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    Zanzabar

    4.4 (235 reviews)
    Closed 5:00 pm - 2:00 am (Next day)

    Zanzabar Photos

    Business Info

    ZANZABAR ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Loud
    Hipster
    DJ
    Live music

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    Recommended Reviews - Zanzabar

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    Love these lights in the bar area.
    Cheryl P.

    A friend and I went to Zanzabar to see a couple of local bands, Arianna and The Bourbon Britches and Voodoo Symphony. I had been to Z Bar before but it had been awhile. It's such a cool place, with a fun feast for the eyes in every corner. Decor is standout with a funky mix of pop culture references and record store culture like wall size photos of old 70's tv shows and food menues put on old record album jackets. Pinball and video game references are part of the mix as well. Across from an alcove area full of games, we were greeted at the door where we got an armband for the live music show, which is held in a separate space in the back of the building. Shows vary in ticket price but typically you can see excellent bands there (usually more than one) for $10-$30. There is table and booth seating in the bar space but not a lot. We didn't order food but I have to say the food being prepared smelled heavenly. We ordered our drinks and went back to the live music room. Love the space, low light, big nice stage. It's a real music venue. Seating is very limited. A few tables and some tall chairs along the wall. It's mostly standing room. The live music sound was high quality. It's always a disappointment to go see a great band of the sound production isn't of good quality and I was pleased that this was NOT the case. The sound was great and so were the bands. I felt the drink prices were a bit high. It was over $9 for one old Forrester and diet and one Diet Coke. But service was fast, accurate and friendly. The bar was busy but the handled it well. We had a great time. I'm really glad we have a venue like Zanzabar and I don't mind paying a cover to hear great music. Zanzabar hosts local, national and international acts. I will definitely return.

    Anna A.

    I've passed Zanzabar a million times on my way to the skatepark from my house and always thought "huh, that place looks neat", but had never made an effort to stop in. That all changed earlier this month when I went to see one of my favorite artists perform. What an absolute gem in the rough of local music venues. Upon entrance, we were met in a friendly manner by staff checking people in for the event. The lighting was very nice and relaxing and greeting me to my right, a selection of pinball machines. Straight ahead is the bar and to the right and left are some booths and tables. Upon approaching the bar, my drink order was promptly taken. I had a whiskey sour and a margarita, both of which tasted great and were very fairly priced. The bartenders were helpful and skilled. The setting for the performance was very intimate, with the stage being very close. This was the closest I had ever been to one of my favorite artists performing live and was a great experience. Restrooms are gender neutral and clean. The only minor complaint I have is that the sound seemed a bit off for the performance and it was hard to hear the vocalist at times, but that could've been a one off thing. Zanzabar is really spectacular and I hope to return for more events and maybe try the pinball machines!

    Casandra R.

    VERY VERY VERY ACCOMMODATING TO US!!! We are here for a pug convention & we had our Pug with us & they cleaned a table for us we appreciated that so much! Standby for a food update we are still here!

    Jeremy J.

    My buddy and I went in here and had a drink and played some games and enjoyed the show. The ambience was pretty cool because it was old-school pinball classic rock vibe field to it. Service was cool bartender was nice didn't get any food but the beer was solid.

    Heather M.

    Over the years I have heard about Zanzabar or as some call it Z Bar. I have never made my way here until Lou Bar bingo started in Winter 2020. I have visited a few times and I can finally leave a decent review. Located on Preston street, not far from my other 2 favorite places (Nords, Sunergo's). Only street parking is available, I haven't had any problems with that during the pandemic so idk how it was before. The inside I would describe is a bar/arcade type of place. It is not very well lit on the inside but, the many pinball machines will light the place up. There is booth and table seating w/ COVID-19 guidelines in place. And also a very spacious stage for music. They have a variety of local beer and a good selection of bourbon and other hard spirits. I love any neighborhood bar that has local beer on tap and good selection of hard spirits. They have dinner specials everyday and are posted to their Facebook stories. I've had their grilled Chicken Sandwich w/ fries and bacon jam. The grilled chicken sandwich was good the bacon jam, I wouldn't say horrible tasting but just odd. Staff is always friendly and helpful, and I will continue coming here because of that and the great selection of local beer. I would like to get in on other dinner specials they have and hopefully catch a music show when things get back to normal.

