Futian COCO Park: The Only Place to Party in Shenzhen
| Vibe | busy, crazy, popular |
|---|---|
| Price | pricey |
| Location | Find it on Google Maps |
| Hotels nearby | Crowne Plaza Shenzhen Futian, Hyatt Hotel |
This is not a typical review, because I will talk about Coco Park (bar street) as a whole, so it won’t be super specific, I hope I can give you an overview. If you’re new in town or thinking about coming, you might find this useful.
Years back there were basically three kinds of foreign drinkers. Those who went to Luohu, those that loved Coco Park. The ones who partied in Luohu would end up in Coco Park often. The other lot were the Shekou crowd that hardly went anywhere else.
Coco Park was closed for a few years for renovation much to the delight of other bars in the area, and now it’s bigger and better than ever. This is where most of the action is on the weekends.
Finding the place
Coco Park is the easiest place in Shenzhen to find. Just whisper the words to any taxi driver and they will know. Or just head to Shopping Park station on line one. When you arrive it is just opposite to the Coco Park.
The outside of Coco Park has famous bars like Zazoo, Shark, Pepper’s and Azzurro (which is more of a restaurant). I will focus on the bar street as it is the most wild. At the main entrance of bar street, you can turn left to Solo which is half a dozen bars or so (including Scilla and a few others). Or you can turn right, to the open area which has smaller bars, although if you keep going towards the back you will find more like Sparking.
Vibe
I only have daytime photos at the moment, but try to imagine hordes of part-goers and that is what the whole place looks like. The whole place is full of party goers every Friday and Saturday.
At its busiest the place is full of the younger demographic and it is where all the loudest music is and best-looking individuals, the craziest party people, as well as everything else in between.
It’s a good mix of locals, non-locals and lots of foreigners. There is a healthy crowd of Russian students these days who are busy having as much fun as possible. But really speaking you can find most nationalities around if you drink hard enough. Everyone is there with a common goal of having fun, no one cares about politics, religion or race.
Monday to Thursday are quieter like most places in Shenzhen. With the exception of national holidays, like the ones coming up in October. Then it’s like a giant long weekend, or at least that’s what the bar operators pray for.
What’s to drink?
To the right side of Coco Park is a different vibe, there are other independent bars. There is a convenience store open day and night. You can buy everything from soju to Blue Girl (a Hong Kong beer), and all the typical soft drinks that you could want. Don’t be fooled though the place isn’t that much cheaper than the bars.
There’s also draft beer, cocktails around the corner. As well as whatever you want at the larger bars at the back. For me the clear standout is the little bar that sells awesome Polish vodka, ask for Pirro and he will be happy to introduce his family owned and made vodkas. They are wonderful, just don’t ask for tequila cus there ain’t none (he was asked about a million times when I was there).
The Solo section of Coco Park is just a short street of bars, all under the same associated umbrella. You can get anything from beers to cocktails to whiskey to wine. Three of the bars at least have a strong selection of cocktails, and there is a fair selection of beers from all around.
What’s tasty?
The Solo side has a typical kind of bar food, fries, chicken wings, pizza and the usual suspects. The standard is fair as should be for a venue like this but nothing to write home about.
At the exterior of Coco Park (roadside) there is Azzurro, which has good Italian food, but it’s not budget-friendly (rents are crazy expensive) so that’s understandable. Shark is good too, though it’s been a long time since I ate there.
These are probably the best choices for western food unless you cross the street to the mall before 10 pm.
What’s the service like?
Please note there are security checks on your bags for drinks as you enter the Solo section so drink up before you enter. The security is on the ball, so play nice with the other children when you are there.
China has tough rules about fighting, the winner goes to jail, the loser to hospital
The servers are super busy at its peak times but it’s always pretty prompt and professional and generally they don’t have much time for chit chat. They make decent cocktails overall. For great cocktails this isn’t the place though.
The service at Azzurro is good. Ricardo the boss has it all under control, his staff too. Expect the same from Shark.
Overall you can expect a high level of service in Shenzhen in most cases.
What are the prices like?
If you are thinking in US dollars everything is cheap. But if you’re on a budget or earn a local salary you will find Solo and most places around moderately expensive. In the Solo section, beer sits around 50 RMB and cocktails around 68 RMB (which is not bad actually). The cocktails however are fairly average, whiskies, brandies etc do get expensive.
On the right side, the convenience store marks things up about 30 to 40 percent above other similar convenience stores throughout Shenzhen. There is a craft beer place that is okay, but not cheap. Nearby Pirro’s Polish vodka is the best deal, quality is high and at a decent price. I think I remember a bottle of vodka being 144 rmb. Although I was pretty smashed.
Coco Park Menu in English
Worth dropping by?
If you like being shoulder to shoulder and love loud music and hot people and high energy DJs, long queues for the toilets or watching pool (hard to get a game).
If you’re not afraid of high prices, and hoping to get lucky this is probably the best place to be. There might be professionals in the crowd, so if somebody gets super friendly, it might not be because of your lovely personality.
For something quieter head over to the Convention Centre Station which is very close. They have bars like the brew, Lotiko, Revolution, Rich Kat and Play X (not quiet at all). One more honourable mention is Zazzo, a live music bar next to Azzurro.
Overall, if you are in Shenzhen and looking for a fun night, you cannot really beat Coco Park. I recommend it. But it might not be for everyone.
