Lucha Lounge

The Lucha Lounge is a tiny little place around the back of a dark side street in Newmarket. It’s pretty hard to just stumble across, unless you like to venture down dodgy looking alleyways (but nah it’s not actually that bad). I’m pretty sure that the outside smoker’s area is almost the same size as the indoor part of the bar, which is not big by any means. However, this side alley tiny little dive bar is great because of the bands that it hosts; oh and it has pretty cheap beer too, another bonus.
I wouldn’t recommend coming here for the aesthetics of the place itself, or if you’re looking for a quiet drink, but if you’re looking for some kick ass underground music and something completely new, then give this place a go. I’ve been here a few times, and I can say that I’ve never had a bad night. The dance floor gets so crowded that you sometimes end up dancing alongside the band that’s playing. Quality.

If it weren’t for the live music that I’ve seen at Lucha I think this venue would hold little appeal. It’s small, it’s on some side street in Newmarket, and is luchadore themed. Which is fine, I just don’t think it’s my cup of tea. But if you’re there when they’ve got live music on, it’s an awesome place to be. If you like the music, that is. It doesn’t take a lot of people for the place to feel full, which creates an awesome atmopshere for rocking out to some sweet tunes and getting up close to the band. If you, or you ears, need a break head out to the covered-​in back area, and on cooler nights warm up under the gas heaters.

Newmarket isn’t an area that immediately screams ‘dingy little dive bar’ to me, but nevertheless that’s what Lucha Lounge is. That might sound like an insult but I mean it as quite the opposite.
The beers are cold, the music is loud, the walls are covered in old photos of luchadores (kind of their shtick, you know). They have live bands several times a week playing a range of styles, so one night will be very different to another. The place is tiny but it has a small outdoor bit at the back, so if you don’t want to listen to the band you can sit out there with the smokers. If you do want to listen to the band, then you can get right up close — the stage is only a few inches off the floor, and it’s pretty common to see singers or guitarists step off it and wander into the crowd as they play (less so with drummers, but they have more to carry).
The amount of fun you’ll have at Lucha is directly linked to how much you like the band playing, but Lucha provides a good venue for them to perform. So if you have a sucky night you can blame the performers, not the bar.

Settled deep in a back street in the nightlife wasteland of Newmarket, going to Lucha Lounge is as good as finding a 20 dollar note on the side of the road when all you needed was a 2 dollar coin to get home. The bar is small — but in a good, intimate way. The smoking area seems nearly as big as the bar itself, with seats running around the outside walls and interesting artwork adorning them.
The bar staff are friendly and interesting people — happy to share a drink with customers, especially as the night wears on. Lucha focuses mainly on the darker side of the Auckland alternative scene — but a wide variety of bands play there. They also offer a great selection of food, and open early enough 5 nights a week that you can go there on a date, or catch up with friends over an enchilada and a cold one.