Inside: Tabu

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Tabu

Celebrities have been known to frequent this upscale...

Inside Tabu photogallery

It’s best to approach most things in life with a healthy dose of skepticism, especially if that thing happens to be a night club trying to draw you in with half-naked dancing girls. Sure they’re pretty, but that needling sensation in your head always wonders if it’s worth it. Well continue needling, drinker’s conscience, as the answer to that question for Tabu Nightclub at 46 N. Orange Avenue in downtown Orlando is completely subjective! If you like night clubs already you’ll probably dig it, but if you’ve yet to be swayed Tabu probably won’t do the trick.

Décor: No Orlando club is complete without dancing girls, and Tabu usually has at least one grooving just inside its glass doors, hoping you come off the street and plunk down the cover (generally $5 to $10). Once in you’re immediately treated to two bars on either side before even getting to the dance floor. There are two DJs, one for the front and one for the dance floor, and the sound transition between the two may make your ears do flip-flops, but it almost feels like you’re drunk already. The dance area is an old renovated theater, bedecked with beautiful trim and echoes of its former lavishness. Of course now the walls advertise sexy skirt parties and 2-for-1 shots, but hey, progress.

The ground floor is expansive and offers something that hardly any other downtown club does: plenty of free seating. There are booths lining the walls that actually give you a chance to sit and chat with friends, and since people get thirsty and music changes, they usually get up so you can snag one. The upstairs balcony also has some free seats, but mostly it’s roped-off VIP (though there is a bathroom up there without an attendant and that’s reason enough to climb the stairs). Smoking is allowed everywhere, and thanks to the ventilation system you can barely tell.

The Bar: Tabu has a bunch of event nights going on, so pay attention to their Web site if you want to avoid a cover. Tuesdays have no cover for the ladies all night and guys are free until 11 p.m., with guys paying $3 per drink and ladies getting it all for free. Thursdays are open bar night, where guys pay $15 and girls pay $13 to drink until close. Fridays get the ladies in free all night and the guys until 11 p.m., as well as $3.50 mixed drinks until 11 p.m. Saturdays let everyone in free until 11 p.m., where $3.50 mixed drinks again hold sway until 11 p.m. And Sundays bust out the reggaeton with an open bar night with a single cover at the door then drinking freely all night.

Service: A word of warning about those mixed drink specials. While what I was given was delightfully strong (oh throat-burning alcohol, how I love you) it was surprisingly rum-flavored for a gin and tonic. Aside from the occasional screw up, the bartenders are quick and don’t mess around with keeping you tipsy.

Sounds: Different DJs of varying styles come in every night, and sometimes national acts headline the place, but for the most part you’ll find a traditional mix of house, Top 40 mixes, and hip-hop.

Crowd: Oh the kids love Tabu, especially since it’s welcoming to the 18 year-olds, though usually of the girl variety. Most of Tabu’s signs say “dress code strictly enforced” but as long as you’ve got on nice pants, a decent shirt, and shoes, you can also wear those stupid sunglasses without issue.

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