Print

Mail

wiki links

Restaurants: Juliana Junior (J2)

Juliana Junior (J2) Address: 1F, 102 Civil Blvd Sec 4, Taipei (台北市市民大道四段102號1F) Telephone: (02) 2781-6368 Open: From 7pm to 2am Sunday through Tuesday; 9pm to 4am Wednesday through Saturday Cover Charge: NT$600 (Sunday through Tuesday), NT$900 (all other days) for men; NT$300 (Wednesday and Thursday), NT$600 (all other days) for women Details: Photo ID required; Chinese and English drink list; credit cards accepted

Legs and lights, champagne and tequila. Juliana Junior — Taipei's newest and most up-market all-you-can-drink nightspot — had them in spades at last weekend's (re)opening party.

To refresh your memory, the old Juliana was circa 2001 one of the most popular night spots for the non-chemically oriented "wealthy young and trendy crowd." It had high ceilings and mirror-paneled walls. Girls were poured into haute couture and the drinks weren't cheap either. Somewhat incongruously, it also earned a reputation as a place where, on occasion, boys in business attire got into fights. Some loved it, others hated it; but you could usually count on the most important thing: come half past midnight, people would be shakin' on the dance floor.

Last Friday Juliana Junior, aka J2, opened under different management but in exactly the same spot as the old Juliana, next to a bank on the southeast corner of the Dunhua South Road and Civil Boulevard intersection. Outside were flower bouquets, polite but intimidating bouncers wearing suits and earpieces, and a line of partygoers, many dressed to impress. Inside a chandelier hung above the new four-sided bar, private booths half-obscured by metal curtains or fabric drapes lined the walls, security stood discretely at two or three strategic points, exotic dancers performed on a raised platform. (The platform seems intended for professionals, not customers). Obviously, major effort had been expended to lure the kind of crowd that frequented the old place. Many people ended up dancing on the laser-lit dance floor. Others never left their booths.

Juliana Junior is Taipei's most expensive drink-until-you-can't-anymore club. Door damage is NT$900 for men and NT$600 for women on Fridays and Saturdays, when house music gives way to hip hop and pop around midnight. (By comparison, 9% is around NT$400 to NT$600, depending on what night, and Wax is NT$350 to NT$500.) At J2 a table for six can be reserved for NT$7,000 on the weekend. That fee includes normal admission, plus a bottle of Moet champagne and the option of ordering a bottle of Glenlivet, Glenfiiddich or Jack Daniels. If you're looking for more of a yuppie scene and can handle a few drinks, you get your money's worth. The beverage menu is extensive, the alcohol high-quality, and the drinks well-mixed. But beware the tequila. It tastes and goes down real smooth.

It's impossible to judge a club based on its opening night. Many people get in for free. The leggy woman in the small black cocktail dress may or may not be a model hired for ambiance. But the overall first impression was that J2 is a lot like the old Juliana. Only this time, at least judging by how things ended up on opening night, a good deal more drinking will be going on.
This story has been viewed 1981 times.