Go at your own risk to the infamous Roof Club, 11 West St. (no phone). The most crowded and animated nightclub in Port Antonio, it lies one floor above street level in a boxy-looking industrial building in the heart of town. Inside, the venue is earthy, raunchy, crowded, and boozy, with enough secondhand ganja smoke to get virtually anyone high. Recorded (and more rarely, live) reggae and soca music blares at high volumes -- so loud, in fact, that first-timers might not immediately understand the blandishments of other clients, male and female, to buy them a drink.
Expect a neo-psychedelic decor of mirrors, UV lighting, and free-form Day-Glo artwork. A visit here is not for the squeamish or the faint-hearted, and it's a good idea to come with a friend and/or ally. Try to stay relatively sober, keep your wits about you, and enjoy the slow-moving gyrations of ordinary folks who -- sometimes with the help of a spliff or two -- get involved in the beat of the music and groove accordingly. Beers cost from $3 to $4 each. It's open nightly from around 6pm, but most of the genuine hanging out and crowding happens after 11pm, especially from Thursday through Sunday.
Its leading competitor is Baldi's Bar & Grill, in the Town Talk Building, 4 Harbour St. at the corner of Fort George St. (tel. 876/715-6773). To reach it, you'll have to climb to the third floor of a sturdy cement building in the heart of town. There, a party-colored neoclassical balustrade keeps drinkers and diners from falling off a "high-altitude" dining-and-drinking area that's otherwise open and exposed to sea breezes on all sides. It's open daily from 10am till "very late." Beer and mixed drinks cost from J$140 to J$200 (US$2.25-US$3.20). Menu items in the grill area are Jamaican and international, but most people just come here to drink and flirt.
Less formalized and much more free-form would involve a hike along Port Antonio's eastern waterfront, Folly Road, known locally as the town's "Folly Strip." Here, a battered and mud-splattered row of rum shacks and jerk stands, each painted long ago in once-bright colors, play recorded music and try to show a foreign visitor a good time. A culinary "highlight" of the Folly Strip is Oliver's Vegetarian Restaurant (no phone), whose presentation might be nominally a bit more solid than some of its neighbors. At any of the shacks along the strip, expect to pay between J$70 and J$100 (US$1.10-US$1.60) for a Red Stripe beer. If you opt for a visit to this strip, we recommend that you wrap up your evening by around 10pm.
The Tree Bar, on the grounds of Goblin Hill Villas at San San (tel. 876/925-8108), stands high on a hill commanding a panoramic view of 4 hectares (12 acres). The aptly named bar is wrapped around huge ficus trees, whose mammoth aerial roots dangle over the drinking area. Giant-leafed pothos vines climb down the trunks. It's the sort of eco-adventure place that should prove increasingly popular.
