To be completely honest, I’m not huge into clubbing. So I wasn’t sure how an interview with the owner of M1 Lounge at Masna 1 in Old Town was going to go, like whether I’d be able to be convincing as someone who could talk about clubs or whether I would come off as a lame cardigan-wearing granny. It’s a fence I’ve been straddling for some time, and unfortunately cardigans seem to be adding up in the old sweater drawer.
So anyway, the point is that I was really surprised when I left the interview thinking, hey, a lot of stuff going on at M1 is pretty cool – and despite an internet homepage that features a girl in a bikini, is actually appealing to to both the harder and softer core night dwellers – it just depends on what time of night you go…
M1 is in the middle of adding some new regular live performances, as well as new cocktails, events and even sushi – along with the shisha that they recently introduced. Just to make things simpler, I’m going to list them below:
Live R&B Concert Series: M1 is all about R&B, owner Jonathan Bass told me. So they’re trying to get the most up and coming artists around for a new concert series. The most recent one was Written in the Stars, which featured three artists- Aseem, Verse A-Tile and MC Reiny – and again, I’m only honest with you all, I don’t know a lot about the local R&B scene, but you can see for yourselves on this promotional video two of the performers. The next one, called Far East Galaxy, will be April 16th.
“We’re a lounge and club that specializes in R&B,” Bass said. “R&B in Prague tends to be the underground scene – it’s nothing like what we have here. We have a lounge where people can hang out until around midnight, it turns into a very high energy dance floor.”
Berry Sexy: It’s a new event they’re going to start doing regularly – they had their first one last week and apparently it was quite successful. I’m not surprised – girls get free strawberry daiquiris, strawberry mojitos and blueberry coladas from 9 to 12 – I was looking for the fine print but I didn’t see any. I’m pretty sure you just go in there and drink a bunch of really tasty berry drinks for free, which to be honest, has got to be a great time for the girls of course, but dudes… think how many chicks are going to be there? And you don’t have to pay for their drinks… not a bad deal at all. The next one will be April 15th, and then after that you just have to check out their website or Facebook regularly to keep track of when it will happen again.
New Cocktails: They’ve got some new signature cocktails, and a new menu coming out May 1. Bass says you can still order these cocktails now, but that’s when they’ll be officially added. Some of them are the M1 Toxic Ice Tea, a bright green take on a Manhattan Ice Tea, then there’s the Tiramisu Martini, the M1 Rose Cocktail and the Washington Apple. I got to try the Tiramisu Martini and the Washington Apple – the Tiramisu was really good, and apparently there’s ice cream involved in it, which is always exciting. The Washington Apple was more to my liking though – a little less sweet- you can actually taste the good liquor they’ve put into it.
Shisha: Before the place turns into a massive dance party there’s the shisha, which comes in a variety of flavors like cherry, chocolate and coconut, Bass said.
Sushi: Yup, sushi – all night long, or almost – until like 3 AM. They’re adding it this summer. They couldn’t say where the sushi would be coming from yet, but it will be there in all sorts of varieties and flavors.
Drop Cards: They’re coming up with a new system for regular customers called a drop card, which will have codes for downloading music from artists that perform at M1 on the M1 website. That will be in addition to the VIP Card service, which they already have. There’s a bunch of different levels to it – you can see them here.
More VIP Space: The very far left of the bar, and the table and couch there when you walk in will be roped off as a VIP section, which will be in addition to the VIP room that already exists. Details about reserving the VIP room are online…
A few more things to add – the lounge opens at 9 pm, and is more of a lounge until 12, when it becomes a dance 
floor, and stays open until 5 or 6 AM. The room looks pretty small, but apparently it can fit a reasonable party of people, and Bass said the set up allowed more intimacy with the performers compared to larger clubs, which I can see. Though I could also see it getting very very crowded… which is maybe where the VIP room comes in if that’s up your alley.
There’s a VIP room, which requires you get bottle service. Tables are open and free unless there’s an event or it’s a busy night – then bottle service gets priority. And there’s a really cool snake in the back room left from Bass’ days as a magician – which Bass probably quite accurately said made M1 the only club (at least in Prague) with a VIP room that features a huge white snake.
There aren’t any cover charges during the week unless there is a special event, but on Fridays girls get in free and for guys it’s 100 Kc, and then everyone pays 100 Kc on Saturday. The crowd is mostly English-speaking expats, Bass said, and then tourists, and finally some Czech girls. Those days, if there isn’t an event, there are DJs, which Bass said were allegedly some of the best in Prague. Again, I don’t know a whole lot about all that, so I guess just check it out for yourself.
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