Baltimore Latin Clubs and Reviews
Contents
Red Maple
930 N. Charles St. Mount Vernon Baltimore, MD 21201 410.547.0149
Since opening in December 2001, Red Maple has become the place in Baltimore to experience the modern lounge vibe. The city's trendiest place to chill, Red Maple's unique space on Charles Street offers low-slung furniture, cube seats and low mood lighting. They offer an Asian tapas menu which is quite tasty and great bartenders. Although the dance floor is small (fitting up to 12 couples) the location is worth visiting. They even have an outside area for the smoking crowd! The crowd is unique-seeing blends of every culture from America all the way to the middle east! This location offers a flamenco/belly dance evening for those of you who are adventurous! Besides being a great location the management is superb and works to help others in the community by doing fundraisers with DWG on occasion! Thank you Leonard! Go and try a taste of the Red Maple!
 Club Mate
3612 South Hanover St. Brooklyn Maryland 21225 410.355.6697
Club Mate is a truly stunning night club with many dance floors and a very modern feel. They have many rooms, a VIP Salsa Floor, and beautiful décor. Club Mate has more of a "club" feel to it, being a little smaller (5,000 sq feet or more), cozy w/an element of class as well. The floors are gorgeous and well taken care of. Brooklyn might not be Beverly Hills but its worth going to if you like the "Latin Palace" vibe. We suggest that the ladies who come to this club travel in pairs. No matter where you go you should always "watch your back". I just went there and because I was there early parking was fine and security was out front already. We assumed that since Mayor O'Malley himself endorsed the club at its opening that there will be a significant amount of security at this location & we were correct. Some people are exaggerating about the neighborhood; it's not that bad!
Anyway, as I first entered Club Mate I completely forgot about what the neighborhood was like; I simply love this night club; too bad its not a salsa location. They have Latin Night on Saturday Nights (more Bachata & Reggaeton) and Ladies are Free before 11:00 p.m. There are no dance lessons. Again, check it out for yourself and see what you think; it's worth it, you'll see.
Directions: Take I95 Norh to Baltimore. Take exit 50A, stay in middle lane and go straight for about 5 minutes. Make a right on S. Hanover St. and CLub Mate will be on your right.
La Palapa Grill & Cantina
8307 Main Street, Ellicott City, MD - 410-465-0070
We love La Palapa in Ellicott City, Maryland. It was the first place
Hugo and I won a dance contest years ago!
La Palapa is an adorable gem hidden on Main Street in Ellicott City.
They have an okay sized dance floor that can fit 12 couples, large bar and a pool table.
Their food is fabulous! Unlike most bars, the bartenders actually know how to treat
their customers and make drinks! Thursday evenings they play a variety of Latin music.
He plays, merengue, reggaton, punta, cumbia, bachata and salsa. They now have a new instructor
named Vanessa who teaches from 9-10 pm Thursdays.
Directions: Take 295 or I95 to Route 100 west
to 29 north, stay in right lane and take route 40 east, at first
light make a right onto Rogers Avenue (Rite Aid on the corner),
after the court house take a right onto Ellicott Mills Drive,
continue until you come to Main St., take a left and La Palapa is
about one block on your right.
Latin Palace
509 S. Broadway Street, Baltimore, MD - 410.522.6700
Average Age: 18-45 Younger Crowd, average 29
Walking into the Latin Palace is like walking into a part of Miami you've never been to. This is a two story club lined with gigantic palm trees, an open space and very large dance floor that is not hardwood and horrible on the feet. This location is most popular on Friday nights. It's best to call and make a reservation for a table if you want a place to relax while dancing. They usually have classes Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays but change instructors frequently; it's best to call in advance. The level of dancers at this location is quite low (Beginner to Beginner-intermediate). If you are a seasoned salsa dancer you may not find dancers that are seasoned like yourself but still have a good time trying.
Once the lesson is over, the DJ plays about 40% salsa with a mixture of other dances including merengue, bachata, reggaeton and some American Music with a Latin feel. The floor is large and there is a second dance floor above for you shy types. There is a restaurant, great appetizers and pool tables up stairs. We recommend not going to the bathroom on the lower level and using the bathroom upstairs as it's much cleaner. The Latin Palace is exactly that, Latin and a little piece of Latin America.
Directions: Get on Pratt Street (you will pass the ESPN Zone on your right) go straight until you see Broadway Street, turn right on Broadway and go down about ¼ of a mile. The Latin Palace will be on your left before Fleet Street. There are plenty of places to park on the street, especially if you come between the hours of 7-9:30 p.m.
Havana Club
600 Water Street,
Baltimore, MD -
410.468.0022
Average Age: 25-45 Professionals
This club plays Salsa on Wednesdays. There are no lessons anymore but they play Latin Music Wed-Friday.
The floor is so tiny that any really seasoned dancer may not want to waste their time. If you don’t like smoke PLEASE don’t even
try to venture to this location. It is a cigar bar and it's impossible to leave Havana without smelling like a cigar from head
to toe. There is no cover charge and this is a good thing seeing as the drinks
cost more than any other bar in town and the waitresses have a reputation for being nice to the men and mean to the ladies. Dress Code: No jeans, shorts,
athletic wear, jerseys or denim.
