Spin the Night Out
| MARKETPLACE 11 Market Place, W1 (020-7079 2020). Mon-Wed 11am-midnight, Thur-Sat 11am-1am, Sun 1pm-10.30pm. It may look like a pine-clad Swedish sauna, and a sign above the door does promise ‘stress relieved here’, but the hottest thing about this place are the funky punters who enjoy nightly DJing sessions in the basement bar. Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food makes up a well-selected menu and cocktails start at a reasonable Ј6. |
RUBY-LO 1 Orchard Street, W1 (020-7486 3671). Tue-Sat 4pm-2am. Just around the corner from Selfridges, sits this big basement bar that’s carving itself out a reputation for quality DJ nights. Hip-hop is popular with the best party being the monthly Slick sessions which have seen impromptu appearances by Mos Def and Tim Westwood. |
| ATLANTIC BAR AND GRILL 20 Glasshouse Street, W1 (020-7734 4888). Mon-Sat 12pm-3am. The Atlantic still attracts a dressed-up crowd to its two stately rooms. These Art Deco surroundings play host to DJs who provide the soundtrack to an evening of cocktails, conversation and gentle grooving. |
FREEDOM 60-66 Wardour Street, W1 (020-7734 0071). Mon-Wed 4pm-3am, Thur, Fri & Sat 1pm-3am, Sun 1pm-10.30pm. Best known as a gay bar, Freedom is friendly enough to welcome like-minded party types of all sexual persuasions. Funky house grooves get the crowd moving in the tightly packed basement bar while upstairs, a calmer air prevails as punters gaze upon the streetlife of night-time Soho. |
| AKA 18 West Central Street, WC1 (020-7836 0110). Mon-Fri 6pm-3am, Sat 7pm-7am, Sun 9pm-4am. The scene of much messiness over the years, AKA still provides a top night out for London’s dance-music lovers. As the sister bar to The End nightclub (next door), this two-floored industrial space often sees top DJs do a warm-up set here before moving into the club. With exclusive residencies from Sancho Panza and funky house legend Mousse T, it’s a safe bet for a storming night. |
ROADHOUSE 35 The Piazza, Covent Garden, WC2 (020 7240 6001). Mon-Sat 5.30pm-3am, last Sun of every month 1pm-1am. An unashamedly cheesy basement bar where snogging strangers, slurping shooters and yelling over the booming music is all part of the fun. The theme is Fifties Americana and bartenders add to the sense of theatre with their Tom Cruise style bottle-throwing flair. Happy hour from 5.30pm-8.30pm sees some of the best drink deals you’ll find in the West End. |
| MONKEY CHEWS 2 Queens Crescent, NW5 (020-7267 6406). Mon-Thur 5pm-11pm, Fri 5pm-12am, Sat 12pm-12am, Sun 12pm-10.30pm Less well known that its nearby Camden counterparts, this Chalk Farm DJ bar is an undiscovered gem. Leather sofas, flickering candles, decent gastro grub and a bohemian air attracts a young crowd who wig out to the weekend DJs, safe in the knowledge that their bar isn’t going to be overrun by Camden tourists. |
THE DOGSTAR 389 Coldharbour Lane, SW9 (020-7733 7515). Mon-Thur, Sun noon-2am, Fri & Sat noon-4am. The original Brixton DJ bar may be looking a little rough around the edges these days but it still provides a giddy and super-friendly night out. Depending on the night, you might hear hip-hop, house, retro pop or drum’n’bass, all pumped out of the bar’s famously beefy sound system. |
| BRIXTON BAR AND GRILL 15 Atlantic Road, SW9 (020-7737 6777). Tue & Wed 4.30pm-midnight, Thur 4.30pm-1am, Fri & Sat 4.30pm-2am, Sun 2pm-10.30pm. A DJ bar that serves exquisite bar snacks and cracking wines by the glass. Clubbers looking for a bit of a boogie but who also like the finer things in life are well served by this trendy new Brixton bar. Fridays and Saturdays see a selection of guest DJs play. |
THE S BAR 37 Battersea Bridge Road, SW11 (020-7223 3322) Mon-Wed, noon-11pm, Thur, Fri & Sat noon-midnight, Sun noon-10.30pm. Recently refurbished, Battersea’s latest style-bar comes complete with comfy sofas, cocktails, live music during the week and three bars available for hire. The weekend serves up DJs playing an eclectic mix of funky house, Latin grooves and jazzy beats. |
| PLAN B 418 Brixton Road, SW9 (020-7733 0926). Wed 5pm-2am, Thur 5pm-3am, Fri 5pm-4am, Sat 6pm-4am, Sun 6pm-3am. Exposed brick, comfy leather booths and fast-serving bar staff make this one of Brixton’s coolest DJ bars. The attitude-free crowd enjoy a mix of music, from Thursday’s breakbeat session to hip hop on a Friday and big house tunes on Saturday. Although busy, the door staff never let it get overwhelmingly packed which means you’re free to throw yourself around a little more on the dancefloor. |
