Night City of Cyberpunk 2077 is a busy metropolis with many places tucked away from main roads, elegant marketplaces with dildos, crowded plazas with trash, and urban hideaways that seep with sex. It’s a place where you can grab a bite to eat, grab some new clothes, get laid, and more. But there’s a range of bars that are marked on the map, so I decided to venture off and get a drink at each one, soaking the atmosphere of Cyberpunk 2077 in and ranking these bars from worst to best.
The list of bars below are ones that were highlighted on the map of Night City. So while there are hidden bars, such as one I found at the Jig-Jig Market with a load of Joytoys, or the one with an exhausted bloke who sells you dark chocolate, those aren’t included. So if you’re wondering which of the bars were the best in Cyberpunk 2077 based on my personal opinions of them, then get reading. Be prepared for mentions of wine snobbery, an accidental golden shower, and more. It’s Night City, after all, it’s not a “pretty” place.
Hometown Deli
By far the worst bar I visited on my journey through Cyberpunk 2077’s city was Hometown Deli that can be found near the Reconciliation Park. The oddly named venue from the outside gives itself the impression that you’re going to walk into some type of dystopian Subway. However, when you do walk in, there’s an immediate sense of confusion in what atmosphere this little place wants to convey. One half seems to want to be warm and homey, but the other half feels cold and off-putting, like that pizza I found on top of some dumpsters in my apartment complex.
The bar comes with its own pretentious personality as well. The bartender spoke to me, a streetkid, as if I wouldn’t have the knowledge of what a good wine in the city is even called. Sure enough, they may be right, but it’s still a snobby attitude that made me turn my nose up at even browsing the menu. I can guarantee you though, you’ll likely find a range of fine wines that will cost you a fair bit. Maybe some cheese.
What’s more, the venue has two toilets, but the doors are locked for some reason. Given the response from the bartender and the formal-feeling of the decor —at least in the warm areas— I wouldn’t be surprised if these toilets required a membership to even use the facilities. I was too afraid of asking the bloke jumping up and down, shouting at the TV so had to go outside and relieve myself in the bushes.
What struck me as odd is the layout of the bar is remarkably similar to a much better, Yagami bar found all the way over by Lele Park. It’s an almost exact copy in terms of layout, except that the furniture feels posh and the column in the middle sets the room apart. The people also seem to be mostly Corpo folk that have wandered down from the plaza.
Afterlife
You’ll recognize this venue in Little China as the one you visit with Jackie early on in Cyberpunk 2077’s story as the build-up to The Heist. It’s also the venue where he orders his Jackie Welles special; a shot of vodka on the rocks, lime juice, ginger beer, and a splash of love. A drink that he hopes would be named after him in the future — there’s a spoiler here but I’m not saying it. It’s also a place of life which is ironic given it used to be a morgue, but you can expect to see a lot of people enjoying themselves here.
The Afterlife boasts a green hue mostly, a large bar, and plenty of booths for hanging with friends. The music pounds through the corridors which give it that club vibe, but there’s not really a place to party. Instead, it seems to be more of a place to kick back with a drink, talk, and watch the naked dancers in large tubes filled with water. It’s certainly a unique touch, but one I’m not entirely sure I understand the meaning behind. Maybe there is no meaning.
The trouble with Afterlife is that it’s probably too big, with its main areas being nothing more than cluttered and cold corridors. There’s also a lot of backrooms to explore, but they’re relatively dull and empty, mostly there for you to explore and pick up some extra junk to sell or dismantle.
Even the toilets looked awful, puddles across the floor and a general unkempt feel to them, as if the cleaner got lost in the maze of corridors. There’s a pool table though at least. Regardless of the rubbish toilets and overall vibe, I didn’t enjoy my time in Afterlife, but it’s no doubt the popular place for Streetkid’s to be. Chilling with a Jackie Welles as you listen out for opportunities to grab hold of.
Riot
Riot is an exclusive club in Cyberpunk 2077, and one you’ll need to gain access to by earning your way in. For me though, with my street smarts, I simply waited for the door to open as a partygoer left. The moment the doors opened I was able to walk in as if I belonged. Not even the two bouncers outside the building tried to stop me. In an instant, I felt like an exclusive member of society. This bar can be found in Little China down the road from Afterlife.