Directions: Get onto Pratt Street, make a left onto Marketplace; go
straight until the road bends (left) and dead ends into Water
Street. Babalu Grill will be on your right hand side on the corner;
the club is a just ahead on Water Street on your right above Ruth
Chris' Steak House. There is valet parking which really is your best
choice because parking can be difficult.
The Promenade Dance Sport Facility
2605 Lord Baltimore Drive, Baltimore, MD - 410.277.0234
Average Age: 18-70! No joke!
What can you say about the Promenade? This is the "Disney Land of
Dance Floors". This location spells CLASS all the way. There is a
5,500 sq. foot dance floor, impeccable seating, and restrooms. They
dance everything from the waltz to swing at this location. Friday
and Saturday nights are heavy ballroom dancing. If you request
salsa, the DJ will play it but be prepared to wait. He plays one of
pretty much everything from cha-cha-cha, swing, samba, waltz, merengue, foxtrot, tango, salsa and more. For the serious salsero,
unfortunately, you may get frustrated, but the more salseros that
come, the more they will play salsa. For example if you have a group
get together, they will play it more. Salsa is just getting popular
here at the Promenade so come visit and check it out. They have
different classes every single night of the week (we teach on
Tuesday nights at 7) and you can also pay $5.00 each hour during the
days if you feel like practicing on the floor for a performance or
just because. Cover charge is $10.00 but they have specials all the
time for entrance. Check out their website! Classes change every
month, although we have been here for a year. By the way, even
though they don’t play tons of salsa, this is our favorite floor on
the east coast!
Directions: Take Baltimore (Inner loop) Beltway Route I695 to Exit
17, Security Blvd. West. At the fork in the exit ramp, bear toward
West/Rolling Road. Turn right at second street - Lord Baltimore Dr.
Proceed through light at Dogwood Road. The Promenade is the fifth
red brick building, 3/10 of a mile on the right across the street from the FBI building.
Iguana Cantina
124 Market Place,
Baltimore, MD -
410.244.0200
Average Age: 18+
There isn't much to say about this location. They have Latino music on Sunday nights. I have researched and researched to try and find good things to say about this location. Based on reviews from some of my trustworthy 25+ students and from many websites and blogs and this is just a hint of what I found:
"This is the worst club experience ever, dirty place, alot of fights, very crowded not to mention all the broken beer bottles on the floor. That place should get shut down, also alot of under age drinking. I was actually scared for my life!!!!"
"There are too many young people. If you are over the age of 22 you feel old. It was like being in junior high again."
Gross and Sad, "Alot of young girls who like attention so they will get up on the stage and dance like strippers."
"Its way to crowded and it is dirty and there needs to be more than 1 bathroom, but the drink specials are good."
"The place looks like a warehouse."
The fact that they have $12 all you can drink specials gives you an idea of how many fights there are at this location. Dancing With Grace Productions, Inc. will make certain to change this review once we are certain conditions change for the better at this location. Go at your own risk.
Directions: Get onto Pratt Street, make a left onto Marketplace; Iguana Cantina will be on the left hand side on the corner right before the traffic light.
13th Floor
One East Chase Street, Baltimore, MD - 410.347.0888
Average Age: 18+
The 13th Floor (The Belvedere)
The 13th Floor has one of the best views of the city. It is a really good place to have that drink with someone special. If you want to dance salsa this isn’t the place to go, but take a trip downstairs starting June 14th and you will have room to dance and you can bar hop in the same building and enjoy the live latin music on the 13th floor too! We will also be having Salsa every 2nd & 4th Thursdays on the 12th floor starting May 8th & Saturdays starting June 14, 2008 w/room to dance (we will be teaching!) and really partnering w/the 13th floor to give their customers who like to dance a space to dance on! The floor at this location (13th floor) is tiny and even smaller than the Havana Club, but we love this management team who has listened to their customers and provided a place for people to dance. The 13th Floor does have live music but it’s more of a hang out atmosphere than a dance nightclub because of the serious lack of dance floor space; dont forget to check out Salsa in this same gorgeous location-you wont regret it! For more information go to our Dance Lessons Page or read our updated newsletter!
Directions: Turn onto Charles Street from Lombard or Conway Streets. Go straight; the Belvedere is about 20 blocks north on the corner of Charles & East Chase, on the right hand side; Its a gorgeous masterpiece of a buliding-you cant miss it!
The Babalu Grill
32 Market Place, Baltimore, MD - 410.234.9898
Average Age: 18+
The Babalu Grill has a latin pop/dance music theme after the restaurant closes on the Friday and Saturday nights. I have personally heard only 2 salsas ever played there and they were requested by me. As for the food, though, I really love it! Go eat there and hang out for a different kind of atmosphere. Near this location there are clubs you can walk to and parking nearby, although the crowd is more on the young side.
Directions: Get onto Pratt Street, make a left onto Marketplace; go
straight until the road bends (left) and dead ends into Water
Street. Babalu Grill will be on your right hand side on the corner. There is valet parking which really is your best
choice because parking can be difficult.
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