Three floors of bar on John Street, each doing something different — this is kazbar’s proposition, and it’s one of the most well-executed in Waterford’s night-time economy. At 57 John Street, kazbar has built the kind of venue that can accommodate very different types of evening within the same building, which is an underrated skill in hospitality.
The ground floor is DJ territory: 80s, 90s, and 00s nights that fill up with people who know every word of every track and are not remotely apologetic about it. This is the kind of music policy that works because it commits fully — there’s a specific joy in a room full of people who have all collectively decided that irony is overrated and Bon Jovi was underrated.
Three floors, each doing something different. Ground floor DJ, cocktail bar in the middle, live bands on K Club upstairs — Friday to Sunday, every week.
The middle floor is the cocktail bar — a step up in atmosphere and a chance to slow down, sit properly, and have a drink worth looking at. The cocktail list covers the classics and ventures into more interesting territory, served in an environment that feels deliberately different from the floors above and below.
The K Club on the top floor is where the live music happens, Friday through Sunday, and this is the headline act for many visitors. Bands who can hold a room, sets that build through the night, the particular energy of live music in a compact space where you’re close enough to actually connect with what’s happening on stage.
The heated roof garden completes the picture — outdoor drinking space in Waterford, functional regardless of the weather, with the kind of elevated view that makes a drink taste better than it has any right to. It fills up on warm evenings and, because it’s heated, on a surprising number of cold ones too.
kazbar is not a subtle venue. It’s not trying to be. It’s Waterford’s most complete night out under one roof, and it’s been delivering that with consistency for years.
The Three Floors
Each floor at kazbar has a distinct identity. The ground floor functions as a gastro bar and restaurant, serving food daily from 10:30am to 6pm — a menu of bar classics, burgers and sharing plates that does the job well. The middle floors build toward the night-time operation: live bands, resident DJs, and the kind of energy that earns kazbar its reputation as one of the most reliably good nights out in Waterford. The rooftop, heated and covered, is the prize — views over John Street, the right music at the right volume, and the feeling that the city is happening below you.
Good to Know
kazbar is at 57 John Street, Waterford City X91 F974, at the Apple Market end of John Street. Opening hours: Monday 10:30am–2am; Tuesday 10:30am–11:30pm; Wednesday to Friday 10:30am–2am; Saturday 11am–2am; Sunday 12:30pm–1am. Live music runs seven nights a week. Food service ends at 6pm daily. The venue is large enough to accommodate big groups but books out on Friday and Saturday — reserve ahead for weekend visits. Phone: 051 843 730.