THE WHITE HOUSE 65 Clapham Park Road, SW4 (020-7498 3388). Mon-Wed 5.30pm-2am, Thur-Sat 5.30pm-3am, Sun 5.30pm-1am. The recent addition of a roof terrace has only added to this Clapham bar’s standing as by far and away the best place in the area. Although it’s been open four years, you’d hardly know it by the queues of funkily dressed young things waiting to get in of a weekend evening. Fast service, a decent DJ roster plus the added bonus of a members’ bar and private dining rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floors only add to this swanky venue’s appeal. Manager Jann Roberts, formerly of The Cross, is the perfect host, ensuring the right mix of male and female punters are inside so it never feels like a blokey disco pub. Other similar bars have since opened in the area but the White House remains the daddy, bringing the glamour of West End bars to the well-heeled locals of Clapham. |
| HACKNEY CENTRAL Amhurst Road, E8 (020 8986 5111) Sun-Thur 11am-midnight, Fri 11am-2am, Sat 11am-3am Hackney’s freshest venue is a converted railway station complete with exposed brickwork, crescent windows and good acoustics. There’s a stylish bar and restaurant on the ground floor with the club upstairs. Expect a well-dressed crowd, some excellent drinks and DJs joining the dots between all things urban. |
93 FEET EAST 150 Brick Lane, E1 (020-7247 3293) Mon-Thur 5pm11pm, Fri 5pm-1am, Sat noon-1am, Sun 12pm-10.30pm. Just opposite the Vibe Bar sits another East End institution, a predominantly live music venue during the week which turns more clubby at the weekend as DJs play funk and boogie on Fridays and more dance or hip hop related sounds on Saturday. With its sprawling layout, comfy sofas, beanbags and friendly clientele, it’s more like a memorable house party than a cool club and all the better for that. |
| LEGION 348 Old Street, EC1 (020-7729 4441). Mon-Thur 5pm-midnight, Fri & Sat 5pm-2am, Sun 1pm-10.30pm. With an irony-laden nod to working men’s clubs, this Shoreditch bar attracts drinkers who appreciate real ales, proper pies and d'cor that includes a stag’s head and a working piano (Chas’n’Dave are rumoured to appear soon). Fridays are the stand-out night with eclectic beat technicians the Psychonauts keeping the crowd moving. |
VIBE BAR The Old Truman Brewery 91-95 Brick Lane, E1 (020-7377 2899). Sun-Thur 11am-11.30pm, Fri & Sat 11am-1am. Absolutely heaving every weekend, this Brick Lane institution sits on the site of a former brewery and includes an open air terrace where, come summer, you’ll find punters dancing on every available flat space. Inside top DJs crank out eclectic fat beats. |
| LEGION 348 Old Street, EC1 (020-7729 4441). Mon-Thur 5pm-midnight, Fri & Sat 5pm-2am, Sun 1pm-10.30pm. With an irony-laden nod to working men’s clubs, this Shoreditch bar attracts drinkers who appreciate real ales, proper pies and d'cor that includes a stag’s head and a working piano (Chas’n’Dave are rumoured to appear soon). Fridays are the stand-out night with eclectic beat technicians the Psychonauts keeping the crowd moving. |
GINGLIK 1 Shepherds Bush Green, W12 (020-8749 2310) Mon-Sat 5pm-midnight, Sun 5pm-11.30pm. Ginglik is a three-room cosy bunker bar with a friendly atmosphere and killer cocktails. UV light sculptures and video art installations line the walls while aural treats are supplied by DJs from the cooler end of dance music, such as Rephlex Records and breakbeat maestro Tipper. |
| CHERRY JAM 58 Porchester Road, W2 (020-7727 9950). Mon-Sat 7pm-2am, Sun 6pm-12.30am. Despite its odd location just around the corner from Royal Oak tube, Cherry Jam still packs them in at the weekend. The lower dancefloor and stage is where the action is at, with rotating guest DJs spinning funky and deep house for a discerning, older clientele. |
THE BIG CHILL Dray Walk, off Brick Lane, E1 (020-7932 9180). Mon-Sat noon-midnight, Sun noon-11.30pm. The annual festival of indolence and electronica has finally spawned its first permanent home and, unsurprisingly, it’s a cracker. With the obligatory comfy sofas, communal dining tables, walls packed with art and an outside space for sunny afternoon drinking, this new bar looks set to be a favourite destination for the lovely types who attend the annual festival, plus anyone else whose attitude fits the relaxed ethos. DJs such as Mixmaster Morris play downtempo tunes every night of the week, ranging from jazz and slow funk to loungedelica and, they claim, ‘random aural sequins’. We have no idea what the latter means but the people in their office are so chilled and nice, we didn’t have the heart to ask. Incidentally, if you’re looking for somewhere different to hold your Christmas party this year, the bar does a tasty-looking three course menu for December at a reasonable Ј23.50 per head. Visit the bar, go to their festival and buy their CD because lovely types like this are all too rare in the nightlife business and we should really encourage them. |
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