Jalou — Restaurant in Newcastle upon Tyne

Once upon a time Jalou was my favourite place to go later in the evening. However, bouncers, along with strange and outdated entry policy have ruined this once great club.

Yesterday, myself and 3 others queued for 20 minutes before being told no. From the start I knew something was up, as one of the staff standing at the doors began patrolling the line. In hindsight, he was clearly searching for women to chuck in and men to throw out. Anyway, we eventually got to the front and one of the bouncers was about to let us in, before looking over at his less welcoming colleague.

His friend, who had a slight complex, asked how many of us there was, to which I replied 4. Obviously, you know what happens next. “You need a mixed group lads. Can’t have 4 of you coming in.. it’s bad for the ratio.” Now, I’m unsure what he was expecting us to do. Pluck a random girl from the streets to dilute testosterone levels perhaps? We were then guided out of the queue and given ample opportunity to think about the time we had wasted.

This wasn’t all though. Moments later, I witnessed something extraordinary. 3 lads let in, followed by another 4. 7 lads and not even a single female - surely this was a mistake. I asked the bouncer how this was allowed and he said they were regulars.. he really had an excuse for every occasion. My friend then told him that we had been coming to Jalou for years and he was only here last week. Naturally, this fell on deaf ears. The bouncer just became agitated due to being questioned. How dare we try and communicate with these god-like figures. We are below them and always will be.

Now, this post is written half in jest and half in pure disappointment. In all seriousness though, Jalou is slowly turning into one of ‘those’ clubs. Hiring bouncers who have egos the size of a house and who have the people skills of a Conservative MP. Whether this is their doing, or they are simply following instructions, makes little difference. The entry policy is borderline discrimination and shameful. Rather than changing the goalposts each time a person reaches the promised land of the front of the queue, just be honest. If it’s the trainers, let us know, if it’s a big group, let us know, or if I haven’t styled my hair according Act 7 of the how much gel to use to get into Jalou policy.. please tell us. However, don’t then allow others in, who are in trainers, in a big group and have used a whole tub of Vo5. This level of hypocrisy just doesn’t sit right.

Good luck on your future ventures and I truly hope that Jalou can become the inclusive nightclub that it once...

I've always loved the decór of this place and the amazing cocktails as well as the music, classy dress code and vibe, however when I went recently on a Thursday I was only there 2hrs but heard the same song THREE times and felt over dressed as lasses were being let in, in badly creased cargo pants that didn't fit and scruffy or chav trainers (NIKE Air or whatever, these are not smart trainers!), not smart or classy at all, felt like they had dressed casually for shopping and decided to stay out (hair and makeup also not done for a night out) and guys had super creased clothes on too or joggers designed to look "smart" with scruffy trainers...the dress code has gone WAY downhill... and the music was on repeat and the songs were mostly something you'd just sing to in the car or shower. Only the odd two or three songs in the 2hrs I was there were danceable. The mix also sounded like a CD or premade playlist of Beyoncé vs Sean Paul was put on....remember the old classics goodies other than just a handful of artists as well as keeping up with the latest hot tunes in the charts. The vibe there is usually hiphop/rnb but other music is also played so I think afrobeats should also be played there, loads of those songs are great to dance to! - no one on the dance floor was dancing more than a sway or side step while I was there - no vibes! This visit...

Went on a Friday night with my African partner, she loves her afrobeats so we regularly go when in town. We always seem to encounter negatives weather it's people walking into you when you're standing still then having the nerve to blame you but the place is shoulder to shoulder at times, the african bouncer threatening to get back up while I was waiting for my partner to come from the toilets just before closing all because i saod inwas waiting for her as the crowds for leaving was crazy, price for our drinks went from £11 for 2x rum and coke singles to then £17 on the last couple of hours and the worse part is the amount of african males that hassle my partner when she is dancing or going to the toilets is crazy to a point its disgusting on how persistent and pushy they are just because she is African they seem to feel there's some sort of extra right to hassle her when I go to get drinks or to the toilet. It's laughable but also worrying as they don't understand the word no or been ignored/stepped away from is a sign of not been interested. Some nights are worse but it's constant usually and she hates been left alone or going to the toilets alone cause of it. Otherwise the club has a good mix of music and has her favourite afrobeat as there isn't many clubs...