UPDATE: I have been visiting the Green Room much more frequently of late, in large part because I’ve been winning discount coupons at the SOB events. Having now experienced the ambiance of this bar with some regularity, I have gotten better in tune with the friendly vibe that exists here. There are a lot of familiar faces, so it seems to be a favorite of the local expats. There are still as many Guest Relations Officers (GROs) as I’ve seen anywhere in town, and the ones I’ve met recently are attractive and friendly. My usual practice is to drink with the waitresses (had three at my table last night), and I always enjoy their company. I’m sure I’ll be coming back more often, with or without those discounts. I still prefer the outdoor venues, but the Green Room atmosphere makes it worth the visit.
The Green Room transitioned from the former girly bar named Rum Jungle last year. Same ownership, though, just a new concept: the sports bar. And just to clarify my definitions–a girly bar has a dance stage and scantily clad gals dancing for the entertainment of the customers. At least back when dancing was allowed in the bars, and presumably, it will be again at some point in the future. A sports bar, as the name implies, has large screen televisions where you can watch the big game, along with a pool table and sometimes a dartboard. The Green Room ticks all those boxes.
That is not to say that there aren’t any girls in a sports bar. The Green Room had what appeared to be twenty or thirty present during my visit. Shortly after I’d taken my seat, two of them came over to greet me.
Naturally, I bought them both a lady drink, a bottled beer for 185 pesos (mixed drinks are 170). My beer was 110 pesos.
This bar is also located in The Maze complex. Back in the day, you could walk through a rear door to visit two other bars–Rapscallion and Man Cave. Sadly, both of those bars were killed by COVID. Through another door, you could get to Wet Spot and Lollipop bars. Wet Spot is still going strong and Lollipop is now home to one of the best food places in Barretto, Sit-n-Bull. The SnB menu is available for order in The Green Room as well.
So, how does The Green Room stack up? The sports bar genre is very competitive and there is just not much that makes this particular venue stand out in my opinion. I think yesterday’s visit was only my third since last year’s grand opening. This is not to say there is anything wrong with the place, I just don’t watch televised sports or play pool. It is simply a matter of other places suiting my likes better.
And I think this final review is a good time to remind just how subjective my opinions and rankings truly are. I showed the list to a friend last night and he disagreed with my assessments in about half the cases. Just a matter of different strokes for different folks. I have also noticed that over the course of this series of reviews as I’ve made subsequent visits to some of these bars my assessment has changed, in most cases for the better. So the rankings are not necessarily a valid reflection of my current preferences. Perhaps I’ll need to periodically do an update. With new bars on the horizon, I’ll need to incorporate them into the rankings anyway. So be on the lookout for that.
Twenty-six currently active bars in Barretto (again, excluding most of the hotel lounges and Filipino-style videoke bars). Here is how I personally prefer them:
UPDATED RANKINGS:
- It Doesn’t Matter
- Hideaway
- Snackbar
- Cheap Charlies
- Wet Spot
- The Green Room
- Alley Cats
- Mango’s Beach Bar
- Bar Barretto
- Blue Butterfly
- Dynamite Dick’s
- Mugshots
- Alaska Club
- Hot Zone
- Queen Victoria
- Whiskey Girl
- Adam’s
- BarCelona
- Voodoo
- Rock Lobster
- Outback
- Rosie’s
- Annex
- Bottoms Up
- Palm Tree
- Thumbstar
- MacArthur’s
- Redz Pub
- Chill
- It Doesn’t Matter
- Cheap Charlies
- Mango’s Beach Bar
- Alley Cats
- Wet Spot
- BarCelona
- Adam’s
- Blue Butterfly
- Out Back Billabong
- Dynamite Dick’s
- Palm Tree
- Hideaway
- Hot Zone
- Alaska Club
- The Green Room
- Thumbstar
- Bottoms Up
- Rosies
- Rock Lobster
- Queen Victoria
- Voodoo
- Annex
- MacArthur’s
- Redz Pub
- Whiskey Girl
- Finger Monkey
It was a good, educational tour through the various watering holes. Certainly gives me a better feel for where you live. I’m not a bar type, so I doubt I’d ever visit any of these places (unless they served food), but it’s been interesting to get a peek inside them and sample a bit of the ambiance. Thanks again.
Pingback: It started with Coral… | Long Time Gone
Appreciate the tour. And yes, you probably need to update the list as the mood strikes.
Any qualitative ranking is based on the reviewers preferences and whims. Best movie ever? Greatest basketball team ever? etc. Purely subjective. Even things that are quantitative (e.g. fastest 100m in history) have some subjectivity to them. If Jesse Owens from the 1930’s had the tracks, equipment, training and nutrition that Usain Bolt had in the 2000’s, would his time have been faster? etc.
Fun to debate however.
Thanks for the journey!
Brian, good points. Thanks! And I will continue to periodically update the rankings as circumstances warrant. For example, last night I was surprised to see that a brand new bar had opened. I’ll be reviewing that one soon. Also, I was at BarCelona and had another of those bad experiences that had driven me away from that bar previously. That incident will be a consideration next time I do the rankings.
Pingback: Tired | Long Time Gone