Best Bars and Clubs in Katipunan (2026): 15 Picks Near Ateneo and UP

Quick Picks

• Proper cocktails: Tryst & Co., or Dear Darling upstairs from its cafe.

• Records and a quiet drink: 33 rpm or 78-53-86.

• Dancing: Radius Katipunan, Aurum Bar or Blackbox Katipunan.

• A live band: Takeover Lounge Bar most nights, Unknown 13 Pub for local gigs.

• Cheapest round: Blackbox, where cocktails are about ₱200.

• Open latest: Aurum Bar runs to 6am on Friday and Saturday. Roppongi goes to 4 or 5am, and Radius and Takeover to 4am.

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How Katipunan Works

Katipunan is the student strip. Ateneo and Miriam sit right on the avenue, and UP Diliman is ten minutes away. That means the bars are young, cheap and busy from Thursday. It also means they rise and fall with the school calendar.

The bars sit along Katipunan Avenue, from White Plains up to Loyola Heights. Most of them are on the second or third floor of small arcades, so look up when you're walking. A few cluster together. The Pop Up Katipunan at the corner of Xavierville has a food park with several bars inside. The building at 318 Katipunan has Radius on the third floor and Ukiyo on the second.

Bars here change hands fast. Walrus is gone, and Radius runs in its old space. Some of the places on this list are new in 2025. Check Instagram before a big night out.

For the area overview with prices and a map, see the Katipunan bars page.

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Cocktail Bars and Listening Bars

1. Tryst & Co.

A cafe by day that turns into a cocktail bar in the evening, at 273 Katipunan Avenue. The room is full of art and the light is good, so it's an easy date spot. That's The One and Citrus Serenade are two of the house cocktails, and the Love Potion is a favorite if you like them sweet. For food, get the crispy salmon tartare or the dates wrapped in prosciutto. It's open until 2am Wednesday to Saturday. Reviews keep mentioning the owner sending over free shots.

2. 78-53-86

A tiny vinyl and whisky bar on the second floor of White Plains West, 42 Katipunan Avenue. When you park, it looks like the whole strip is closed. A guard points you to the door. Inside are around 10,000 records, and the owner picks what plays, so don't bring requests. All cocktails are ₱400. The only food is popcorn, so eat first. It fits about six guests at a time, so book. Daily 4pm to 1am.

3. 33 rpm

A Japanese style listening bar on the second floor above Flatsix Cafe at 131 Katipunan Avenue in White Plains. This one does take requests. Pick from the vinyl shelf or send a song from your own Spotify. Cocktails are about ₱500. The Oki Sour mixes rum, mezcal, dashi and pineapple. The Shiso Gimlet is the easy one. Food is karaage, wagyu sliders and kushiyaki. Tuesday to Sunday, 6pm to midnight. It's small, so book on weekends.

4. Dear Darling

A cafe downstairs and a cocktail bar upstairs at Citigold Plaza, 175 Katipunan Avenue. The bar side plays house and Top 40, runs trivia nights, and has live acts on weekends. It also does musical sing along nights, which sell out. The Sweet Disposition is about ₱350, and Dancing in the Moonlight is the signature. The bar opens at 5pm and closes at midnight, or 1am on weekends.

5. Lan Kwai Speakeasy

Hong Kong neon, Chinese comfort food and cocktails served in fishbowls, at 42 Esteban Abada Street just off the avenue. The Mai Tai fishbowl is the one to share. The house rule is no EDM, so the music is lofi, funk and jazzy house. The city ordered it shut for two weeks in September 2026 over permits, and it reopened on September 19. It opens at 11am for food and runs to 2am, Monday to Saturday. Closed Sundays.

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Clubs and Party Bars

6. Radius Katipunan

The main student party bar on the strip, on the third floor of 318 Katipunan. It opened in 2024 in the old Walrus space. DJs play pop and EDM, there are tequila nights, and half the tables seem to be birthdays. It's packed right after exams. Book tables by DM on Instagram. Tuesday to Saturday from 6pm, until 2am midweek and 4am on Friday and Saturday.

7. Aurum Bar

The newest club in Katipunan, inside The Pop Up. It opened in October 2025 with a gold theme, a restobar side and a DJ booth. University nights for schools like UP and UST are free to get in, often with free drinks. Event nights usually cost ₱300 to ₱350 with a drink. DJs go hardest on Friday and Saturday from 11pm. It opens at 8pm, runs to 5am most nights and 6am on Friday and Saturday, and closes Mondays. Book tables by DM.

8. Blackbox Katipunan

The cheap one, on the second floor at 299 Katipunan. Cocktails like the Katipunan Cooler and Goodnight, Katipunan are about ₱200, and the bao and pub food are cheap too. A DJ plays house once it fills up, and it gets loud, hot and crowded. That's the point. Cash or GCash only. It opens at 5pm. Almost everyone is a student.

9. AKAI 1108

A bar lit all in red on the third floor of FBR Arcade, 317 Katipunan. DJs play to a young, packed room, and there's a city view out the window. The ₱300 door charge comes with a drink, and early in the night entry is sometimes free. Cocktails are about ₱300. The beef salpicao and the tuna tataki are the food orders. Open from 7pm until 4am, closed Mondays. Reserve if you're a group, because walk ins get moved between tables.

10. Roppongi

Roppongi 128 is the late one, on the second floor of Golan Arcade. It doesn't get going until 10pm, and on weekends it runs to 4 or 5am. Expect body shot promos and theme nights. The draw is unlimited wings, including wagyu and salted egg. Rates are consumable. Reviews are mixed on the DJs, so go with a group that's already in the mood. The walls have adult murals, if that matters to you.

