last night a couple of my friends pulled me into fridays in santiago. We wouldn't dare go there during the peak evening hours. No parking and it seems like an hour wait for a table. We entered the place at around 12:15am. The place was still 40% filled. Mind you, santiago was all empty last night because people had exhausted themselves from the recent semana santa. So it was understandable why so many bars were not full in santiago, including ahibar.
side note: ahibar in santiago has a functioning webcam that broadcasts live video of the bar 24/7 on their website. if you like to know if ahibar is loaded with interesting people, check out www-ahi-bar.com
my friend saw me there last night from mexico and called me instantly. hahaha, funny.
Back to fridays: the place is brand new and huge. The staff consist of almost all young energetic teenagers. The management is under an American (I was told), the hotel granalmirante is part owner in the project.
The place was loud with loud music (latin and american). The bar is also spacious and people were sitting talking and laughing. Seems like most people come in groups and they are the same people you see in gold gym, francifol cafe etc. beautiful slim girls with their boyfriends in one corner, a group of gays on the other table, families on far away scattered tables, to make it short, there were all kinds of people there. The menu is strictly american and the beers are domestic and foreign. The happy birthday act played by the wait staff is loud and nutty. They storm the table and sing their own nutty song in loud voices and then you have bartender ringing a huge bell. The place could be considered very loud for some lame folks. maybe it was late at night and the manager was gone so maybe the staff was a bit out of control. Who knows, we were having fun.
I had 2 brahma light beer bottles, my friend carlos had 2 Belgian imported beers and George had a cuba libre. Then George went ahead and ordered an appetizer plate for all of us. It was fries with chicken nuggets type meat loaded with fine sliced salad and blue cheese dressing on top. with a few tortillas inside to make tacos. To my surprise, the plate was deep so there was plenty to fill up a person. We all ate from it and still a few pieces were left over. There is no need to order a entre after the appetizers. Then after an hour we had decided to go somewhere else as we were all loaded with drinks to the max. remember, we were at ahibar before.
Then we asked for the bill, and to my pleasant surprise: 2 imported beers, 2 brahma lights, one cuba libre and the huge appetizer plate, all added up to 987 pesos including tax. wow, this is not so bad, I was expecting it to be more. I remembered paying 30 dollars for 3 presidente beers in a stupid tipico styled bar in queens called rancho Jublee on thursday evening. It was a total rip off. So I am amazed to see how some guys equate fridays as a dump and then end up paying 10 dollars for a chopo hangout like rancho Jublee in queens, NY and not complain?
Anyway, Friday's has my business from now on.
AZB
side note: ahibar in santiago has a functioning webcam that broadcasts live video of the bar 24/7 on their website. if you like to know if ahibar is loaded with interesting people, check out www-ahi-bar.com
my friend saw me there last night from mexico and called me instantly. hahaha, funny.
Back to fridays: the place is brand new and huge. The staff consist of almost all young energetic teenagers. The management is under an American (I was told), the hotel granalmirante is part owner in the project.
The place was loud with loud music (latin and american). The bar is also spacious and people were sitting talking and laughing. Seems like most people come in groups and they are the same people you see in gold gym, francifol cafe etc. beautiful slim girls with their boyfriends in one corner, a group of gays on the other table, families on far away scattered tables, to make it short, there were all kinds of people there. The menu is strictly american and the beers are domestic and foreign. The happy birthday act played by the wait staff is loud and nutty. They storm the table and sing their own nutty song in loud voices and then you have bartender ringing a huge bell. The place could be considered very loud for some lame folks. maybe it was late at night and the manager was gone so maybe the staff was a bit out of control. Who knows, we were having fun.
I had 2 brahma light beer bottles, my friend carlos had 2 Belgian imported beers and George had a cuba libre. Then George went ahead and ordered an appetizer plate for all of us. It was fries with chicken nuggets type meat loaded with fine sliced salad and blue cheese dressing on top. with a few tortillas inside to make tacos. To my surprise, the plate was deep so there was plenty to fill up a person. We all ate from it and still a few pieces were left over. There is no need to order a entre after the appetizers. Then after an hour we had decided to go somewhere else as we were all loaded with drinks to the max. remember, we were at ahibar before.
Then we asked for the bill, and to my pleasant surprise: 2 imported beers, 2 brahma lights, one cuba libre and the huge appetizer plate, all added up to 987 pesos including tax. wow, this is not so bad, I was expecting it to be more. I remembered paying 30 dollars for 3 presidente beers in a stupid tipico styled bar in queens called rancho Jublee on thursday evening. It was a total rip off. So I am amazed to see how some guys equate fridays as a dump and then end up paying 10 dollars for a chopo hangout like rancho Jublee in queens, NY and not complain?
Anyway, Friday's has my business from now on.
AZB