It became immediately obvious that this place is clearly for the Corpo nightlife, for those who want to let it all out with fancy shiny clothes to dazzle everyone else on the dancefloor. That’s right, there’s a massive dancefloor that you can physically dance on, and there’s a stage that’s blocked off from public access, but features a DJ smashing some buttons and getting the crowd going crazy.
There’s a bar as you walk into the actual building, but it’s an uninteresting sight. It wasn’t until I went upstairs to the next floor that I saw the larger, blue-tinted bar with a bartender who’s sick of listening to the music that I actually felt compelled to purchase a few drinks. I got tipsy as I watched the people below me waving their cybernetic arms around. But then I saw the third floor, but a floor I couldn’t seem to access due to all doors being locked.
I felt like Riot felt overly exclusive, and an experience I was only part of because I had to sneak in. I couldn’t even get to the top floor to see what’s up there. Furthermore, the dancefloor itself is incredibly boring. Sure, the music and ability to dance is a winner, but there’s no fancy light show or light up floor to really keep the retinas awake after a few vodkas. So while sneaking in was exciting, afterward, the payoff was a massive letdown.
Lizzie’s Bar
You’ll notice Lizzie’s Bar in an instant. The recognizable logo, the baseball bat-wielding guards in revealing clothes, and the stench of sex emerging from the backrooms near the dancefloor. It’s also the place where people come to tap into braindance devices and sit down in a glass booth to get cybernetically pleasured. It’s certainly a place for adults, but it’s a place that left me feeling dirty rather than entertained.
The lighting boasts a pink theme that’s present for the main dancefloor area, and the music is pretty enjoyable. But you can’t even go and dance on the floor, meaning that your time at Lizzie’s Bar is going to be spectating. Seeing as the Corpo lifepath has you conducting business with Jackie very early on in Cyberpunk 2077, and then there’s the mission where you meet Judy in the story, this place feels more like a business meeting place fronting as a club.
And that’s upsetting for me. I’d still want to come in and have fun, but instead, I found myself getting tipsy, watching people dance, then I got bored and went to watch some guy spank someone in a braindance, and then watched some digital stripteases before feeling like it was time for me to leave.
The staff was incredibly friendly though, although at the same time somewhat flirtatious. I’m also surprised that I couldn’t spend my money on a Joytoy like I could on the other side of the city in Jig-Jig Market. But that was something I liked about Lizzie’s Bar, was that it felt more focused on pleasuring through non-physical means, and less like a seedy marketplace for sex.
Yagami Market
Right look, this was a surprising bar that felt incredibly simple but was also wonderful to be part of. It’s found quite a way below the Wild Blue Hotel and Spa which is right next to Lele Park. Such a prestigious hotel location in Cyberpunk 2077 means that its surroundings must be of similar quality, and this was especially true for Yagami Market. Everything outside of this bar is basically a Corpo’s dream area, with spectacular looking trees, fancy outdoor bars, a nearby fancy-pants clothes store, and more.
But for the bar itself, you walk in and feel immediately important. The blue hues give the decore that sleek feel with a pretty wall with some form of art deco lighting going on around a large advertisement. There’s a nice seating area and everyone seems to be there on their own. As if escaping from the frantic world outside.
Everything about this place bleeds style and cool. But there’s not a lot to do. You can go and chat with the bartender, order drinks, and get drunk, but outside of that I found myself mostly just standing and watching. But I felt cool and isolated.
The bar even has toilets that let you in. As you may recall from the earlier Hometown Deli bar, it has a similar layout, but it’s presented in such a way that makes it really stand out, and the staff was not pretentious towards me. If you’re looking to unwind in the corporate world of Cyberpunk 2077, this is likely the best place to come and visit.
El Coyote Cojo
The bar that holds a special place in the role of a Cyberpunk 2077 Streetkid. You start your game here, at Heywood, The Glen, fixing your broken nose…if you choose to do that, you help Mama Welles with some tasks which I’ll not mention, and you stop people from fighting at one point. It’s a place that feels welcoming, and it’s a place that makes you feel like you’re part of a family. And that’s understandable given those who frequent this bar seem to live vicarious lives outside, similar to a coyote. Pack animals that often hunt alone but live as a group.
