London’s 30 best nightclubs

In the space that was formerly Mick’s Garage, Colour Factory is a Black-owned nightclub and music venue in the heart of Hackney Wick. It’s known for spotlighting female, non-binary, and queer artists, and has an excellent programme of low-key nights during the week in addition to their sell-out weekend events. 

It may be about as far north as a lot of us are willing to venture for a night out, but Unit 58 is also one of the most refreshing venues in London. The staff are bubbly, the parties are flaming hot (Technomate, Don’t F*ck With The Disco, and Gutterring to name but a few), and the DIY-feeling space itself is pretty spectacular: a high-ceilinged warehouse with a mezzanine and a massive sparkling disco ball. There’s a reason why this place attracts some of the trendiest Gen-Zers around. 

A three-floored warehouse-style venue in an old tube carriage, Electrowerkz is the choice for alternative nightlife in the capital. There’s the weekly goth night, Slimelight, that blasts industrial and darkwave tunes, as well as sex-positive nights like Kaos and the new queer disco, House of Trash. 

If you thought east London is past its clubbing prime, think again. FOLD is a brand-spanking-new club venue, blessed with a 24-hour licence. Located in a non-residential area between Bow and Canning Town, it’s also conveniently close to the Jubilee line and its night tube service.

A hip nightspot in Hackney from the team who run the Shacklewell Arms and Lock Tavern, Moth Club is a former trade hall that houses a military veterans’ club alongside its hipper clientele. It borrows its name from the Memorable Order of Tin Hats, an order of ex-military servicemen and women who still regularly meet and drink at the venue. Regardless of the recent refurbishment, these words ring true, right down to the last commemorative plaque. Well, almost. The venue’s back room has been entirely covered in gold glitter, a look which somehow works remarkably well with the retro, dated interior. 

Hidden away in an unassuming business park, Venue MOT is a warehouse-style venue in a former MOT centre. With limited signage and a stripped-back interior, it has a stomper of a sound system, late licensing and exciting bookings supporting up-and-coming promoters. A serious FU to commercial clubbing.

Over its 16-plus years, Fabric has established itself as one of London's clubbing landmarks – a reputation built through consistently high quality programming that showcases all strands of the UK’s electronic music underground.

This industrial-ish space in Tower Hamlets is owned by the same team that run Oval Space. Sitting directly opposite that venue, TPF did indeed used to operate as a working pickle factory, but after being used for foodie pop-ups and exhibitions in 2013, Oval Space has fully revamped the intimate venue as an excellent club and live music space.

On the top floor of a building in the centre of the Harringay warehouse district, Low Profile Studios feels more like partying in an artist’s studio than a London club. Nights are usually thrown by emerging promoters across the whole spectrum of dance music, and the space is as interesting as you’d expect: a wall of various arty bric-à-brac, a chill-out mezzanine space, and plenty of peculiarities to keep you entertained. 

This Kingsland High Street hangout is a bit of a face on the east London party scene. In true Dalston style it’s home to all: popular with a large and diverse LGBTQ+ crowd, but welcoming to all and everyone. 

Housed in an ornate Grade II-listed building, Koko in Camden has a long history and dazzling reputation as one of London's most iconic music venues and indie clubs. It's recently undergone a massive £70m restoration and introduced KOKO Electronic, the venue’s new weekend clubbing series.

A new mega-club by the same guys who brought you Printworks, The Beams is designed to be drenched in natural light during its day parties, followed by state-of-the-art production displays at night. The Beams is located in Canning Town, and is about as industrial as London gets in the 2020s (it’s a massive old warehouse, naturally). Its nearest station is the DLR stop Pontoon Dock, E16.

This Brixton club has a similar feel to XOYO: a sleek, dark cavern with plenty of space for dancing. The programming leans very much towards the leftfield side of dance music – don’t expect cheesy ’80s nights here, it’s quality underground house, techno, disco and bass all the way. 

This Brixton live music venue and bar boasts a bit of a reputation for the diversity of its programme, with everything from roots and reggae to hip hop, underground Latin, European gypsy folk and ska. There are comedy nights, too. 

Established in 2010, this excellent Shoreditch venue quickly cemented itself as one of the most on-point clubbing spaces and gig venues in London, thanks to a booking selection that ignored genre and simply focused on quality.

