London's best nightclubs
From sweaty warehouse rave venues to towering nightlife monoliths, here are London’s best nightclubs
You don’t have to be a DJ to know that London is blessed with some of the finest clubs and nights out on the planet. Whatever your taste in music and whatever kind of party you’re looking for, London has a huge amount to offer and a host of incredible venues in which to host the fun: from intimate spaces that host full-on techno parties to vast, globally acclaimed clubbing institutions and anything goes LGBTQ+ venues, you’ll never be bored when partying in the city, particularly if you read our guide below to the best venues around.
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Fabric
Over its 16+ 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.
Printworks
Finally, after a destructive few years, there’s some encouraging news for London’s party people. London has a huge new 5,000-capacity music and culture space. Printworks is a few minutes’ walk from Canada Water station. It’s essentially a massive industrial complex that used to be where newspapers including the Daily Mail were printed. But don’t let that put you off...
XOYO
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.
Omeara
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 brick work. The bar room also doubles as a second room for club nights – and on the right night can feel like an absolute riot.
Hangar
While the bar that sits above, Wringer + Mangle, is slick and chic, downstairs at Hangar you’ll find a proper basement without any need for fancy decor. Having been The Laundry and Mangle in the past, the space has been taken over by excellent London promoters Percolate. It's got a no-nonsense spaciousness that distinguishes it from other, more compact spots in east London. We’d be lying if we said that the bar above Mangle wasn’t pretty spenny (the Bubbles & Bottles menu is eyewatering rather than mouthwatering) – but in the basement you’ll fare much better with standard eastside prices for beers and the like. Strap in and prepare for take-off!
Phonox
This Brixton club has a similar feel to XOYO: a sleek, dark dance cavern with plenty of space for dancing, and 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.
Dalston Superstore
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.
Five Miles
This nightclub pulls in ravers from across the capital with up-and-coming dance talent and a cool, industrial-style vibe. It’s part of a growing community of spaces that are bringing new life to Tottenham after dark. And it’s got solid daytime appeal, too, thanks to its Middle Eastern café and on-site brewery.
Village Underground
You can't miss Village Underground thanks to the four brightly coloured, graffiti-covered tube carriages, now artists' studios, perched on its roof. Their renovated Victorian warehouse space hosts exhibitions, concerts theatre, live art and – most impressive of all – some amazing club nights.
The Pickle Factory
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 have fully revamped the intimate venue as an excellent club and live music space.