PRIDE: London’s best LGBTQ+ clubs & nights out
London’s hottest LGBTQ+ club nights
Welcome to the fabulous, frenetic world that is London’s LGBTQ+ nightlife. What was once limited to a small enclave within Soho now runs riot on every corner and street of the capital come sundown. As well as some awesome LGBTQ+-owned businesses, the city has a glorious spectrum of queer-friendly venues where glitter flies and inhibitions die. And because gatekeeping is so not our thing, here’s where you can find the city’s best LGBTQ+ clubs and nights out.
NIGHT OUT — Queer Bruk
London’s duttiest Black Queer night (their words, not ours) packs in an absolute banging mix of dancehall, afrobeats, soca, and house music. Regularly seen at the likes of Southbank Centre, Metropolis and Peckham Levels, this QTIPOC club night shines a light on the capital’s queer Afro-Caribbean community, creating a safe space to express black sexuality, ethnicity, gender and fluidities.
CLUB — Electrowerkz
A legend of London’s goth, fetish, cyber and leather scene, Electrowerkz runs on a ‘everyone is welcome’ policy. Hosting everything from old-school bear nights to queer art raves, its line-up of alternative parties entices any and all who want something darker on night’s out. The dress code? Whatever your wildest imaginations can dream up, so go big or go home.
NIGHT OUT — Feel It
The brainchild of Jodie Harsh and Little Gay Brother is just as loud and supersized as its creators. As a sea of sequin, lace and leather descends on Omeara every Friday, a mix of big beats and bubble-gum pop are pumped out until the early hours of the morning. If you’re staying until close, expect to see your fair share of skin. A go-to venue for those who want to sweat.
CLUB — Royal Vauxhall Tavern
As one of the city’s oldest pleasure palaces, Royal Vauxhall Tavern (RVT) is nothing but iconic. This pub-cum-queer performance venue has hosted everyone from the likes of Freddie Mercury and Princess Di to Lily Savage and Cara Delevingne. Leaning more towards the cabaret and drag scene, it typically attracts a slightly older crowd, with daddies, bears and leather aplenty.
NIGHT OUT — Horse Meat Disco
Never one to take themselves too seriously, Horse Meat Disco has been saying no to the Sunday scaries at Eagle London for over 20 years. Playing everything from punk-funk to discotheque, this all-inclusive queer party sees bears and butch alike descend to the dancefloor. A slick and sexy night out for homos, heteros and anyone who wants to stamp their own style on the club.
CLUB — Dalston Superstore
Serving burgers by day and big beats by night, Dalston Superstore has played home to its fair share of London’s maddest and messiest parties. A pansexual cocktail of eclectic crowds and electric DJs, regularly hosting the likes of Fèmmme Fraîche — a FLINTA-focused club night that’s heavy on house and techno — as well as SorryNotSorry — a monthly dose of everything pop.
What’s on at Dalston Superstore
NIGHT OUT — Butch, Please!
A stalwart of Clapham Grand, Butch, Please! celebrates the full spectrum within the lesbian community. From butch and femmes to non-binary and transgender, each event follows a simple mantra of ‘wear what you like, be nice, have a good time’, with leather parties and future-themed nights held every few months or so. Just don’t bring any cis-male partners and friends: they won’t be allowed in.
CLUB — Ku Bar & Klub
We’d be remiss not to mention at least one club in the city’s OG gay capital. Drag parties, karaoke and all-night pop anthems are Ku Klub’s speciality, with an up-for-it vibe that’s similar to the likes of G-A-Y and Heaven nearby. Beneath the champagne bar, in the low-lit basement, resident DJs let loose with dance remixes that seduce you to stay long after you said you’d leave.
NIGHT OUT — Pxssy Palace
Self-identifying as ‘A SILLY LIL QTBIPOC CLUB NITE’, expect high femme anthems and genre-bending club bangers with this nomadic collective. Celebrating black, brown and people of colour who are women, queer, intersex, trans or non-binary, you’ll find Pxssy Palace popping up across London. The energy is always electric, the outfits are often outrageous, and the dancing never stops.
CLUB — Zodiac Bar and Club
If there’s one club in London who knows what the people want, it’s Zodiac. Karaoke, cabaret, open-mic nights, Pride parties — you name it, they’ve got a night dedicated to it. Tucked between Camden and Soho (and just four stops on the Northern Line from art’otel London Hoxton), the RuPaul’s Drag Race viewing parties every Thursday are a total hoot — not to mention the Drag Bingo afterwards too.
What’s on at Zodiac Bar and Club
NIGHT OUT — Chapter 10
It’s a ‘Go hard or go home’ Matra that makes Chapter 10 so special. A regular at East London’s Colour Factory, their minimalist Instagram contrasts the hot and sweaty night-long raves that the city’s LGBTQ scene just can’t seem to get enough of. Collabs with Jamie XX alongside previous appearances at London Queer Soundsystem Day have only added to the group’s growing reputation. Not for the faint of heart.
CLUB— She Soho
Sister of Ku Bar, & Klub, She Soho serves as the capital’s only dedicated Lesbian bar. Tucked away in the heart of Soho, this intimate basement bar transforms from chilled date spot to pulsating party den as the night progresses. Regular comedy nights and cabaret shows keep the calendar fresh, while weekend club nights pack the dance floor with women spanning every letter of the LGBTQ+ spectrum.
North or south of the river, London shouts loud and proud with LGBTQ+ bars, clubs and events. Whether you end up at art’otel London Battersea Power Station or art’otel London Hoxton after the lights come on, you’ll always come back to a safe space when you stay with us. And don’t worry about rushing to get out of bed the morning after. Breakfast is served until 11:00am and we’ve late checkout available too.
