Movie night is the default for a reason. It’s easy, it’s cheap, and nobody has to plan much. It’s also the same thing every weekend, and at some point the group chat goes quiet because there’s nothing left to suggest.
Here are seven ways to hang out in Dhaka that take a little more imagination than picking a film. Most of them happen under one roof at Vortex in Banani, so you can mix and match without dragging everyone across the city.
1. Run a PS5 face-off
Pick a game everyone half-knows, like FIFA or a fighting game, and run a quick knockout bracket. Loser buys the next round of drinks. Vortex has PS5 stations set up for this, so you’re not all crowding one console in someone’s flat and taking turns. It’s competitive, it’s loud, and it gives the quieter friends something to do besides make conversation. An hour of this changes the whole energy of a group.
2. Settle it on the table games
Billiards, foosball, and air hockey are the games that actually pull people off their phones. They work best for a mixed group, the kind where half the people are serious gamers and half have never touched a controller, because anyone can pick up an air hockey mallet and have a real shot at winning. Set up a winner-stays-on rotation and the afternoon runs itself.
3. Book The Void for a movie night done properly
This one is still a movie, so it might feel like cheating on the title. The difference is the room. The Void is a private lounge you can book, which means it’s your group and the screen instead of a public cinema with strangers and a no-talking rule. Pick something you’re allowed to react to out loud, and it stops being a passive night and becomes an actual hangout.
4. Throw a live watch party
The Void also handles live streaming, which makes it the move for a big cricket match, an esports final, or any event you’d otherwise watch alone at home. Get everyone in one room, put it on the big screen, order food, and react to it together. Watching a match with eight people in the same room beats texting reactions into a group chat every single time.
5. Stop planning and just show up
Not every hangout needs a theme. Some of the best ones happen when nobody planned anything. The juice bar, Savannah Sips, and the snacks from The Beast Feast mean you can turn up with no agenda at all, grab something to eat, drift between the games, and let the afternoon go wherever it goes. Low effort, low pressure, and often the most fun.
6. Host the birthday somewhere that isn’t a restaurant table
A birthday dinner is fine, but a group sitting around the same table for three hours has a natural ceiling. Vortex runs events, so you can put the celebration somewhere with games, a private space, and food, and give people something to do between the cake and the conversation. If that’s the plan, message ahead so they can set it up properly for your group size.
7. Make a full day of it with Verte next door
Vortex is part of Verte, the food hall in the same Banani building, which has three separate kitchens under one roof. So you can eat a real meal first, with everyone ordering exactly what they want, then walk straight over for games or a movie. One location covers the whole afternoon and evening, with no travel between stops and no second round of “where to next” in the group chat.
Before you go
Entry to Vortex works on packages. You buy an entry coupon, present it at the entrance, and it’s valid for seven days from the date you get it. The coupons aren’t transferable, so plan around your own group rather than passing one along.
Vortex is open every day from noon to 10:30 PM in Banani. To book the movie lounge, plan an event, or just check what’s on, message them on WhatsApp at +8801740449950. Movie night will always be there. These are for the weekends you want something better.
