City Limits used to be THE place to go to party in Delray when they were the largest outdoor venue, right on Atlantic. The Broward New Times attributed their downfall to the condo explosion downtown, losing a long battle with developers. Well City Limits has built a new two story (indoor, unfortunately) venue just behind Elwood's north of Atlantic. They still feature bands almost every night but now charge us cover (at least on Saturday night, $5). The place was packed anyway, almost seeming too crowded until you get up closer to the band where people have spread apart. The bar is a large rectangle with long bars on both sides, and an upstairs bar in the back which overlooks the bands and the patrons. Service is fast, and prices are somewhat reasonable (I guess? $7 for a well mixed drink). The upstairs bar / VIP area (it wasn't VIP when we were there) has bottle service and cushy bench seating around tables with glowing blue lamps.
Gypsy Rose was there that night, at first rocking with funk covers but slowly devolving into what sounded more and more like covers a cruise band would do. Nonetheless they were good singers and loved to do medleys. Perhaps the matching outfits that were changed halfway through the show took away from the band's legitimacy for me. When it came time for "Hot Hot Hot" and that Shakira song it was time for us to go.
Overall, we had a great time, and the venue would be wonderful if they'd bring in some medium sized bands, perhaps rock or some DJ's. But I miss the good old days of dancing under the stars with tiki bars and no cover.
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