The club scene seems to be in the doldrums right now, with many famous venues and nights winding up: the loss of the Astoria to Crossrail development was seen by many as a death knell. But people should have more faith in London. A city this inventive and protean will always evolve and find new ways forward. As with other areas, the trend seems to be for convergence, with clubs, restaurants and bars all merging into one experience. But you can still find plenty of places to party hard. Here’s a small sample, chosen for variety.
Dirty Martini
11–12 Russell Street, WC2B 5HZ (Covent Garden)
With live DJs and a magnetic attractiveness to party groups, these bars (others exist in Mayfair and the City) can really buzz at the weekends. The cocktails are pretty good for a chain, though they’re a tiny bit more expensive than something like an All Bar One.
Fabric
77a Charterhouse Street, EC1M 6HJ (Farringdon)
Housed in an old cold store, Fabric remains one of the best-known and biggest clubs in the capital, some 15 years after it first opened. Three rooms, one of which is equipped with a vibrating floor, offer the best live DJ sets for anyone looking for a good old rave-style environment. You will get lost.
New Evaristo Club
57 Greek Street, W1D 3DX (Tottenham Court Road)
One of the best places to stay out late is, of course, Soho, with its mashed-together clientele of tourists, local workers and bona-fide Londoners. The area is now a shy approximation of the seedy-cum-hedonistic quarter it once was, but you can still find plenty of interesting bars. The nearest you’ll get to Old Soho is the tatty/cool New Evaristo Club, a basement bar that has so few pretensions that you’d probably get egged if you mentioned craft cocktails. Bottles of beer are the order of the night down here, the toilet is a joke, and the whole place looks like the model for a thousand gangster shows. But you have to pretend to love the New Evaristo Club – it’s one of those unwritten London rules from which nobody may deviate.
The Arches, Villiers Street, WC2N 6NG (Embankment)
Central London’s biggest live venue, is atmospherically scrunched beneath the railway arches of Charing Cross station. The club dates back as far as 1979, and is a well-known linchpin of the LGBT community. Live sets from bands and DJs, the long-running Monday night Popcorn! party and rehomed nights from the now-closed Astoria add a breadth to the club that few other venues can muster.
The Star of Kings
126 York Way, N1 0AX (King’s Cross St Pancras)
Once upon a time, King’s Cross was famous for its club scene. All that is long gone, swept away by gentrification and the huge developments behind the station, whose owners resolutely refuse a nightclub. Yet this old venue (formerly the Cross Kings) keeps something of the flame alive, with regular live music nights in the surprisingly roomy basement. It keeps on rocking through until 2am at weekends, and is a decent enough pub the rest of the time.
Proud Camden
The Stables Market, Chalk Farm Road, NW1 8AH
(Chalk Farm)
Built into a former horse hospital, Proud does a little bit of everything and does it well. By day, it’s a relatively laid-back bar and restaurant on the edge of Camden Market, with an art gallery thrown in for good measure. By night, it’s famed for live music, cabaret and all-round partying… even stand-up comedy. It’s like the Stephen Fry of nightclubs.
Adventure Bar
38 Clapham High Street, SW4 7UR (Clapham Common)
A cocktail involving edible insects? Well, this is called the Adventure Bar. Its branches here, in nearby Battersea and Covent Garden, offer a fun halfway house between bar and nightclub, staying open until 2am at weekends. The bars have a pricey but nicey range of cocktails, including vodkas infused with your favourite childhood sweets, such as flying saucers and Fox’s Glacier Mints. The Clapham version throws in all kinds of playful touches, including menus distributed in old VHS cases (finally, someone has found a use for them).
Roller Disco
The Renaissance Rooms, Miles Street, SW8 1RZ (Vauxhall)
Vauxhall is, of course, full of highly rated night clubs. One of the more unusual puts its patrons on eight wheels: Roller Disco, catering for a mostly early 20s set, offers two skating rooms and a cheesy 70s/80s soundtrack so you can relive your childhood with the advantage of booze. Open till 2am at weekends.
All Star Lanes
95 Brick Lane, E1 6QL (Shoreditch High Street)
If you don’t feel like dancing, how about a spot of ten-pin bowling? Big Lebowski fans can bowl away until 1am at weekends. All Star Lanes also offers a restaurant, bar and karaoke booths – kind of like a late-night leisure centre of fun. The Holborn sister-venue (Victoria House, Bloomsbury Place, WC1B 4DA) runs even later, kicking out at 2am.
Dalston Superstore
117 Kingsland High Street, E8 2PB (Dalston Kingsland)
Live DJs fuel one of east London’s foremost party scenes from Wednesday until Sunday. Essentially a café-restaurant in the day, after 10pm the beats get louder and the long, thin space soon fills up with a mostly (but not exclusively) young LGBT crowd looking for dance and electronica.
Jam Tree
541 Kings Road, SW6 2EB (Fulham Broadway)
This laid-back late-nighter inhabits that fuzzy space between Chelsea and Fulham. The outside is unremarkable, drab even, but step inside and you’re in a world of colour and polished metal. The wine list is epic, but it is to the roll call of cocktails to which you are hereby commended. Most involve some species of jam, with perhaps a dollop of Nutella or peanut butter. There’s a sizeable garden at the back, a separate cocktail bar upstairs, and a sister venue in Clapham. Open until 2am at weekends, you’ll never want to leave.
The Toy Shop
32 Putney High Street, SW15 1SQ (Putney)
Putney has long been served by excellent bars, pubs and restaurants for locals, but is increasingly getting a reputation as a destination in its own right. The Toy Shop bar leads the way, with a bustling, brightly coloured bar and restaurant that would look right at home in Covent Garden. Split on two levels, with both intimate booths and long banquettes, this place works well for small or large gatherings. It stays open until 2am at weekends, when a real party vibe kicks in.