    Trivia night!
    Sharon M.

    Attended the LPM Holiday Trivia night here. I was pleasantly surprised, as I hadn't been here before. Great place to eat and drink. The menu offers a variety of meals, including salads. Everything is made to order and tastes delicious. Drink prices are good. Inside seating is spacious. The outside patio looks awesome with great views. Definitely will be returning for both food and drink.

    Sara L.

    Seeking a perfect night cap, we stopped at Zanzabar for some.....Pinball! I mean let's be real here who can resist pinball? Pinball brings me back to childhood vacations in small towns in northern Wisconsin. I love that it's actually somewhat trendy these days as history repeats itself. Zanzabar is a divey yet trendy bar, almost rockabilly like. The beer selection is great, full bar to match. They also serve food, we didn't eat this time but have in the past. Huge step up from your typical barfood. We played Multiple pinball games, Galaga, & Super Mario Bros (it was more like Super Mario 1 - The game that came with the Nintendo system back in 89)..... A few too many "oye veys" exited my mouth; I recall being better at that game. I love going to Zanzabar for the games of course but I also don't feel like I have to dress up to go there which is nice, low-key. The staff are super friendly. The bathrooms are a bar bathroom for sure (tiny & bad smells - but clean). Parking is street but plentiful.

    Cheers
    Jimmy K.

    Great food and drinks. Plenty of fun for everyone. The pinball machines, Frogger and Galaga were all entertaining. The drinks were heavy pours for a great price. We will definitely be back.

    Wild Reeds

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    5 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Fun place, lots of nostalgia. Food was good in regards to the music menu. They need a few more seating areas.

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    2 years ago

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    1 year ago

    FIRE WINGS! Love them. The bartender was nice, too. Great buffalo wings. The ambience is chill with good vibes and good times.

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    2 years ago

    I liked the environment and the service. Everyone was really nice and helpful. Menu was limited but good.

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    6 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Great food. We had tenders and fries. The staff were very friendly as well. Great place to hear some good music!

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    Page 1 of 6

    Ask the Community - Zanzabar

    Do you have to buy tickets online for their live shows or can you also purchase them at the door?…

    Most of the shows you can buy tickets beforehand. Check out their Facebook page events for details. But I've only seen a few shows where they were sold out and weren't selling at the door. Most times you can.

    What is on the menu?

    Apps include hummus plate, quesadilla, nachos and queso and chips. A couple 12-14" pizzas with a… Read more

    How late do live shows usually go? Bought tickets to tonight's 9pm show but might not get into town until 10:45. Still worth it? :|

    Prob not. Guess it depends on how many openers there are before the headliner. Any show I've seen has ended before midnight. On the weekend I think they're open till 4.

    View All 5 Questions

    Review Highlights - Zanzabar

    Lots of awesome pinball machines and arcade games in the front, really cool small venue for live music in the back.

    Mentioned in 57 reviews

    Read more highlights

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    People searched for Music Venues 167 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

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    Main Event Louisville

    Main Event Louisville

    2.6(238 reviews)
    11.8 mi
    $

    This space can take a toll on your wallet - but there are ways to help. I often see coupons for…read moretheir game cards (buy $20, get $20) and you can take advantage of their deals for bowling and games. I've also found it helps to set the timer when hanging out, making it part of the day instead of the ... main event. Many games earn tickets and redeeming them has typically been fast and easy. My teen son enjoys grabbing candy. If you're not interested to eat off the restaurant menu, we appreciate the pizza. It's not life changing but we enjoyed it as a quick snack. Huge parking lot so never an issue to find a spot. Service at the counter to purchase game cards and bowling times runs well, even when the line gets long.

