AJA Channelside Info
Amenities
Service options
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Outdoor seating
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Dine-in
Highlights
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Great cocktails
Accessibility
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Wheelchair accessible entrance
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Wheelchair accessible parking lot
Offerings
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Alcohol
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Beer
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Cocktails
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Dancing
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Food
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Happy hour drinks
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Hard liquor
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Wine
Dining options
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Seating
Amenities
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Restroom
Atmosphere
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Casual
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Trendy
Crowd
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Groups
Payments
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Credit cards
Best WLM Reviews
This was a good place for cocktails before midnight. Bartenders served good drinks with cool personalities can't complain there. Unfortunately it gets a bit too urban and crowded for my taste after midnight. Enjoyed the outside deck with my friends so will be returning soon.
Do not attend events promoted by QC. If Marquise or Chris from QC are involved, your experience will be one of lies and deceit. They have multiple people promoting their big events and WILL give you inaccurate information about costs. I paid for a section that was supposed to include two bottles for 600. When I got to the venue, I was told that I would only get one bottle. They would not return any money that I paid and I was forced to either take what they gave me or leave. It was a classic bait and switch. So I spoke with one of the main promoters and she promised to honor what I was advertised. So after waiting another 15 minutes, I was told that they would upgrade my section and provide the bottles for the trouble. When I got to my section, 40 minutes went by before someone took my bottle order. It was 10:50 pm by this time and I got there around 9:45. They told me I had a limited selection to choose from and cornered me into selecting unfavorable brands. There was no empathy for the miscommunication, only excuses and please don't do business with THESE people. They aren't professional at all.
Aja used to be the club to be at back in like 2012. The service and drinks were awesome and the atmosphere was great. But now it is a really crappy place to go. The entrance fee is way to high. The place stinks bad and the restrooms are filthy!! They use cheap liquor and mixers and charge like they use the top shelf stuff. The dj plays decent music but cant mix worth a damn. All the security guards think they own the place and walk around sizing people up just looking to start trouble. Honestly im never going to be going to Aja Channelside and if anybody is planning on going there dont go. You will thank me later
So I know theres some mixed reviews out there and it may discourage some to go... I was one of them but despite my concerns I decided to check out this spot anyways because I heard it would meet my nightlife expectations since it is difficult to find down here in Tampa. I went last Friday and this spot was pretty cool. Nice decor both outside and inside DJ was on point, hookah was pretty good and the food was good. They have a small food menu but I got the lobster tail with mac for $15 unbelievable price for what you get but it was good. The staff was friendly as well and professional. Shout out to Anna she was the real mvp of the night making me feel like a VIP she was cool and down too earth only flaw was she had all of the women patrons and female workers beat and it's not just because of her looks but because of her awesome personality! But I'd recommend this place for a good channelside party spot. Highly recommend bringing a group for a better time.
I had been to AJA a few years ago and it used to be an awesome place to dance. I even saw Derek Jeter there a few yrs back. I went last week on a Saturday. The bouncer didn't even know the cover price. As girls we paid $10 to go in and the door girl didn't even have a away to swipe my card and asked us to go to the ATM that has a $5 charge . She kept saying she didn't have a way to take my card bc she wasn't even the door girl. We get inside and no one was dancing even though it was almost 1am. That place has potential but it needs to get people to dance with better music. Hopefully AJA can bring some good DJ out here because we need more places to hang out in the down town area. I stayed for about 20 minutes and went to Franklin Manor.
Three MAJOR complaints about my first visit to this club. 1.) Overwhelming amounts of marijuana, black n mild, and cigarette smoke filled the inside the place. 2.) No dress code 3.) Conservatively poured, yet overpriced drinks. Exact order! The vibe was nice but the three aforementioned turnoffs made this a very bad experience. After standing at the inside bar until my fears of testing positive on my next urinalysis started to arise, I spent the remainder of the night at the outside bar to catch fresh air.
I was told by so many people not to go to this on top of all the bad reviews on here and other places but my wife's coworker wanted to throw her party here so I decided to make the most of it. The venue itself isn't bad and it's located in an awesome spot for parking. There are 4 primary spots to hang out- outside, main floor, a vip-looking area behind the main floor (it wasn't vip though), and an upstairs area. It was a Saturday night and they were having a 90's theme going on so it was pretty cool seeing all the Kangol hats and jumpsuits and women dressed like TLC backup dancers. They have hookahs...best hookahs I ever had..ever! The people in charge of the hookah here don't mess around. The price is $35 for one but it's very large and mine lasted for more than 2 hours. I was still using it at 3 am when it closed. Every 20-30 minutes someone was coming over and putting on new coals at the perfect time. The music was awesome on the inside and outside and my group enjoyed it the whole night. The only reason I had to remove a couple stars is because the night was not without a couple things that could have been better.
1) This club likes to do the whole "let one person in at a time and pretend like there are a lot of people inside." It's pretty annoying when you show up with a party of three and they only let you in one by one, closing off the rope each time and spending about 2 mins per person stalling.
2) No military discount. Not a big one, but when the cover is $10 it's kind of off-putting that they can't lower the price especially with my next con..
3) The drinks here are extremely expensive and honestly not worth it. I ordered a Single Jack & Coke and a Double Jack & Coke and the price was $33. I expected that since it cost so much, she might have actually made it an actual Double but I could barely taste any Jack. I ended up sticking to Corona after that experience. I hate getting hosed on drinks.
4) The area that I mentioned earlier that looked like a VIP area but wasn't had a LOT of cigarette burns all over the couches. It was very noticeable because the couches are white faux leather so they looked like semi-burnt marshmallows.
To sum it up, I had a good time. I drank, I danced, I smoked hookah and there were more women here than men which is always great. With all of my cons listed I just have one thing that would have made all of these cons a lot less noticeable - price. The night before I went to Franklin Manor and I spent a total of $33 for valet parking, 2 very strong margaritas and a Jai Alai (Cigar City). There was no cover and the venue and atmosphere were superb. They even had live music! I pulled out $40 thinking that I could budget similarly at Club Aja but that couldn't happen with the parking at $3 (not bad), cover at $20 for me and my wife, $33 for two drinks, and $18 for 3 Coronas. The hookahs are a huge plus but overall I'd have a better time knowing I'm not digging into my pockets so deep for a good time. I like to drink cocktails when I got out vs beers but the price will change your mind. I'd like to see this place succeed it has the potential if they can address a few of these things.
Come here if you're a woman want to be bullied by staff. I was having a girl's night and a staff member asked me to leave a couch I was sitting at in VIP (I was resting my feet and no one was there.) I did not give any trouble but I guess he saw an opportunity because he followed me back to my friends taunting me and trying to get them involved for whatever reason.
I was VERY upset and was not taken seriously by staff. This sucks because I really wanted to like this place but I guess no matter how many renovations you do it's still going to be a crappy place to go.
I admit I was pretty tipsy but I don't care what stage of intoxication someone is- no one deserves to be treated with disrespect and bullied for no reason. I'm never going back.
Quick Facts About AJA Channelside
Today
Opening Hours
| Monday | Closed |
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| Tuesday | Closed |
| Wednesday | Closed |
| Thursday | 10:00 PM - 03:00 AM |
| Friday | 05:00 PM - 03:00 AM |
| Saturday | 10:00 PM - 03:00 AM |
| Sunday | Closed |
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