Nightclub Entertainment Nightlife
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Disco Ayala
It might not be the first time you've gone jiving in a cave, but this surreal place up by the Ermita Popa church beats all others for atmosphere. While it's mainly a place to go dancing in the semi-darkness after as many mojitos as you care to sink, this disco also puts on a decent cabaret show. To get there follow Calle Simón Bolívar from Plaza Mayor up to the Ermita de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de la Popa. The disco is 100m further along on your left.
reviewed
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Teatro Joy Eslava
The only things guaranteed at this grand old Madrid dance club (housed in a 19th-century theatre) are a crowd and the fact that it will be open. (The club claims to have opened every single day for the past 29 years.) The music and the crowd are a mixed bag, but queues are long and invariably include locals and tourists, and even the occasional famoso.
reviewed
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Sam & Dave
Like its sister bars around Japan, Sam & Dave's vacillates between being somewhere fun to shake your ass, and just another boozy big-beat meat-market nightclub. Hope for a good crowd and you could be lucky, whatever you fancy. It's best Fridays and Saturdays.
reviewed
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Akab
This eclectic former workshop has an underground cellar, an upper floor, a garden and a whimsical door policy. On Tuesdays it's electronica L'Etrika, while it goes hip hop and R&B on Thursday. Expect local live (often cover) bands on Friday, R&B and house on Saturday. Entrance is €15, including a complimentary drink.
reviewed
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Central Park
Flit between a handful of different dance floors at this mainstream club in city park Parco delle Cascine where everything from Latin to pop, house to drum and bass plays. From May the dance floor moves outside beneath the stars.
reviewed
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Slim/Flix
Ideal for the indecisive raver, this immense three-in-one complex dominating one end of RCA features chilled house on one side (Flix), while the other (Slim) does the hip-hop/R&B soundtrack found across much of the city. Oh, and there’s a restaurant thrown in there somewhere as well. Despite its size, this place is positively packed on weekends.
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Twice
Mainstream fun is on tap at this venue that starts the night as a wine bar and then turns into a dance club after 11pm (hence the name). The clientele tends to be Pretty Young Things in search of same. After the aperitivo buffet closes down, the DJs start to arrive with their iPods stuffed with hip-hop and Top 40 dance hits.
reviewed
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Cabaret Las Vegas
Don't get duped into thinking this is another Tropicana. On the contrary, Cabaret Las Vegas is a rough and seedy local music dive (with a midnight show) where a little rum and a lot of No moleste, por favor will help you withstand the overzealous entreaties of the hordes of haranguing jineteras.
reviewed
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Palacio Gaviria
A recently renovated palace converted into one of the most popular dance clubs in Madrid, this is the kind of place where the crowd can be pretty young and boisterous and the queues long. Thursday is international student and house music night – international relations have never been so much fun.
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U4
U4 was the birthplace of techno clubbing in Vienna way back when, and its longevity is a testament to its ability to roll with the times. A fairly young, studenty crowd are its current regulars, and while the music isn’t as cutting edge as it used to be, it still manages to please the masses.
reviewed
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Bed Supperclub
Resembling an illuminated tube, Bed has basked in the Bangkok nightlife limelight for nearly a decade now, but has yet to lose any of its futuristic charm. Arrive at a decent hour to squeeze in dinner – or if you’ve only got dancing on your mind, come on Tuesday for the hugely popular hip-hop night.
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YAB Club
Yes, at YAB, You Are Beautiful, and this sleek, mirror-lined nightclub won’t let you forget it. Crowds skew young, and the best sound system in the city centre have made the Monday hip-hop party a Florentine classic.
reviewed
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Max’s Bar
Max is a gay Rome institution, and its unthreatening, welcoming vibe, backed by a hip-wiggling soundtrack of commercial house, is what has endeared it to so many men for so long.
reviewed
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Syrup
Over two floors above Knopwood's Retreat, this is an ace place for late-night drinks and DJs playing to the techno/house crowd.
reviewed
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Casa de la Música
Similar to the venues in Havana, this Casa de la Música features a mix of live salsa and taped disco and is usually a cracking night out.
