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Throughout the almost 8-year history of
the Metro Manila nightlife scene, Makati, Ortigas, Libis, Malate and
lately, Taguig have always been the areas that have been considered
as THE places to be seen. These are the buzz words that usually come
out from the lips of those dubbed as the who’s who of the party
scene.
Meanwhile, a plethora of bars, restaurants and small clubs have
always lined Timog and Tomas Morato Avenue in Quezon City. Although
they continue to be a staple chill spot, Timog and Tomas Morato
still have not gotten their turn as the “it” area of the moment.
However, this may probably change as some crowd-drawing clubs are
starting to sprout in this area. An example is Guilly’s Island,
located in front of the ABS-CBN compound, where lots of people
(mostly women in their sexy attire) are seen in the area every
Friday and Saturday night.
Now, less than a five-minute walk from Guilly’s Island comes Dolce
Superclub, the so-called “Embassy of Q.C.” At first glimpse, its
façade looks like a mini-version of Embassy Superclub, an infamous
celebrity-wharf in The Fort, Taguig. From its minimalist square
architecture, white concrete and the silver typeface at the
entrance, the inspiration becomes evident. Even the name itself (use
of the term “superclub”) is already a giveaway.
The club recently opened on February 6 of this year. According to
owner Deny Dator, the club is open only from Tuesday to Saturday.
Different types of music are played alternately--- House, Hip Hop,
R&B, Trance, Mash-Ups and Top Forties. Unlike Guilly’s Island and
Ascend in The Fort which also serve food during the day, Dator
 described
Dolce as “strictly a club.”
Entrance fee is Php300 for regular customers. In most clubs at
Makati and The Fort, one can only get into the V.I.P section for
free if he/she is on the list. In contrast to this, Dolce has a
separate entrance fee for the V.I.P which costs Php5,000. In special
cases, however, Dolce also allows members of the guest list to get
in without any charge. Someone who has visited the club commented on
multiply.com that the V.I.P. fee was “too pricey for the Timog
Market.”
The club also has less capacity than Embassy and Ascend yet can
definitely hold a larger crowd than Temple Bar in Greenbelt3, Makati.
The club also makes use of tall round tables. This makes it more
convenient for people who would like to dance without holding their
drinks and for those would like to sit every now and then.
“Good thing there are plenty of tables so I could put down my pouch
and still keep an eye on it,” a Dolce customer was quoted as saying.
The club also makes use of an elaborate set of laser lights. Another
Dolce customer remarked that when she first entered the club, the
first thing she noticed was how nice the lights were. Since the
place is relatively small, the lights look more salient with darts
of green light beams expertly obeying every single beat of the
music. Compared to other clubs, Dolce’s laser lights seem to be more
elaborate.
 There
are also less foreigners in the club, much unlike its counterparts
in the Makati and Taguig areas. In most clubs nearer the southern
part of the metro, especially in Embassy and other Greenbelt clubs,
almost half of the crowd is composed of foreigners. This may be due
to the fact that most of the bigger hotels are located near the
Taguig and Makati area.
The club is still less than two months old but word of mouth is
already giving Dolce substantial attention from fickle Metro Manila
party goers. One observer noted: “When I first went to Dolce, the
crowd was still thin and it really stole from the Guilly’s crowd.
When I came back a week after, the crowd doubled or maybe even
tripled.”
In the Manila nightlife scene, even the newest hotspot may be cold
and deserted in just a year or maybe even months. The test of a good
party club is its staying power, like some clubs that have proven a
firm grasp of it. For now, the challenge for Dolce is to live up to
its name as the “Embassy of Quezon City”. ■ |
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