When I first heard about NightOwl, a proclaimed “all-in-one, personal resource for nightlife” I was certainly intrigued. Who, especially someone who lives in a city as huge as New York (like me), wouldn’t want something to help them navigate through the endless mediocre bars and less-than-desirable “hot spots” and on to the places where the real fun was hiding? I was skeptical, too, though–how would it be able to tell what my specific interests, likes, and dislikes were? How would it be able to point me in the direction of places that were a good fit for me, not too loud if I preferred quiet, not too crowded if I preferred space, not too big if I preferred small, and so on…? Well, I was about to find out.
NightOwl is a mobile app, available in the app store and free of charge to download. I should mention that the design of the logo really caught my eye. I happen to be a person who gets a good deal of enjoyment out of little things that are aesthetically pleasing, and the black background with the mysterious white owl was a nice touch.
After installing, you either enter in your phone number to register, or you can log in with your Facebook account. I chose the latter because it was honestly easier and less filling-out for me to do. (Don’t worry–if you opt for that choice, it doesn’t post anything to Facebook on your behalf, so you don’t have to be concerned that you will be unintentionally spamming all your friends without knowing it.)
Once you’re all set up, you enter in some of your favorite bars or restaurants or places to hang out. I loved this aspect because instead of trying to think of all the different qualities you like in a spot, you can just give an example and let the magic of the app figure it out itself. Ah, the beauty of convenience. You can enter in as many as you would like, and I would say the more the better, so it has even more material to work with in order to find out the perfect places for you.
When you’re finished, it brings you to a huge list of all types of bars, restaurants, or clubs that are similar to the ones you love. You can click on each place, look through all of the details, and see if it’s something you would like. You can use tags to remember spots for the future or to share a particular place with someone. For each place you click on, it tells you information like what time it stays open until, whether or not there is a happy hour, whether or not there are televisions (and how many), how casual it is, if there is outdoor seating, if there is dancing, and so on. It even has an option to order an Uber from your address to the bar or restaurant’s address if you choose (it makes sure to let you know the cost of the ride, too!) Right at the bottom, there are a few selected yelp reviews to see what others have to say about the place. It really doesn’t seem to miss a single thing.
NightOwl also has a social aspect to it, as well. You can add friends, and exchange thoughts on different nightlife spots you each have explored, giving you even more opportunity to find awesome new hang-outs. Your friends can browse your tags and see what types of spots you have been hitting up, and you can do the same. This is probably one of the coolest apps I have ever seen and I can’t wait to use it every time I’m in a situation where I want to go out, but have no idea where to go (which is basically every weekend.) It makes things as easy as can be for you, letting you find an awesome new spot to have fun in no time.
The most brilliant thing about NightOwl is that it takes a whole process and consolidates it into one swift and painless operation. You don’t have to enter into google a bunch of different places and try to figure out for yourself based on their websites and yelp links which one is right, or how expensive it is. You don’t have to go to your maps to see how far away it is, you don’t have to go into Uber to see how much it would cost to get there by cab. It does all of this for you all at once, right in front of you. So, go out! Enjoy yourself this weekend– at the perfect new place for you.
Twisted Talk: Do you have trouble finding places to go out on the weekends? Have you tried the Nightowl app; how did you like it? Discuss below!
