Written by Melaku Sahlu - Horizon Ethiopia Staff Writer
Friday, 23 April 2010 14:16
It’s the high class of Addis nightlife – the swanky, outdoor (mostly covered) bar at the Sheraton Hotel which hosts a sometimes eclectic mix of expats, Diaspora/Returnees and the business elite of the city on a regular basis. It’s not just about the fact that it’s the most popular bar in the city’s most prestigious venue. For more than a few years now, Office Bar has been serving up some of the best entertainment you can find here in the forms of visiting bands from abroad that thrill patrons with energetic performances several nights a week.
But whether your particular vice is to see and be seen, enjoy the lively sounds of the band on stage or sip on your cocktail of choice served up by the exceptionally professional staff, it’s hard to beat Office Bar sheer entertainment value at happy hour and beyond. The Celebration Band is back for a second tour after spending many months entertaining their fans here in 2009. Some of the faces in the band have changed but their formula for delivering a good night’s worth of entertainment hasn’t. Playing cover songs from the 70’s on through to some of the latest hits, they perform with a verve and level of audience engagement that is unmatched on the city scene. Indeed it is difficult to comprehend how they can keep up that level of energy performing 4 nights (Tuesday-Friday) every week.
When Office Bar first started its visiting performers program, it did so with Poppa Smurf, Teddy Mak and Charlie Mack – a group comprised of former members of the Just Us Band which used to (and still does) ply its trade at Jojo’s, an Ethiopian jazz joint on U Street in Washington DC. All three seem to have decided to make Addis their permanent home and can be found these days performing at The Showroom or Flirt Lounge on various nights. Some of the members of Office Bar’s current band have been here for quite some time that they may also have been bitten with the Addis bug for life. Indeed, one of the members disclosed that he recently became engaged to an Ethiopian lady and plans to stick around here indefinitely.
Of course given establishment it is housed in, there is no shortage of quality spirits at Office Bar. Even when the rest of city may be experiencing a mortal shortage of imported drinks like Grey Goose for example. One of the bottle that you will rarely find elsewhere is the king of cognacs, Louis XIV – reserved only for the extremely well heeled, a bottle will set you back something like ETB 35,000. For most patrons, there’s probably nothing to like about that price tag so it is probably best to stick to some of the more earthbound drinks that Office Bar keeps flowing courtesy of a very professional and friendly staff. Many of them have been around since the earliest days of the hotel and have become de facto friends with some of the longtime patrons.
If you think entertainment is the only thing that goes on at Office Bar, think again. It is in fact, a very appropriately named venue since a fair amount of actual business and networking takes place there. Some of it is simply due to the fact that you will routinely see a number of businessmen and woman perhaps kicking back after a long day at work or simply using the relaxed atmosphere as an extension of their work day. In recent years, the increasing appearance of foreign investors, development organization leaders and the like have also made this fertile ground to connect with foreign entities. Whichever sector you want to engage in though, a lot more flows at Office Bar than just drinks and entertainment so it’s always best to keep your business cards handy when you go for a visit.
Office Bar is open from late afternoon onwards although music will generally start around 7:30pm and continue until around 11pm.
