Tel Aviv Hot Spot: Ze Pequeno on Ladies' Night

If you are a Tel Aviv female and you aren't going to Ladies' Night at Zé Pequeno, you are wasting your money somewhere else. Not only is this new Tel Aviv hot spot is a cool, fun, warm and friendly bar, but their lady's night special is simply unbeatable.

Ladies' Night Special:
I have never heard of a better deal. Every Wednesday night, they offer their famous Ladies' Night Special. It goes like this: if you are, of course, a lady, you pay 26 shekels for a pink plastic cup that must hold about 1/3 of a liter which gets you free refills all night. You can fill it with nearly anything you want all night (top shelf alcohol and bottled beer excluded). This means, you can start with a cup of Champagne, then move onto a Weihenstephan wheat beer on tap, top that off with a glass of red wine, and then ring in the whole night with a rum and coke or whisky and soda- all for 26 shekels. All you gotta do is fill your cup at the bar.

Location:
Aside from the fact that the name, taken from the 2002 Brazilian movie "City of God", is semi-unpronounceable, this bar is super fun. Centrally located in Tel Aviv on Ben Gurion Avenue just on the corner of Ben Yehuda Street, Zé Pequeno is slightly hidden behind its sister café, Buskapa. The two places are separate, but equally cool. Just know that if you're looking for the bar and not the café, you should choose the entrance behind the friendly Russian security guard hanging out on the sidewalk.

Ambiance:
Zé Pequeno's decor isn't much to write home about, which I kind of like. It's simple and relatively small. The central wooden bar is large and square and takes up most of the space with nice, tall leather bar chairs with backs running around its perimeter. It leaves room for about two small, high-seated tables for couples, 3 larger, high seated tables for 5 to 7, and one slightly cramped sofa area with two low, wicker sofas.

The place doesn't start filling up till about 10-11pm, so if you get there any time before then, the music is pretty mellow (think Van Morrison's "Moondance") and not too loud and the lights are dimmed, but not too dimmed. Once the crowds start rolling in, the music gets a bit more peppy, and much louder (think the Killer's "When you were young") and the lighting gets much dimmer. Personally I prefer getting there early,just because I hate it when a bar isn't completely packed to full capacity, but you still have to scream in order for someone to hear you. It ruins the conversation, and I always wake up with a sore throat.

Service:
There is usually a total of three servers- two cute bartenders and a hostess/waitress. On busy nights you'll find a hostess as well. In my experience, the bartenders have been sweet and seem to do their best to keep everyone happy, but when the place gets pack, there isn't much that can be done- two is too few. Also, the fact that there is only one waitress that wanders around the tables taking orders means that if you're sitting at a table, it will usually take a while for you to get your drink. So don't come super thirsty. The pace in this place is a bit slower. But, again, I also kinda like that too.

Summary:
All in all, Zé Pequeno is a good, chill place to grab a drink with friends in the center of the city and an AMAZING money saver if you hit it up on Wednesday evenings.

Adress: Ben Gurion 22, Tel Aviv Telephone: 054-222-6950 Hours: Mon-Thurs: 8pm-4am Friday: 8pm-4am Saturday: 8pm-4am

כתובת:בן גוריון 22 תל אביב  טלפון: 054-222-6950 שעות פתיחה: א' - ה': 20:00 - 04:00 שישי:  20:00 - 05:00 שבת:  20:00 - 04:00