CIELO
Address: 44 Alexander Stamboliiski Blvd
Tel: 088/ 831 64 17
Open: Thurs-Sat from 21.00

Sofia is notorious for its numerous clubs, where thug-like guys go only to show off with their new blonde girlfriends. It was my belief that places where “cool people” are cool only because they pay insane amounts of money for a drink had since disappeared… But the re-opening of the “new and awesome Ciela nightclub” proved me wrong.

I was prepared to witness another boring house-warming party for yet another boring club. What happened really dumbfounded me.

Typically for a club of its kind, Ciela impresses guests with extravagant and posh interior. A centrally placed bar is surrounded by soft, cream-coloured low-rising lounge-sofas that would be troublesome if you decided to enjoy yourself dancing. But if you are of the type of person who just sits, drinks and gives all women a visual undressing, you are going to like it. There are plenty of LCD TVs on the wall; for a peculiar reason on the re-opening “party” they presented pictures of the DJ on them.

Something that this place really lacks is one of those “CAUTION, SLIPPERY FLOOR” signs that are used while floors are being mopped. Obviously the interior designer intended to make the floor as slithery as possible – one spilled drink turned the club into a dream – of an ice skating rink.

The bar is stocked with all the expected drinks, only imported /of course/. Three Beefeaters with two Jose Cuervo Silvers cost us 30 leva. The catch is that as we were leaving the opening party, to which we had received a personal invitation via courier, the barman actually followed us up the stairs, near threatening us if we didn’t pay for our drinks – despite the fact that he had said nothing about a tab when we were ordering. This speaks for the club itself.

Sadly, “cool drinks” do not come with an attached cool barman. I felt sorry for the inadequate guy behind the bar, who was struggling very hard to make everyone happy. It was to my surprise to find out that security guards /yeah, those thick-necked, all dressed in black ones, and looking around rather silly/ comprised half of the guests.

I saw some dancers wriggling around, under the close watch of my beloved guards, but I cannot be sure – as they well could have been drag queens, judging by their appearance and they, shall we say, creative get-ups. But it wasn’t those poor creatures’ fault. Types of music were changing more rapidly than the moods of a pregnant woman.

Thank God that Ultra Nate and her talent for mixing house saved the day, which was the only good thing in Ciela, besides the lighting. I really liked the lights on the walls that change as the beat transformed. At first it appeared to me that the sound was really good. After a while it turned out that either the place is too small for the sound system, or the sound system was to be used for a Viva Sound Factory party that usually take place in huge halls.

The programme for October is written in white pen on a board out front. It includes names like Boro, Groovemaster, Bobo, and Genadi. In fact, besides Ultra Nate spinning discs on the night we went, those are the only four names that appear. We’re wondering if Bobo wears a red nose when he DJs. We've since heard that for nights when artists like Ultra Nate play, the entrance is at least 20 leva.

Overall this Ciela thing, because the term “club” should not be used for this amateurish experiment, would be another, yet another short-lived place where “the intellectual elite” of Sofia would meet for gossiping and parading not with stylish clothes, but with labels and a bodyguard or four.