    If I could give less than a star I would. Awful trashy place. Do not go there and don't take your…read morekids there. Disgusting. I got there and used the bathroom, the first stall had poop all over the toilet (unfortunately people are gross so I didnt blame the place). I reported it. I went to the bar, had two drinks, ordered food, got the food, ate. Went to use the restroom again before playing games and there was STILL POOP ALL OVER THE TOILET AN HR AFTER REPORTING. Games dont work. Sanitary pad on floor. Empty drinks everywhere and trash. Bunch of kids working that obviously dont care. Manager Nick Clue immediately gave me my money back- did not try to remedy the situation which tells me he doesnt care either. Such a crap way to spend my mothers day AND anniversary.

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    Main Event Louisville
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    Recbar - Frosted Flakes chicken tenders

    Recbar

    4.0(479 reviews)
    9.9 mi
    $$

    So we went on a Saturday at 6 PM and they were packed. And when I say packed, I mean PACKED…read moreThe wait was about 40 minutes, no big deal we just chilled at the bar. We had a party of eight that they accommodated. Among other large parties we saw. The ambience of the place is so nice so retro. There are about 3 to 4 separate corridors within the building that hold different rooms. Two of them are JUST games. One is half tables half games and then one is just bar and tables. In the summer they have a window that lifts up where you can sit on their patio too. I got a house margarita which I ordered two of because the first one was so good. It was a celebration for my mother-in-law's birthday so she just got a regular beer, but the service was still good amongst all opinions . The bartenders were in good moods and the staff was still super nice and kind even though they were swamped. ----- The FOOD. UNMATCHED! To be THAT busy and push out food of the quality we received is mind blowing!! Good job! I've been here before but no one else had. Note! They only have tater tots. No fries. So I got the Always Sunny Totchos. HALF ORDER Their tots with queso (amazing) & SHREDDED STEAK, GRILLED ONIONS & PEPPERS To dieeee for! So delicious. Then I got wings to go; sauce on the side. COOKED TO Perfection! Buffalo, bourbon bbq, and ranch. My husband got the Mikey Likey burger and he said it was great. (ITALIAN SEASONED PATTY, WARM MARINARA, MELTED MOZZARELLA, PEPPERONI & BANANA PEPPERS) His sister got the "it's a wrap" and she enjoyed it. His mom got the "cougar bait tacos" and loved them. Can't remember what everyone else got because I was on the other side of the table, but everyone enjoyed it. Overall fantastic food! really interesting items. There are so many things on their menu I want to try. I just would probably go on a day they are not so busy. ---- Last notes, their games operate off of tokens that they have machines for that take $1, $5, $10, $20 & it's 25c for each token technically. During my visit, both were out of order so the hostess said that you have to go to the bar and you can swipe your debit card in exchange for tokens, which is a little inconvenient so we didn't do that. But no biggie. I had 4 tokens because it took $1 so she got to play Pac-Man twice and she was happy lol Additionally parking is a little rough when they are busy. Overall great place. Be patient. And maybe try a Thursday instead haha

    From the moment we walked in, everything felt warm and inviting! Our server was super friendly and…read morethe food came out very fast. The portions are huge so you may want to consider sharing. The ambiance was perfect. Tons of games, and the pinball room was definitely the highlight. We spent about an hour after eating play games. 4 of us ate...2 appetizer, 3 meals, 2 house margaritas and 2 draft beers. With tax and tip out the door was $115. Great value.

