the rest sinking in the drain together with the overpriced old and fat girls...

    CAN ANYBODY ADVICE ME A DISCO BAR WHERE YOU CAN DANCE AND TALK AND SEE THE PEOPLE
    Cebu, Olongapo, IloIlo, Cagayan de Oro, wherever in the Phil and pattaya/bangkok...

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    1. It's good to hear about your comment . I am a Filipina young lady and a decent one, and have been in different bars in the Cebu City especially in Mango Avenue. Among all those bars, I most likely in love with the CLUBHOLIC, their comfort rooms are clean unlike with the other bar above on it. And the people who visited Clubholic are very friendly... just try to visit that bar.

      Thanks!

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    2. just sounds like a shitty promotion, and also tried Clubholic its SUCKS!

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  11. At where't is location the CLUBHOLIC. Thanks*

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  12. Just been up too mango square first time cebu ,found nearly everyone really friendly .I'm a black guy had no problem but what has happened to this so called mango square quiet as anything. No where near as lively as pattaya or Phuket. Anyway ended up going to some place well away from mango square I was as far as I noticed the only foreign guy apart from a table of koreans I reckon they were .there all Filipino guess what had the time of my life in there .Girls lovely the guys really ok no probs .Only thing is can't remember where the hell it was.

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  13. Be ready to get ripped off by the prostitutes in every way you can imagine. They are super expert thieves and liars. Most likely your money will be out the door and you never touched one of them. They come out of no where when you and a girl try to get in a taxi. 2 and 3 trying to come along and get some money too. The girls will give you thousand reasons to knock their lying heads off. Don't do it. No foreigner can win here. They will gang up and make it hard for you to walk down the street. Like hungry dogs looking at a chicken bone. Don't ever give one money until you get what you paid for. You will be sorry. I've lived here 5 years. Prostitutes are for looking at. I enjoy it. But tons of hell comes with them.

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  14. the J AVE Super Club is open already? because I can not find anything on the internet. thanks

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  15. Just landed in Cebu after two long years away and it's great to be back. I hit Mango Avenue first and was surprised to see four of the six Viking bars permanently closed? Only Viking bar (downstairs) and Mango Bar (formerly Red Lips) remained but most of their good looking girls went to Sisters Bar and Kanpai Bar which were both pumping with great music and pretty girls sporting surprisingly good attitudes. Jane bar (formerly Kawaii which recently burned down) had a few decent girls but none would talk to me. Pretty sure they cater only to Japanese and Korean customers only. After a few hours at Sisters I went next door to Bamboozers and had a great time with the Canadian owner Dan. At least a few things stayed the same. Julianas (J Ave) is back open in Mango Square due to Octagon closing and was packed with freelancers looking for fun. All in all a great night on Mango Ave.

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    1. Erm .. the owner of Bamboozers for at least the last 2 years is from the UK, he's not Canadian. I don't know who you were talking to. LOL.

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