THE NIGHT STUFF
Maturing into a true hot spot

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Not long after the midnight hour, Leina'ala Pregil of Wai'anae dances up a storm with Livio Brown of Los Angeles at Club 25. Photos by Rebecca breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

Yuko Nishimura of Honolulu and Will Yip of Pearl City enjoy an animated conversation. The Friday-night weekly in the Sansei Restaurant and d.k. Steak House at the Waikiki Marriott attracts an older crowd.

Gerard Akaka and Melissa Archpru, both of Nu'uanu, take to the dance floor. The club's attractions include half-priced sushi.

Club 25 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Fridays Sansei Seafood & Sushi Restaurant/d.k. Steak House Third floor, Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa $25 tonight (usually $10) 931-6286 Also: Half-priced sushi menu until 1 a.m.

Welcome to Club 25.

The Friday-night weekly launched earlier this month at Sansei's new Waikiki Marriott location, garnering immediate buzz for its intriguing — some might say, risky — 25-and-older age requirement. The experiment seemed to be paying off quite nicely when we stopped by Club 25's post-grand opening weekend.

Club 25 wasn't exactly packed. But spread throughout a rather large space — occupying both Sansei and d.k. Steak House — its crowd numbers would've made for a busy night at, say, Indigo.

The soundtrack could've been a bit more daring. But it at least flowed with barely a whiff of age-related condescension. Usher, Ludacris, 50 Cent, Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, Ciara and Petey Pablo were all represented. The only nod to anything old school were a couple of Salt-N-Pepa and Dr. Dre/2Pac tracks.

And the crowd seemed to appreciate having it all to itself.

Well-dressed and in the mood for dancing, the gathered twenty- through fortysomethings kept a small floor in Sansei's main room busy throughout the night. They also kept sushi chefs busy with orders from Sansei's half-price, late-night sushi menu.

My partner in Night Stuff and many of the ladies dropping by thought the long-stemmed roses given to them at the door were a nice touch. Also sweet: a server working the room with platters of free Godiva chocolates.

A wrap-around balcony overlooking Kalakaua Avenue and Waikiki Beach was appreciated by smokers and closed off from the rest of us by sliding glass doors.

Far more patrons seemed to gravitate toward Sansei's dining room, where the main dance floor and only turntable set-up was. More comfortably intimate and less crowded, however, were the high-backed booths and even darker, votive-lit interiors of d.k.'s Steak House.

Personally, I appreciated Club 25 not just paying lip service to its dress code but actually enforcing it. To their very-vocal dismay, even a group of out-of-town college basketball players was denied entry because of their, uh, fresh-off-the-court fashion choices.

"I like that," said Joseph Carter, of Pearl Harbor, looking particularly stylish in a dark suit and tie, his head freshly shaved. "If guys can't go back to the room and at least throw on a pair of Dockers and a dress shirt, they shouldn't be showing up here."

A security staffer told us that patrons who "at least make an effort to dress up a bit" would be fine at the door. Leaving the jeans and T-shirt at home might be a good start, though.

Trust us, the kids at Blue Tropix will still be all right.

Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com.

NIGHTSPOTTING ...

So what are you doing New Year's Eve? A listing of Honolulu auld-lang-syne-themed club events is on Page 19.

But if you're still undecided — and a fireworks permit holds no appeal for you — here's where I'd want to be tonight ...

• thirtyninehotelNYE'04. Ministry of Sound resident DJ Harvey, his international posse of friends and the gallery's brand new bar. Party favors, a balloon drop, champagne and (we're hoping) a rooftop view of Aloha Tower Marketplace fireworks. Pre-sale tickets $12; VIP tickets $20. 599-2552.
• Wave Waikiki New Year's Eve. Flash and the gang at Wave never disappoint on the eve. Lined up for tonight are Superstar DJ Keoki, DJ Ill Media (San Francisco) and '80s hard-rock tribute band Buddhist Priest. Doors open at 8 p.m. Pre-sale tickets $15. 941-0424.
• New Year's Eve @ Indigo. If thirtyninehotel is full, you might find room here with DJ Sadeq (New York) and DJ Mike Sike (New York/Miami). Free champagne at midnight. From 9 p.m.; entry $8-$12. 521-2900.
• New Year's Eve @ The Living Room. DJs Moshic (Israel) and Seven Star (Miami) and a chocolate fountain! From 10 p.m. at Fisherman's Wharf.