Carnegie Mellon University - Nightlife

Déjà Vu is a nice place to relax and unwind during the evenings but can get pretty packed at night. It’s a lounge/club with different rooms that play a mix of techno and Top 40. Drinks are probably the most expensive in the city, but the dress code is not that strict. Many people go here first since there is no cover and then head down the block to Sanctuary later in the night. You must be 21 to get in, and IDs are not checked too hard.

Light makes up half of the infamous “Boardwalk” in the Strip District. You must be 21 to get into Light, and you must be dressed properly. They don’t allow hats, throwbacks, tucked-in sweaters, doo-rags, or army wear. Parking is usually around $5 and is right outside of the club.

Margarita Mama’s is a two-area bar with a central bar, booths, and pool tables on one side, and another bar and big dance floor on the other. There are specials every night of the week, and Thursdays are popular college nights—a college ID gets you in for free.

Sanctuary is an upscale dance club that plays everything from 50 Cent to Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.” This club used to be a church, but they renovated it to make it really nice inside. Waitresses are dressed up as Catholic school girls. The people usually dress nicer here than in other clubs in Pittsburgh, and drinks are more expensive as well. Don’t expect to find any drink specials or wild college kids here. There’s a strict dress code, and you must be 21. Fridays and Saturdays are the best nights to go.

The Matrix combines four different rooms into one night club. Club Liquid plays Miami-style trance, Club Exit plays ‘80s dance hits, Club Goddess plays Top 40 music and corny old-school hip hop, and Club Velvet plays Latin music that is slightly old. The Matrix is a really nice club, and gets very packed, but they have a dress code. The best day to hit up the Matrix is without a doubt on Thursday.

TW’s makes up the other half of the “Boardwalk.” Same type of dress code as Light. You pay one cover to get into the Boardwalk and have access to both Tequila Willies and Light. You must be 21 to get in and they scan IDs at the door to make sure they are real. The best night to hit up Light and TW’s is on Wednesday.

PDC is another local bar within a short hike from campus. Located right off Walnut Street, this eclectic restaurant/bar offers live music throughout the week as well as half price food after 9 p.m. It’s the closest thing Yuppie-style Shadyside has to a hippie bar.

Peter’s is a club on the University of Pittsburgh’s campus located in the heart of Oakland. It’s a college hangout with mostly Pitt kids, but the CMU students that know what’s up come here for fun. Thursday is often the best night with $3 pitchers until 12 a.m. Monday is great. You can dance to the latest hip-hop upstairs and rub shoulders with the Pitt football and basketball teams.

The place to go for giant margaritas and Mexican food. Thanks to popular student specials and happy hours, the place is usually packed with both Pitt and CMU kids. On Fridays, many students come here to start their weekend at 4 p.m., when margaritas and beers are half-off until 6 p.m. Things get even more packed later in the evening. From 9 p.m.–11 p.m., giant margaritas are $6, and after 11 p.m., all food is half-off. No one leaves here sober.

The Tavern is a sports bar, with sports memoribilia decorating the walls. For entertainment, there are dart boards, foosball tables, video poker machines, and big screen TVs showing the day’s most important sporting event. In the summer, you can enjoy your drinks and food at the outside tiki bar.

This bar is a CMU tradition, although you won’t read about it in any brochures. Thursday nights at PHI are packed with CMU students taking advantage of $4 pitchers. It’s a couple of steps away from the dorms, right on Forbes.

This is arguably one of the most popular places in Shadyside. Known for its trendy New York-style décor and a busy (and often loud) atmosphere, many students come here for beer specials as well as frozen margaritas and daiquiris. Right upstairs is the site of the Walnut Grill, a slightly more low-key room. Come up here to sip martinis. Stay downstairs if you want darts.

Club Zoo is the hottest spot for under-21-year-olds to dance and party the weekend away. This club boasts 20,000 square feet, four levels, a VIP Room, and five bars. The bars serve free soft drinks, bottled watter, and energy drinks, as well as food and snacks. The high-tech lighting and sound systems keep underangers dancing on the bars and cages throughout the club.