The Coolest London Music Venues Proving That Nightlife Isn't Dead
From sweat-soaked basements to mega-warehouses, these are the venues keeping the city’s pulse alive.
Rave culture is dead… or so the headlines keep insisting. Yet few forces unite people quite like live music, whether it’s a vibrating bassline, a late-night jazz set or a mosh pit in full swing. For decades, London has been celebrated as one of the world’s most eclectic nightlife capitals. But lately, the city’s grip on that title has been slipping.
Across the capital, the late-night landscape is shrinking: pubs shutter by 11 p.m., most of Soho powers down by 2 a.m. and beloved venues are fighting to keep their licenses. The recent announcements of closures at cult favorites like Corsica Studios and G-A-Y only deepen the worry, and with 61% of Gen Z reporting they’re going out less, the future looks even more uncertain.
Still, the heartbeat of London nightlife hasn’t flatlined just yet. We’re here to point you toward the places keeping the city’s spirit alive, the sweat-soaked rooms, the chest-thumping sound systems and the communities built in the dark. So, loosen up and dive in. Here is our list of London venues worth leaving the house for.
Lost
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Everyone in London is talking about Lost. This is the latest clubnight resisting the predictability and dullness of the current scene that’s sent Gen Z into hibernation. Lost is an experimental night run by an artist-led collective tired of the corporate chains and boring spaces eroding decent nightlife. They recently finessed the keys to the former Odeon cinema on Shaftesbury Avenue to create a hedonistic maze across multiple rooms and floors that will get you thoroughly… lost. Take a wrong turn, and you’ll end up watching erotic cinema, complete with popcorn machines, wondering how you make it back to the cavernous techno basement with the chandelier. But that’s the point.
The rooms are filled with surprise DJ sets, live bands (Celeste recently performed a secret set), art exhibits and film screenings. On Fridays and Saturdays, they go until 6 am (which, as mentioned, is unheard of in central London), and the best part? They lock your phones away, which explains why it hasn’t been all over your Instagram stories. Expect stylish crowds, industry insiders and the occasional celebrity cameo, with Julia Fox and Mowalola among the revellers. Sadly, the venue is set to be demolished in the new year, but the collective is already teasing a new mystery location. Consider this your cue to keep one ear to the ground.
Drumsheds
Spotify, Bardha Krasniqi
Drumsheds might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if scale is what you crave, nothing in London comes close. Set inside a former IKEA, this North London behemoth holds up to 15,000 people across multiple rooms and levels, a warehouse playground built for getting blissfully lost. By 5 p.m., the place is already buzzing, its vast main halls filling with bodies, bass and that unmistakable rave electricity. Need to catch your breath? Spotify’s on-site lounge offers a welcome reset, and there’s a special Drumsheds destination on Spotify itself, complete with curated event playlists so you can revisit any sets you missed, or keep the mood going long after you leave. Back in October, Peggy Gou took over the space, captured in all its sweaty, euphoric chaos by photographer Bardha Krasniqi, sealing Drumsheds’ place in London’s rave renaissance. If you’re searching for a spot that channels the raw, charged energy of ’90s warehouse culture, with modern polish and mega-venue ambition, this is it.
Dalston Superstore
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Dalston Superstore is a queer venue in East London that’s served the LGBTQIA+ community for over 12 years. Nightclub, cabaret spot, cafe, gallery and community space, this is a unique venue for anyone and everyone. Over the years, Superstore has played host to music heavyweights like Honey Dijon and The Blessed Madonna, alongside residencies at Glastonbury Festival’s Block 9. Upstairs, the bar doubles as a stage, with performers dancing across countertops. Downstairs, the basement is a low-ceilinged, incense-hazed sweatbox where the DJs are heavy, the crowd is locked in and phones stay firmly in pockets (and it keeps going until 4 a.m.). If you find yourself coming back for more, Superstore’s weekend Drag Brunch offers the perfect morning-after ritual, serving up equal parts cure and celebration.
Jumbi
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If you want a Hi-Fi bar that effortlessly dissolves into a dancefloor, Jumbi is your spot. Dedicated to the sounds of the African-Caribbean diaspora, the venue is a passion project from Bradley Zero and Nathanael Colours (of Colour Factory fame). Jumbi’s aesthetic is cool in that unforced, quietly confident way: designed with a bespoke wooden booth that houses the turntables, framed by a vinyl library built from Zero’s personal collection, all available for guests to pull from. The drinks lean heavily into rum, with a growing cocktail list that matches the warmth of the music. According to the website, “Jumbi isn’t a club – it’s a hangout centred around music, food and drink.” It’s the kind of place where you might try and come for one drink, but will end up staying all night.
Venue MOT
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If you’re craving a smaller, sweatier space to fill that Corsica Studios–shaped void, Venue MOT is the one. Hidden away inside an industrial estate in South Bermondsey, this 350-capacity haven is a proper local: intimate, unpolished and fiercely committed to the artists and promoters shaping South East London’s underground. It’s the kind of place you lose yourself in and somehow reemerge from at 7 a.m. (closing time on Saturdays).
TimeOut crowned it the “best club in London,” and after a 10-night residency, Jamie xx praised it as “one of the last places in London that feels genuinely free and DIY.” That spirit is everywhere, from the corrugated-metal smoking area weathered by alleged knife throwing to the regulars who treat the venue like a second home. If you’re lucky, you might even spot Sox, the owner’s 55-kg pitbull, making his rounds and keeping the vibes in check. Venue MOT is London nightlife at its most raw, and that’s exactly what makes it so great.
KOKO Camden
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Once a grand Victorian theatre known as the Camden Palace, KOKO has evolved into one of London’s most iconic concert halls and late–night venues, resurfacing in 2022 after a turbulent few years. Following a 2019 fire, the pandemic and a major wave of investment, the building underwent an extensive restoration, returning it to its theatrical glory. Today, it boasts six bars, a sweeping stage and dancefloor and space for 1,500 people under its ornate balconies.
KOKO’s walls hold serious music history. Prince performed his final London show here in 2015, resulting in a secret, invite-only event held at what was said to be his favorite UK venue. Since reopening, the venue has hosted Rizzle Kicks‘ first reunion show, Olivia Dean’s debut album performance and eclectic sets from DJs like Jayda G and Damian Lazarus. Whether you’re into indie, rock, punk, acid house or electronic, KOKO is a chameleon of a venue. One look at the lineup and you’ll almost certainly find something calling your name.
Dalston Jazz Bar
Dalston Jazz Bar is the definition of a local institution. First opening 25 years ago by Robert Beckford, it’s planted in Dalston’s jazz micro-district alongside Vortex and Servants Jazz Quarters. It’s the kind of spot you could stroll past without noticing, if not for the sound of a saxophone coming through its fogged-up windows. With vintage signage stacked above the door and zero pretence inside, it’s charmingly understated.
The evening starts with two dinner sittings and a seafood-led menu, though “menu” is generous. Dishes depend entirely on whatever the chef deems fresh at the market that morning, and you won’t order a thing; plates simply arrive until you say stop. There’s no bill, either; you pay what you think is fair. Alongside the food, a jazz band is tightly packed into the corner just feet away. Once dinner wraps, the tables are pushed aside, the chef/owner/DJ swaps his apron for the decks and the whole place transforms into a sweaty club. The soundtrack can be anything from pop to reggae, but there are no requests, so just surrender to whatever comes next.
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