16. Village Tavern
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (704) 552-9983
Address: 4201 Congress St.
Description: Terrific food and a fabulous patio make this a popular after-work hangout for young and middle-aged professionals. The tavern offers live jazz music on Wed and Thurs evenings spring through fall.
17. Bopper’S Bar And Boogie
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (704) 537-3323
Address: 5237 Albemarle Rd.
Description: Located near the corner of Albemarle and Sharon Amity, Bopper’s features swing and hustle dancing on Wed and beach music and shag dancing Thurs and Sun. Beginner through advanced shag dance lessons are offered on Thurs and Sun. Fri is ladies’ night with no cover charge, and Sat includes dance tunes from the ’70s to today’s Top 40.
18. O’Hara’S Beach Club
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (704) 525-8350
Address: 212 West Woodlawn Rd.
Description: One of Charlotte’s longtime venues for beach music and shag dancing, O’Hara’s in the Ramada Woodlawn offers live music Wed, Fri, and Sat nights. Popular with baby boomers who remember shagging at Ocean Drive in Myrtle Beach.
19. Alive Noda
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (704) 930-2200
Address: 2909 North Davidson St.
Description: Alive is a combination comedy club and live music venue. It’s new on the scene in Charlotte and includes some of the key personnel from the old Comedy Zone in Matthews.
20. Comedy Zone Lake Norman
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (704) 895-1782
Address: 17044 Kenton Dr.
Description: Hot comedians on the national circuit—Carrot Top, Tim Wilson, Pauly Shore, James Gregory, and others—perform at this comedy club, located in the top floor of the Galway Hooker Pub in Cornelius. Shows and times vary. Call for reservations; it’s often sold out.
21. Blue
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (704) 927-2583
Description: Original art, mosaic tile floors, and subdued blue accents in this modern restaurant and bar will leave you wondering if you’re really in Charlotte. Slick and sophisticated, it combines Mediterranean-style dining with live jazz and a crowd of lookers. Enjoy the wine bar next to the original bar. Mr. Big may walk in at any moment.
22. Madison’S
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (704) 358-4244
Address: 115 East Fifth St.
Description: This bar is swanky and dark, with lots of wood, granite, and stone, not to mention two oversized leather Victorian couches. Madison’s always shows pay-per-view boxing and UFC bouts, so it’s the perfect place for pugilistic fans to enjoy the sweet science on large HD screens. It’s also a good place to unwind in style with an after-work drink, but if you stay too late, Madison’s typically gets crowded (especially on Fri and Sat). However, if it gets too crowded, you can always slip next door to The Attic, an adjoining bar that allows free passage between the two.
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Nightlife
Address: 1820 South Blvd.
24. Therapy Cafe
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (704) 333-1353
Address: 401 North Tryon St.
Description: Therapy will always get props from the insider for being the first bar in Uptown to go smoke-free, years before it became a law. Located on the first floor of Transamerica Square beside Rock Bottom Brewery, Therapy Cafe sells sandwiches, salads, and organic coffee by day. But at night, the cafe becomes a cool lounge with a huge selection of martinis, acoustic tunes, and drink specials. Martinis are half-price on Wed nights, which is a great night to check out Therapy. Listen to live music Fri and Sat.
25. Tutto Mondo
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (704) 332-8149
Address: 1820 South Blvd.
Description: A sister establishment of Pewter Rose Bistro, Tutto Mondo caters to the 30-something professional crowd who come after work and late night for top-notch martinis, cigars, and apps from the bistro menu. Trendy with a Manhattan vibe, the swanky lounge features velvet drapes, antique leather chairs, and subdued, loftlike lighting in this renovated textile mill warehouse. The feel is relaxed early in the evening, then takes on an energetic tempo when a DJ starts spinning house tunes.
26. Coyote Joe’S
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (704) 399-4946
Address: 4621 Wilkinson Blvd.
Description: Charlotte’s most popular country nightclub, Coyote Joe’s sports a large dance floor that’s usually full of fun-loving people doing the Texas two-step. Not sure of the steps? No problem. On Wed you can take line-dancing lessons. Big-name acts such as Travis Tritt, SheDaisy, Keith Urban, Trace Adkins, Tracy Lawrence, Charlie Daniels, Tracy Byrd, and Hank Williams III also appear here. Open Wed, Fri, and Sat.
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Nightlife
Address: 2740 West Sugar Creek Rd.
28. Bar Charlotte
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (704) 342-2557
Address: 300 North College St.
Description: If you’re old enough to remember when Ronald Reagan was president and Russia was the Soviet Union, this is not the place for you. Bar Charlotte caters to college students and 20-somethings who are into chugging beers and dancing on bars. Bar Charlotte was actually a pioneer in Uptown nightlife way back in the mid 1990s, and it has prospered with a simple formula—scantily-clad beer tub girls serving cold beers to rowdy young guns, while rowdy young gals ride the mechanical bull and dance with each other on top of the main bar. Oh yeah, most everybody eventually makes it to the dance floor. The Bar Yard is a 36-ounce shot of brew—try it if you dare. Ages 18 and up welcome. Open Wed through Sat.
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Nightlife
Address: 225 North Caldwell St.
30. Closet
City: Charlotte, NC
Category: Nightlife
Telephone: (704) 375-1777
Address: 1202 Charlottetowne Ave.
Description: Closet is the newest addition to Charlotte’s gay and lesbian club scene. It opened in January 2010 and is divided in two. One half is a retro video lounge and the other half is a dance club. The retro lounge shows a variety of music videos from the 1970s and 80s, while the dance portion plays a high-energy mix of today’s dance music bathed in an extravagant light show. Two balconies overlook the dance floor, each with its own bar.