G.D.J. Bar, better known as G Bar, could be anything from a dream to your worst nightmare - it really depends on the night. It's located right in the center of Trastevere, which makes it a super convenient meeting spot before any late night adventure and also an almost unavoidable passing on most nights out in the area.
So, here's the good and bad of the place:
If you want to get into the nightlife of Rome as an English-speaking foreigner, this place is probably your best start. The regular attendees and bartenders also work with other clubs, so they usually can get you connected in those spots as well. Even showing up on a random evening, you're likely to get a wristband strapped on your wrist to get party bus access to some other event. Many of the other companies that cater to study abroad kids (Bus 2 Alps, Euroadventures, VJ Events) also tend to have people show up to promote. So overall, if you want to be "in the know" about what clubs are going to be full that night, this is where you pre-game.
They've also got drink specials galore, so you can get cheap shots.
Then, there's the bad ...
It's an American bar. So, amidst your Roman travels, you probably don't want to spend most of your time in a place that isn't very ... Italian. The place is also extremely tiny, which means on crowded nights you are going to have to shove your way to get to the front. It also tends to get full of obnoxious study abroad kids during the beginning of the semesters. There are plenty of better bars, with cheaper and nicer drinks, right across the street. At least when you're a traveler, it's the type of place that winds up being the popular table in high school. Half the time it felt like you could make a Mean Girls style map of where certain groups were sitting (although everyone does mingle to say their hellos), and the other half of the time it was a massive crowd of drunken nonsense.
SIDENOTE, the wall across from G-Bar is full of names past visitors have carved into the wall. Make your mark, it's basically tradition of the JCU (John Cabot University) students. read more