Sometimes change is good. Scottsdale's Buddha Bar proved this when it changed its name to Elixir last summer and transformed from a chill trance club into an off-the- hook, attitude-free martini lounge where everyone can feel comfortable.

The club — which sits in the heart of downtown Scottsdale next to the ultra- posh Crown Room — almost seems out of place in a city known for its designer-attired men and women, but somehow it works.
Customer Jaden Breinholdt says Elixir is the most non-Scottsdale bar in the downtown nightlife district.

“When you first walk in, it looks like it could be another Suede, but it's not at all,’’ says Breinholdt, a 24-year-old retail manager from Paradise Valley, while hanging out at Elixir on a Friday night. “The people are awesome. Everyone is so nice. You don't see the attitudes at Elixir that you do at a lot of the other clubs in this area. The drink prices aren't high and the music is great. The DJ is awesome.’’

Breinholdt is referring to Elixir's mixmaster, who is spinning everything from Usher to Britney to Outkast in a dimly lit room. A small group of girls trickle onto the dance floor when 50 Cent's “In Da Club’’ is played.

In addition to the music, one can't help but take note of the bar's attractive staff, who often can be found showing off bartending skills such as breathing fire and tossing bottles “Cocktail”-style.

“The bartenders are part of the reason I come here,’’ says Lisbeth Price, a 26-year-old elementary school teacher from Tempe. “They're so hot!’’

On this Friday night, the customers appear to be in their 20s and 30s and they begin to pack the club — which was jazz haunt the Famous Door before Buddha Bar — around 11 p.m. Women can be found holding colorful martinis such as flirtinis and appletinis, while the men keep it simple with bottles of beer.

People relax at the bar or in surrounding booths, as well as in plush seats in the lounge area and on the small patio. By midnight, the bar is filled with wall-to-wall people and it becomes clear that the club is the place to be.

“Elixir is definitely a Scottsdale hot spot,’’ says Travis Weaver, 28, of Scottsdale. “You get everything the other Scottsdale pretentious clubs like Axis and Myst have except for the pretention.’’

Elixir
Where: 7419 E. Indian Plaza, Scottsdale
Info: and www.elixiraz.com