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This venue is closed.

A self-proclaimed “dive lounge,” Royale is a funky oasis on an otherwise dismal block in the South Slope. With its velvety-red Rat Pack vibe, the front bar serves up mojitos and cosmopolitans along with redneck staples like the Sporting Life: a bottle of Miller High Life and a shot of Wild Turkey. In the back room, the decor morphs into a hodgepodge with billowy tents encompassing semi-circular banquettes, a mural of a tropical palm tree and a DJ booth wrapped in cheetah print fabric. Despite the bar’s lack of a cabaret license, Slopers have been known to move their bodies in a rhythmic fashion on a surface that bears a striking resemblance to a dance floor on nights when a DJ commandeers the booth. The locals who hang out at Royale are the perfect complement to the somewhat jumbled interior—think a mixed crowd of happily displaced East Villagers. — Tim O'Keefe