The bar sports a nice little area to sit and drink, but also has a range of entertainment such as arcade machines and a pool table. Annoyingly, none of which you can physically interact with. It has an upstairs area with booths for eating and relaxing away from the general hubbub downstairs as well.
There’s not much you can do here but soak in the atmosphere, but as a Streetkid it holds a special place in you, even more so given the fallout of a specific mission. Admittedly, this bar isn’t marked on the map, at least not from what I could see. But it’s one that has such a prominent role that it deserves to be included, and it’s one that I always stop off at when I’m driving nearby. I also think I’m reminiscing the very start of my Cyberpunk 2077 playthrough because the atmosphere resonated with me instantly.
Totentanz
This was a surprising bar that felt fit for Nomads. From the outside, the building bears no hints as to the excitement that lies within. This unattractive, almost derelict-looking building made me question whether my GPS was working properly. When I entered the building, things started to gradually change. A large hellish skull greeted me, with some punks sitting underneath having a smoke.
After timidly wandering around the grounds —which were strewn with fallen rubble, trash, and pieces of God-knows-what— I eventually found an elevator that had two stops. Security, and Totentanz. Thinking Totentanz was part of a quest, I opted for security first, which is nothing more than boring hallways with some armed punks chilling out. I could hear the music though, I just couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. And the locked door made me wonder if I was at another exclusive club.
Turns out you just go to the top floor via elevator, and you’re greeted to a mass of orange and red flashing lights, perhaps some of the best out of all of the bars I’d visited. the music is heavy and incredibly my jam, and the dance floor was immensely popular and felt a lot more alive than Riot. The bar had a sarky bartender, and there was a constant fear of pissing one of the armed people off who were also dancing.
But I was having a great time, and there were areas to go and chill upstairs above the dance floor. The sense of danger only seemed to increase my enjoyment. And then there was a massive bathroom of which I didn’t check out properly when I entered because of the large window that caught me by surprise, overlooking Night City.
I turned around and started looking at the dirty flooring, crouching my way across the wall in disgust until I stopped by a toilet. I had a look at how dirty it was but could hear a trickling sound, turned around and there was a bloke, about a foot away from the toilet urinating directly on me and the floor. I remained crouched as he urinated on me for the following 2 minutes.
Totentanz feels incredibly unwelcoming and dirty, but it also feels like the place I got the most enjoyment. The sense of danger was prominent, especially after seeing the range of grenades on the security floor. I enjoyed the music, and I enjoyed the light show, but I didn’t like how trapped I felt if things went south.
Red Dirt
Red Dirt is a special kind of bar. It’s situated a fair way outside of Cyberpunk 2077’s main city areas in Santa Domingo, Arroyo, and is kind of hidden amongst warehouses and the like. But the large neon sign made me feel instantly aware I was going to walk into some form of a rock bar.
Turns out I was right in feeling that way because this is the very bar that Samurai, the band fronted by Johnny Silverhand, got its first gig. Apparently causing a ruckus during a live show, finding people banned from entering with no clothes on, and more. I did try going in naked and it seems those rules are now no longer in place.
Red Dirt feels special inside, and that’s because it doesn’t feel like every other bar in Night City, automated or digital. It has the live stage set up that fans going to local gigs will be incredibly familiar with. It has the community that flock there to listen to bands perform live, and it has the warm, wooden vibe you get from a pub.
It may be small, but it certainly feels like it’s full of life and stories that span a number of years. And it’s one that I want to keep going back to. It’s just a shame there’s not much interactivity to get lost in. Perhaps more rock bands performing on different nights would really set it apart. And as such, it’s my favorite bar in the entire city at the moment, and as such, the best on the list.
Notable Mention: Konpeki Plaza
This bar isn’t wonderful, I’m not going to lie. But it’s worth noting for the cameo appearance in Cyberpunk 2077 from Hideo Kojima himself. the video game developer can be found in this fairly large, exclusive-looking, business-orientated bar early on. He’s in the middle of some sort of business meeting when you meet him though, but it’s still a cool moment. the bar itself is similar to the Yagami Market bar in terms of feeling sleek. But its exclusivity to hotel guests means you’re kinda shut away from it.
So there you have it. My ranking of the best bars in Cyberpunk 2077’s Night City from worst to best. If you’re planning to do your own digital bar crawl of sorts then be sure to give all those streets a good look. You never know what you may find tucked away.
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