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Live Music

11. Takeover Lounge Bar

The best bet for a band in Katipunan, at The Pop Up. There are gigs almost every night, mostly OPM and Pinoy rock. The door depends on the lineup. Regular nights are about ₱200, and bigger bills go to ₱800 or more. Shows start around 9pm and often run late. Service is slow, so order the next round early. Tuesday to Sunday, 7pm to 4am.

12. Unknown 13 Pub

A small live music bar on the third floor of Blue Ridge, 226 Katipunan Avenue. Local bands play from around 9:30pm, and the door is usually ₱250 to ₱600 depending on who's on. Come for the bands, not the food. Tuesday to Sunday, 5pm to 2am. Check their Facebook for the schedule, since posts are the only reliable way to know who's playing.

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Beer, Food and Easy Nights

13. Tipple & Slaw Katipunan

A restaurant downstairs and a bar upstairs, inside Pop Up Katipunan at the corner of Xavierville. The fried chicken is the reason most people come. Cocktails are around ₱250, and the Mule is a good one. Upstairs there's a DJ and dancing later on weekends. Open from 11am, until 3am on Friday and Saturday. The Pop Up itself has security at the gate and a proper parking lot. Use the lot, not the touts outside.

14. The Brewed Statement

A craft beer pub at The Pop Up, with a rotating draft list. The staff will let you taste before you commit, so ask what's new. Food is pub stuff, and the beer is better than the kitchen. Open nightly from 6pm to 2am. It's the quiet corner of The Pop Up when the bands are on next door.

15. Ukiyo Cafe Bar

A Japanese bar on the second floor of 318 Katipunan, right under Radius. It's air conditioned and calmer than the rest of the building, and there's karaoke with good sound. The kitchen is better than it needs to be. Get the salmon don or the oyster sisig. The Sapporo mule and the Sumo Sour are the drinks to order. The cocktail list runs out of things, so beer is the safe call. Hours move around, so check their Facebook.

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A Night in Katipunan

Start at The Pop Up at 7pm for fried chicken at Tipple & Slaw. Walk over to Tryst & Co. or Dear Darling for a proper cocktail at 9pm. After 11pm, pick a direction. Radius or Aurum if you want to dance, Takeover if there's a band you like, Roppongi if you want it to go until morning. On a quieter night, swap the club for an hour of records at 33 rpm.

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What It Costs

• Cocktails: about ₱200 at Blackbox, ₱250 to ₱400 at most bars, and ₱500 at 33 rpm.

• Beer: ₱120 to ₱300.

• Door: nothing at most bars. AKAI charges ₱300 with a drink. Aurum is free on university nights and ₱300 to ₱350 on event nights. Gigs run ₱200 to ₱800 at Takeover and ₱250 to ₱600 at Unknown 13.

• A full night: ₱800 to ₱1,500 covers dinner and a few rounds if you skip the bottle tables.

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When to Go

Thursday to Saturday. Thursday is busier here than in Makati or BGC, because it's the end of the school week for a lot of people. The weekend right after exams is the busiest of all, and the bars run promos for it.

It gets quiet during exam weeks and school breaks. Ateneo's year runs from August to May, so June and July are slow, and so is the Christmas break. Several bars close on Mondays, and a few close on Sundays too.

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Getting There and Home

Take the LRT-2 to Katipunan station, at the corner of Aurora Boulevard. The bars are a 5 to 15 minute walk north along the avenue, or a short jeepney ride. The last trains leave around 9 to 9:30pm, so the train only works for getting there. Plan on Grab home.

A Grab from Tomas Morato takes about 15 to 20 minutes. From Makati or BGC, give it 45 minutes to an hour at night.

If you drive, The Pop Up has a lot. Everywhere else, parking is a few slots in front of each arcade.

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Rules Worth Knowing

• Bring a valid ID. A lot of the crowd is 18 to 20, and bars in Quezon City can't serve anyone under 18. Expect to be carded.

• Quezon City has curfew hours for minors from 10pm to 5am.

• No drinking on the street. Quezon City bans drinking on sidewalks and in public places, so finish your drink inside.

• Bring cash or GCash. Some of the smaller bars don't take cards.

• The city does check permits here. Lan Kwai was closed for two weeks in 2026, so a bar on this list can go dark for a while without warning.

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Common Questions

What are the best bars in Katipunan? Tryst & Co. and Dear Darling for cocktails, 33 rpm and 78-53-86 for records, Radius and Aurum for dancing, and Takeover for live bands.

Are there clubs in Katipunan? Yes, but they're bar sized. Radius, Aurum, Blackbox and AKAI 1108 all turn into dance floors late. For a proper big club, Tomas Morato is 15 minutes away. See the Tomas Morato nightlife guide.

Do Katipunan bars charge an entrance fee? Most don't. AKAI 1108 charges ₱300 with a drink, and gig nights at Takeover and Unknown 13 have a door charge.

What time do Katipunan bars close? Most close around 2am. Radius, AKAI and Takeover go to 4am, Roppongi to 4 or 5am, and Aurum Bar to 6am on Friday and Saturday.

What happened to Walrus Katipunan? Walrus is no longer running. Radius Katipunan opened in its old space at 318 Katipunan in 2024.

Is Katipunan fun if I'm not a student? Yes. The listening bars and cocktail bars draw an older crowd. Go to 33 rpm, 78-53-86, Tryst & Co. or Lan Kwai and you won't feel out of place.

Want more of Quezon City? The Quezon City nightlife guide covers Maginhawa and beyond, and the live music bars guide has more places to catch a band.