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    Margarita and beer

    Dave & Buster's Louisville - NEW R U Cereal Cake

    Dave & Buster's Louisville

    2.6(183 reviews)
    7.0 mi
    $$

    Let me start off by saying our food was great. We ordered the teriyaki steak and changed the…read moremashed potatoes for Mac and cheese. Steak was delicious and perfectly cooked. We did add an order of garlic bread which had the consistency of a crouton but was still pretty good. No complaints about the food at all. Where I am going to complain is the $54.99 unlimited play. My son has passed and this would have been his fourth birthday. Every year we have gone to this location on his birthday and tried to win as many tickets as we can and then pass them along to a kid. Generally we do pretty well and it makes the kids day. With the unlimited play option we were under the impression we could play for 90 minutes any game which we hoped we give us the opportunity to win lots of tickets. The server didn't tell us anything else other than that was an option. Once we tried swiping the card, we learned that not only were we limited to certain games we could play with the card but it capped us off at 1500 tickets which completely defeated the purpose of why we were there. I actually hit a 1000 ticket jackpot on a game but because I was near my max I only got 2 tickets and that's when we realized what was going on. Also, It didn't take anywhere near 90 minutes to hit that max. We wish we would have had the unlimited play explained to us better because we would not have chose that option at all since it didn't fit our needs and I would have spent the extra money to get the 900 credits for $120.

    Tonight was a mixed bag of ying & yang. Not quite a 4star night, but better than a 3star…read more The good. A remarkable server, Mia, who worked the entire room including our group of twenty. The bad? Not much support from the kitchen. No-one's food came out at the same time. Some were literally finishing their dinner when others were just being served. It shouldn't be so hard to get 10 orders of burgers & fries to come out at the same time. My wife ordered Elotes Cauliflower and a side of crisps & guacamole. They were served last. And the cauliflower came out ice cold. To her credit, Mia went straight to the kitchen and the kitchen manager came out to apologize and remade the order. Wings are on special this month on Thursdays. 20 for $20. I went with 10 Nashville and 10 Lemon Pepper. I didn't realize the Nashville wings were sauced. I prefer dry rub, like the lemon pepper. Still, both flavors were pretty darn good. Just a little messy. Thankfully, wet wipes came with the wings. The wings were on the small side, but at that price, a bargain. The ranch dressing that came with the wings? Thin with Zero flavor. It barely "stuck" to the celery sticks. Overall, everyone enjoyed their meal. And the kids had fun in the game area. The restaurant, game room and restrooms were very clean. A little better coordination in the kitchen would have turned a good night into a great night.

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    Puttshack - Louisville

    Puttshack - Louisville

    3.3(87 reviews)
    7.7 mi
    $$

    I returned with my family for Mother's Day. This was my first experience booking the visit and it…read morewas easy. After visiting the website I chose the location, date, and time. A credit card is needed for the reservation. You have 3 hours ahead of time to cancel for a full refund: Five minutes before our reservation, I got a text to head to our course. Makayla set up our team and the ball assignment. We had a great time competing. The opportunity to win and lose points kept the top scores changing. I'm definitely considering coming back with my youngest for a $25 all day pass.

    This is one of the most strangest experiences I ever had. My friend and I booked online to make…read morereservations. By the time we got there for our reservations for mini golf. We were there for first time. However it was Saturday evening and it was pretty much busy and I didn't expect to see that many kids and families around. It is nothing wrong. I thought it was only for 21+ for this place and maybe it was the after-hours. Anyway, we check in at the kiosk and told us where to go. We went to the spot and found out that we are going to stand in the line and wait to check in again for our balls to play. It was quite difficult because we spend a lot of time standing and waiting before we could play next courses. After the first course, we decided to end it early and get the money back because we didn't know what to except. Unfortunately they do not give the money back but they give you free game to come back in other time when it is not too busy which we will definitely do that. One other thing is when you buy beer. You will have to move away from the bar because it was reservation for people who sit at the bar. I find it odd. But I guess that what it is. I didnt make sense to me about the reservation for play because I felt that it was too many people at that point. I would come back when it is not too busy.

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    Puttshack - Louisville - Asian kale salad - this needed way more dressing

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    Zanzabar - musicvenues - Updated May 2026

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