The Castle

It really is for the goth scene but it is also extremely gay-friendly & I felt very welcome there.  Not threatened at all.  Check out the patio dance floor outside.  That may be more your speed if you like more mainstream music.

ahhhh - The Castle.  Gothic/Electro/Industrial/House heaven.  I hadn't thought to review this place for some reason, but then I saw Kelleigh M.'s ROTD for this long-running establishment today, and thought to myself, "Why not?"  I started shakin' my groove thing here somewhere back in 1993, and never once have I had a bad experience.  The atmosphere is always good, the beers are big as hell and the DJs are always playing good jams, especially on old school Mondays!

So about a year ago I started going back to The Castle after what was probably a 10 year hiatus, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the place hadn't changed a bit.  I hit up the Ramstein concert last April with my chica, and we hit The Castle afterwards.  We ran into The man AKA The Senator AKA The Mayor and had a blast.  Should I post the picture of my girl slapping his ass to prove it? LOL - probably not.  But we've been going pretty regularly since.

Out-of-towners, heed my word; you want this notch on your travel belt!

This is a review from a girl who doesn't get to Ybor too often and hasn't been to the castle in over 10 years....it was my bachelorette party and definitely the club I wanted to end the evening with.

It was exactly how I remembered it.  It truly feels like a castle and is dark, multi-leveled and kind of dank inside.  

We sat on a floor that that had a "whipping chamber" for lack of a better term.  Couples would come up to the chamber and lean against a big X while their partner would excite them with a leather like whip....interesting.

Any outfit/costume goes.  We saw plenty of people in top hats, a girl in a bumblebee outfit, Boba Fett costume and plenty of people in all black.  Me in my bachelorette outfit stood out, but everyone was welcoming and nice.  

If you've never experienced The Castle, of recommend you do.  It's definitely one of a kind here in Tampa.

And oh, I did not see the Senator last night. Bummer!