Washington University in St. Louis - Nightlife

For a totally transforming experience, just walk through the banal ground floor of Miso and head downstairs. The spacious lounge and bar area hidden below are set in glowing hues of low blue, and the basement’s 4,000 square feet (the space served as a bowling alley after World War II) immediately creates a rich and welcoming atmosphere. Purple and tan plush couches, armchairs, and love seats make loungers want to sink in and stay a while. The cuisine at Miso is surprisingly on par with the gorgeous surroundings. The sushi is excellent and goes down smoothly with their warm house-sake (or one of their eight other varieties of sake). Hip exotica and downbeat music pours softly over the speakers, but Wednesday through Sunday nights, Miso entertains a club crowd, bringing in DJs to spin the latest house music for the photogenic crowd.

OZ is three nightclubs in one. The main floor has four bars, one dance floor, and a house/classic club DJ. There is also an outdoor Patio Blue lounge with hip-hop and an Emerald City VIP room with a Moroccan twist. The OZ is a popular destination in the late hours, but be prepared for lots of techno.

Rue 13 is a pool hall, bar, cocktail lounge, restaurant, sushi bar, dance club, and music venue. It is famous for its '80s dance parties, dollar sake nights, pole dancing, and projection screens on the walls. Cheap covers, but the drinks are pricey.

The Pageant is a large music venue a mile away from campus with an open main floor with plenty of standing room and some seating on a first-come-first-serve basis. There is also an upstairs balcony with limited space, as well as the 21-and-over Halo Bar which serves drinks during shows. The Pageant has seen acts such as Bloc Party, Andrew Bird, Wilco, Steely Dan, the Doobie Brothers, and Ben Folds. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster or at the door.

A dive bar in the grand tradition, the place rocks from low ceiling to cramped wall. Five-dollar pitchers, and raw underground punk and rock bands every weekend make the place one of the best bars in the Wash U area.

A real gem, hidden deep in the thick of mid-town St. Louis, Venice Café is well worth the detour. Everything from the booze boat (an ornately decorated skiff transformed into a bar), to the vast patio, complete with bucket seat chairs and a koi pond, makes this place a full-on visual experience. The aural side isn’t bad either—jam sessions, folk bands, and open-mics take to the small stage almost every night of the week.

Don’t even attempt to read the lengthy beer menu at Cicero’s, just ask for a recommendation from the able barmen and women and you won’t be disappointed. Besides the bar, this Italian restaurant has a pair of decent pool tables, and a kicking music venue that hosts some of the best underground jam bands around, including Spooky Daly Pride, Jake’s Leg, and Ekoostik Hookah.

Don’t look for the young, hip crowd to be hanging around the bar between a pair of Korean War vets, sipping a pint of Pabst Blue Ribbon or playing a game of Buck Hunter on the console. The VFW is a haven for real Missourians—pro-life, pro-NRA, pro-beer. But because of its dirt-cheap brews, it also attracts an occasional college group looking for a pre-party, or just a pitcher to sip on a weeknight. No pretensions, no drink specials, just beer and rugged veterans of foreign wars.

During the day, the Lounge is a classy place to catch a decent meal, and at night, to watch some excellent jazz acts. On the weekends, though, the bar becomes more of an extension of the frat scene than anything else, so plan accordingly.

Some of the shows here are 21-and-over only, but most just require a small surcharge. And it’s worth it, because this is one of the best venues in St. Louis. You can see all kinds of music—jazz, rock, blues, jam bands. John Scofield, Leftover Salmon, Ozomatli, and G. Love and Special Sauce have all been recent visitors.

Sometimes an 18-and-over club or bar just isn’t fun when you’re surrounded by older people with drinks, so why not just do something different? Tropicana has 52 lanes of bowling, but there’s plenty of other things to keep you busy: pool tables, video games, a thuggish Friday night crowd, and pitchers of beer, if someone has a decent fake ID (or a real one).

The Grind is located right on the edge of the neighborhood known as “the St. Louis Greenwich Village.” The Grind looks like a bar on the weekends, since it’s packed inside and out, and the crowd is hip and attractive. It’s actually a coffee house, though, so students who are 18-and-over are certainly welcome. You can either chill on the big patio and sip an iced coffee or mug of tea, lounge inside on the comfy sofas, or play a game of pool or foosball.

WILD (Walk In Lay Down) is an all-day festival at Wash U, thrown at both the beginning and the end of the school year for students of all ages. Events include concerts, games, raffles, student performances, and free food. To see which bands will be performing the next scheduled dates, visit the production company Team 31’s Web site: team31.wustl.edu