One of the
newer entrants onto
the lounge scene, Nirvana sports an appealing and upscale interior,
appropriately dimmed mood lighting and a very well
stocked bar.
Located on the 4th floor of the DH Geda Building
in Bole, on the strength of its decor and ambience alone, it must be considered one of the top lounges in Addis. It's clientele ranges
from the Gen X1/2 to the Gen Y crowd with a sprinkling of expats for good measure. Although we didn't see a bottle of Louis XIV (the
ultimate indicator of any bar's moxie!), there did seem to be most anything else one might want spread impessively across an entire wall of
spirits. The bartenders and hostesses were smart, attentive and efficient giving us no cause to complain about the service which is
generally an unusual occurrence indeed.
If we're nitpicking a bit, we might say that
everything in the lounge from the tables to the bar - seems a bit too high even for those of average height. Of more significance is the
inordinately high volume of the music which is more akin to what you might expect for a club environment. Forget about conversing
comfortably even if you are literally a foot away from each other. Looking at the industrial size speakers pumping out the current
selection, it's no surprise but is quite annoying and on more than one occasion has interrupted an otherwise perfectly enjoyable evening at
Nirvana. Unfortunately, this is a rather common problem at other lounges in the city (including Wube Bereha) and only Black Rose seems to
have approached mastering the art of 'loungy' music that is much more conducive to...what else, lounging! Hopefully, Nirvana will also
achieve this subtle but critical attribute of a top class lounge as they polish the edges around what is otherwise a diamond in the rough.
