Bars

Granada’s two most popular gringo watering holes occupy opposite corners of the same block on La Calzada: Roadhouse Sports Bar (open noon–midnight daily) and Zoom Bar (open from noon daily). There are half a dozen other bars within a stone’s throw of this corner. The beer’s cold at every one.

Café Nuit (Calle La Libertad, half block east of Piedra Bocona) is one of the city’s prettiest bars, attracting mostly locals and often with live music. On the next corner, El Club offers frequent promotional bashes, bikini-clad beer babes, and theme parties.

A loungier, more romantic scene is found at El Tercer Ojo (Calle El Arsenal across from Convento San Francisco, open 11 a.m.–11 p.m. Tues.–Sun.); swank tapas, wine, cocktails, and more, especially popular during happy hour (4–7 p.m.).

Charly’s Bar and Restaurante (from Petronic, 5 blocks west and 25 meters south, tel. 505/2552-2942, open 11 a.m.–11 p.m. daily except Tuesday) is an old-time, schnitzel-flinging favorite on the western fringes of town, specializing in German cuisine, barbecue, and draft beer in a huge crystal cowboy boots. It’s a bit far from the city center but worth the trip.

El Balcón (southeast corner of the central plaza, tel. 505/2552-6002, daily noon–10 p.m.), on the second floor of the grand, yellow-painted Gran Francia, offers the best aerial streetside balcony from which to watch the foot and horse traffic below as you sip your Centenario and enjoy the delicious bar menu.

The Enoteca Wine Bar (in the Hotel Plaza Colón, open 10 a.m.–11 p.m. daily) has a wide selection of international wines and monthly tastings, often with rum and cigars on hand as well.

Clubs

Managua is better for dancing but a tiny club scene exists in Granada. El Club (3 blocks west of the park) hosts the upscale scene, with a calendar of DJs and events. More casual and a bit rowdier, Inuit Bar (Fridays and Saturdays only) is inside the Centro Turístico, serving cold beer and Reggaeton music.

Similar but less popular (and closer to the entrance of the Centro Turístico) is the old classic Cesar’s. For either of the two clubs inside the Centro Turístico, take a cab there and back—this area is not safe at night.

© Randall Wood & Joshua Berman from Moon Nicaragua, 4th Edition