by Yukiko Simich on We did Set at about 1AM on Saturday night, after prepartying Raleigh poolside. My Miami promoter buddy was treating us that night, so our group of 6 guys and about 24 ladies walked in, bypassing line and cover, and entered the VIP section with bottles on ice greeting us. The layout is you have a VIP section with tables for bottle service in the center of the club. The area is fairly large and most of the women migrate over here, leaving a relatively high guy/girl ratio on the "outskirts" (the main bar area around the perimeter of this section). The decor is great, complete with high ceilings, chandeliers, and go-go dancers grooving in elevated 'cages'. The atmosphere is beyond live! The house/techno music was jamming through a premium sound-system, and everyone's beautiful and fit, mingling and having a great time. THIS IS HOW YOU PARTY SoBe! Miami...I LOVE YOU! CONFESSION: I was at set for no longer than an hour that night because the energy and crowd were so amazing I had to head back to my hotel with company...(Set, I cordially Thank You! ) PROS: Good music, more-trendy/hipster/scenester-than chic kinda crowd in VIP (this can be a pro or a con depending on your preference), gorgeous women, physically fit patrons...and I'm talking the caliber of BEAUTY and FITNESS only Miami can offer! Great sound system. CONS: Guy/girl ratio outside vip area gets a little high. This also means there's some alpha male posturing on the main floor. WOMEN: You will probably be approached by guys outside the VIP area...CONSTANTLY. If you're into that, you will have a blast. If not, I strongly suggest partying in vip or else the upper floor (*upper floor plays hip-hop). MEN: Read between the lines. Get a table or else it can be (pardon the expression) "a sausage-fest!" on the sidelines.
by Elizabeth D. on All right, fine, I love this place. The key is to go there on the right night at the right time. I avoid Tuesdays (keg night), Thursdays (student night), and Friday-Saturday nights (obvious reasons) because I'm really over the whole fight-your-way-to-the-bar-and-be-ogled-by-drunken- USF-students thing. On the other nights and during the day, you can walk into the Abbey and it's like being in Ireland. You have a good chance of being the only person who lacks an Irish accent. There are old men reading the paper or watching the footie while nursing pints of Guinness or glasses of whiskey. The bartender spends most of his time chatting with the guys at the end of the bar and watching the footie. It's quiet and dark and a bit dingy. People smoke in the bathroom (as one 4-year-old guest told his dad on returning from it a few weeks ago). Go there often enough and they'll just get you your drink without asking what you want. Bring cash (they do have an ATM if you forget), and be prepared to fend off inappropriate come-ons from disreputable-looking older men with incomprehensible accents. God, I love it.
