Orbit Billiards & Cafe   

102 14th St NW
Charlottesville, VA 22903
434-984-5707

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A funky lounge atmosphere and ample pool tables are the main draws at this relatively new club near the 14th Street parking garage on the east end of the Corner. Its proximity to campus makes Orbit a popular haunt for undergrads, but medical students and professional twenty-somethings congregate here as well to shoot a game or two.You cant tell much about the place from the outside. Theres just a nifty modern sign on this otherwise nondescript building to indicate the bars front door. Upon entering, youll be lured up a steep stairway by the beacons of turquoise lights installed on rough pebbly walls.Inside, though, character prevails. The plaster walls are adorned with murals that can best be described as Route 66 meets the circus meets the Jetsons you just have to see it to understand. Cushy red and black leather couches are arranged in conversational settings around 50s-style coffee tables piled with magazines. There are six well-used pool tables scattered about the space, and a jukebox for tunes. A big blackboard hanging above the bar lists the daily drink specials in colored chalk. Its kind of dark and dreamy inside, since the only light is provided by red and blue bulbs plus an occasional lava lamp. Canvas roman shades cover the windows looking down on Main Street, so the room doesnt benefit from much outside illumination. In short, this is the kind of place where you can very easily forget that the entire outside world exists as you focus on the eight- ball. Kim Mattingly