Pinoy Club — Restaurant in Beyoğlu

Worst Gay Club Experience of My Life - A Total Scam

I am a well-travelled 41-year-old gay man and I have been to gay clubs all over the world, from Barcelona, Australia, LA “, London, Paris to Phuket. Never in my life have I felt the need to write a negative review until I visited Pinoy in Istanbul.

I went on my first night in the city, hoping for a fun, welcoming experience. Initially, it seemed okay. I met some lovely, sweet young men who were very friendly and chatted with me. As someone older, their attention was flattering.

I don't drink alcohol, so I simply ordered a soda and later a mocktail.

This is where the nightmare exists. A "concierge" (who is really just an aggressive pusher) immediately started insisting I buy these young men drinks. I later discovered they were connected to the go-go dancing in the club, which explains their initial friendliness.

After I reluctantly bought a first round, the concierge became pushy and rude, demanding I buy second and third rounds. When I firmly said no, his attitude turned ice-cold and contemptuous. Embarrassing to be put in an ingenuine exchange. Unsurprisingly, the "lovely" young men immediately lost all interest in me and vanished the moment the free drinks stopped flowing.

The bill was an absolute joke. For two non-alcoholic drinks and one for a gogo danced, I was charged an exorbitant amount that would be high even for top-shelf liquor. To add insult to injury, they slapped on a service charge despite explicitly telling me at the door that entry was free. I felt completely scammed.

The most ironic part? The place was dead. I was one of the only people there actually dancing and creating a bit of a vibe, and this is how they treat a customer.

Foolishly, I decided to give them a second chance the next week, just holding back on drink orders though. The young dancers remembered me and seemed genuinely excited to see me. However, the moment the horrid concierge saw me and I confirmed I wasn't going to be buying alcohol, he had the audacity to ask me to LEAVE. I was literally kicked out for not spending enough money on their scam.

This is not a club; it's a predatory trap designed to extort money from tourists. Avoid this place at all costs. You will be treated like a wallet, not a person, and bullied the moment you stop spending. An utterly shameful and disgusting experience. No sense of...

FIRST OF ALL: don’t trust the 5-star Google reviews, since the club offers 3 free shots to anyone who rates them 5 stars.

We came on a Monday night in August with two friends, motivated to discover this club. Unfortunately, the experience was very disappointing.

As we approached the entrance, staff members standing outside accosted us in a very insistent, almost aggressive way, promising free entry and strongly pushing us to “at least take a look inside.” Even though we had originally come to this club on our own will, this approach was very off-putting and made us feel uneasy. After several minutes of hesitation, we decided to go in. Inside, the pressure continued: staff escorted us in with applause to encourage us to stay. They immediately pushed us to stay at a table and handed us the menu, even though we had clearly said we weren’t sure we wanted to remain there.

As for the club itself: the place is small (not necessarily a bad thing). The music (mostly Turkish and international pop) was decent. Suprisingly, the club looked busy for a Monday night.

But as the night went on, the trickery became obvious: the majority of the “clients” were actually staff members or accomplices pretending to dance and liven up the atmosphere to give the illusion of a crowded club, lure people inside, make them stay, and push them to order drinks. This theory kept confirming itself throughout the evening: what seemed to be the manager was constantly repositioning these fake customers at different tables to make the place look busy, and we saw some of them cleaning tables or serving drinks to the few “real” customers. Putting everything together, out of about fifteen people in the club, we believe only around five (including us) were genuine customers. Our doubts were fully confirmed the next day when we checked the club’s Instagram stories and saw the exact same people again, posing as fake clients.

These questionable practices are a real shame, because the club itself has some potential (decent music, cozy space). But the end result is a very strange atmosphere, where everything feels artificial, staged, and inauthentic. It completely ruins the experience and leaves you with the feeling of having been manipulated and...

Walking along the street and being harassed by people to go to “their” club immediately put us off. So clearly the owners/employees of Pinoy/Pinokyo did the same. But we decided to walk down the road only to be met by another club employee/owner who did the same thing. So we decided to go back to Pinokyo since they insisted entrance was free and try it out. (The other clubs alter insisted entrance was free too) We went on a Monday night. Which one expects to be quiet anyways. It was somewhat busy, or so it seemed. The club is small which is fine. One dance floor, a seating area and then the bathroom. The bathroom is 50 Turkish lira to use. The music is a variety of genres and languages but mainly Turkish pop. The staff are helpful. They try to keep the place clean. But as we stood there and watched, we noticed that there were people posing as club-goers/visitors/non-employees/patrons/customers. They however in fact worked for the owner to make the club look more full. They were given drinks intermittently and positioned strategically for social media to make the club look busy on their Instagram story. This was done the next night too ad we saw on their Instagram. They also display typical “fem gays” to make it seem more LGBTQ+ friendly, draw attention etc. Not necessary if you’re an LGBTQ+ establishment. Not all gays are fem. The vibe was decent but it lacked the freedom and natural essence of a club. It was contrived and felt forced under a farce. The heckling and harassment that preyed on us to enter left us feeling negative entirely. It killed our mood. This club has potential to be a safe space with good vibes, etc but is clouded by harassment, greed, and lies. Alcoholic Drinks are extremely over priced as expected. It’s ridiculous. Do yourself a favour and but your own from the local bottle stores. Much cheaper. We were also offered/harassed to go to an “after party” by them and many other employees of other bars on the road. The entire approach to gain customers in Turkey is too predatory. From the restaurants to clubs. It’s just distasteful and...