A hugely welcome addition to London’s music and nightlife ecosystem, this newish two-roomed venue has a fantastic arched main room, replete with exposed brickwork. The bar room also doubles as a second room for club nights – and on the right night can feel like an absolute riot.

You can’t miss Village Underground thanks to the four brightly coloured, graffiti-covered tube carriages, now artists’ studios, perched on its roof. Its renovated Victorian warehouse space hosts exhibitions, concerts theatre, live art and – most impressive of all – some amazing club nights.

Formerly (and still commonly) known as Vogue Fabrics, this bijou Dalston basement hosts drag and spoken-word events as well as genre-spanning club nights and parties. As its name suggests, it attracts a creative and fashion-conscious LGBTQ+ crowd who love to dress up (though no one will really care if you rock up in sneakers and a polo top). VFD has the chutzpah to host club nights with names like Cuntmafia and Sassitude, but never takes itself too seriously. The venue’s most famous feature is the massive penis mural in the loos.

This intimate 80-capacity Hackney basement venue is run by the same folk behind the legendary Fold (need we say more?). As well as a friendly community of regulars and a vibrant programme of underground DJs, the space itself is ideal for a full sweaty one. It’s low-ceilinged, loud, and you can get very close to the decks to see exactly what is spinning. 

The roving nightlife destination has taken up permanent residence under some party-ready railway arches along Hackney’s aptly named Bohemia Place, with a stellar line-up of live music and DJs keeps those arches rumbling – even after the overground stops its service. Night Tales also comprises the largest beer garden in the neighbourhood, which is conveniently covered in the winter months for year-round revelry. 

A queer superpub co-owned by drag legend Jonny Woo, The Glory hosts everything from alternative drag shows to quirky club nights. There’s a bar for casual drinks and a disco room downstairs for dancing and other shenanigans.

Corsica Studios is an independent, not-for-profit arts complex whose ethos is to breed creativity and culture in areas of regeneration, which it achives primarily through putting on some of the most cutting-edge club nights, one-off parties and gigs in London. 

Located in a former bus depot, Ministry of Sound was once the epitome of warehouse cool and is still perhaps the UK’s best-known clubbing venue: thus, any self-respecting fan of dance music in any form should visit Ministry at least once.

One of the many sources of Peckham pride, this incredible post-industrial building is regarded by many as one of London’s best venues. Saved from demolition in 2007 by a dedicated team from community group Peckham Vision, the CLF Art Cafe (known by pretty much everyone as the Bussey Building) is a multi-floored concrete block that has thrived as a warehouse-style club at night and a top arts venue during the day.

This south Bermondsey events space and arts venue is home to some of the most exciting leftfield club music experiences in the city. Thanks to its top-tier sound system and the variety of promoters it attracts, Ormside Projects is one of south London’s best-kept secrets and it isn’t shouted about enough. 

With its Mediterranean-styled three floors, garden and enormous terrace, Egg London is big enough to lose yourself in, but manages to retain a reasonably intimate atmosphere. Now blessed with a 24-hour licence, it still strikes a pleasing balance between style and warehouse raving.

After top London party promoters The Hydra began exclusively using the venue to host its excellent 2014 programme, Studio Spaces E1 (also a working photographic studio, hence the title) has now been given a further lease of life: The Hydra has been granted a full licence to open the venue for 24 hours for a huge 40 nights a year.

Brixton’s multi-floored bar and venue the Prince of Wales serves many functions, but its club space and terrace are the jewels in its musical crown. The terrace is arguably the best of any club in London and summer months see numerous great parties hosted way up high, led by crews like Slide and Get Diverted.

This Hackney Wick hotspot is made up of two vast warehouses connected by a rather nice-looking canalside terrace. With spraypainted murals, and junk and bicycles hanging from the ceiling (giving a sort-of Budapest ruin-bar feel), the space is used for live music and club events all year round. Oh, and obviously there’s a huge disco ball.

A club, bar and community-led venue on a side street off Kingsland Road, The Jago is about as eclectically decorated as they come. Expect live music and club nights across funk, disco and world music, and don’t miss the Beirut Groove Collective, which spins all sorts of soulful vinyl as part of its regular Jago residency.