The Cage 292 is a peculiar establishment: drawing patrons into its two glowing red and blue rooms with promises of $2 drinks and a ‘free’ buffet — both enticing prospects to the student on a budget, creepy neon sign be damned.
The beer isn’t worth it and the ‘free’ buffet comes at the price of a $5 cover, which isn’t bad for a buffet. While the food itself was passable, the $2 shots and mixed drinks were a great deal.
Then things get weird. Not-quite-naked dancing girls sway-twerk in cages and on platforms (à la Cherry Cola’s) to get things started; meanwhile people play a game with a small, plastic fishing rod in the middle of the dance floor, and guys in gorilla masks mill around a man with a glow stick dressed in a trench coat. The place fills up and most people dance — though with a little less fervor than the laser-lights and thumping old-school UK rave-tracks seem to call for. By late night, the room is in its stride and the unique impression left by surreal bacchanalian revelry takes hold, the prize wheel is spun, a raffle held, and alcoholic winnings passed on.
The Cage 292 won’t be everyone’s perfect night out, but there is a charm to the odd breadth of options and a novel atmosphere that make it definitely worth a try.
Visit The Cage 292 at 292 College Street.