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Les Trois Diables
Music is a mix of trip-hop, house and electro at this small club. Thursday is student night (show your ID); Wednesday is karaoke.
reviewed
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Twice
DJs and amateur stripping are part of the hip-to-hip youth dancing to two beats in two rooms. Prepare to sweat.
reviewed
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Voodoo
This vast club is the centre of Letterkenny's nightlife. Check the website for events.
reviewed
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Adraba
This nightclub has history. It was one of the most famous nightclubs of la movida madrileña until it burned down (killing 81 revellers in the process) in 1983. It finally reopened to much fanfare in 2010 and has rapidly re-established itself as one of the city’s best. The designer decor is stunning, the safety provisions second to none and there’s five nights of dancing with a sophisticated crowd. Thursday night is ‘Vanité’ (which comes with the attached subtitle of ‘The Most Fashion Night’ and is devoted to glamour and lounge-bar sounds), while Friday and Saturday take you through the last three decades of dance tunes. Bookends to the rather long Adraba weekend are…
reviewed
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Nasti Club
It’s hard to think of a more off-putting entrance with Nasti Club’s graffiti and abandoned-building look. Its staple, appropriately, is a faithfully grungy approach to the 1970s (pop, rock and punk), both in terms of music and decor. But it’s not as nasty as it sounds and the crowd can span the full range of 1970s throwbacks from a Who’s Who of Madrid’s underground to some surprisingly respectable types. Above all it’s a place with attitude, and as its own publicity says, it’s not from Barcelona, it doesn’t play electronica, people who come here are cool and no one’s ever heard of the live acts who appear here until they become famous two years later. Says…
reviewed
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Warm-Up
The hippest joint in own, and a perennial favourite for the young and beautiful, Warm-Up is one of Chiang Mai's best dance houses. Hip-hop is spun by DJs in the main room, the electronic beat of house reverberates in the lounge and bands playing rock/indie music can be found in the garden. Young hipsters arrive in their coolest duds: tight jeans, spiked wolf hair-dos, sparkly shirt dresses and pointy heels. But ever youthful fa·ràng join the crowd as well.
reviewed
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Cool
Cool by name, cool by nature. One of the hottest clubs in the city, the Phillipe Starck–designed curvy white lines, discreet lounge chairs in dark corners and pulsating dance floor are decked by gorgeous people, gorgeous clothes and a strict entry policy. Thursday is given over to ‘Sunflower Dance Sessions’ (house music and a fashionista crowd), Friday is ‘Stardust’ (electronica and techno), while Saturdays are called ‘Royal’ with new house music and a predominantly gay clientele. Things don’t really get going until 3am.
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Ruby Skye
The city's premier-name nightclub occupies a vintage theater reminiscent of classic NY clubs, with reserveable balcony boxes. The who's-who of the world's DJs play here – think Danny Tenaglia, Dimitri from Paris, Christopher Lawrence and Paul Van Dyk. The very mainstream crowd sometimes gets messy (hence gruff security), but when your fave DJ's playing, who cares? The Funktion-One sound system is state of the art.
reviewed
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Metro
This is one of the most popular and vibrant clubs in town. It holds a variety of themed events and occasional live bands or international DJ events. It's inside exit 2 of the Keihan Marutamachi Station.
reviewed
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Temple
The city's greenest club is an izakaya (bar snack) and sustainably sourced sushi bar before 10pm, when it turns into a glowing LED-lit nightclub serving drinks in biodegradable cups. Buddha presides over the sleek, all-white upstairs room with slick stone floors; downstairs are two smaller rooms with midsized dance floors that harness the energy of stomping feet to generate electricity. DJs spin the gamut from dub to hip-hop to techno; Fridays are consistently good for house, and it's usually $5 before 11pm if you're on the guest list. Dress like you mean it.
reviewed