As many of you know my
London life was pretty crazy, in a good way. I spent my days at work, and then by night I would be at exclusive events and partying until 5am. One of the main reasons I decided to move to Australia was to have a more chilled out lifestyle so I didn’t burn out. I’ve written plenty of posts before about my favourite nightclubs in various cities, and I even used to do full-on
nightclub reviews (sometimes I still do if it’s good enough), so I thought it was time to write a city nightclub guide I could do in my sleep (or in a drunken state?).
My Top 5 Luxury London Nightclubs is an easy one for me, as there were a handful that I used to frequent on a weekly or bi-monthly basis I loved them so much. You may have seen them mentioned before in numerous monthly updates (who am I kidding, basically every monthly update), or in bigger things like
friend’s birthdays.
1. Cuckoo Club
Cuckoo Club is without a doubt my favourite club in London. It’s a tough one because there isn’t really a dance floor on the upper level where the hip-hop music is, you have to sort of crowd around tables to dance, but it’s SO worth it. Out of all the times I’ve been I’ve only had one bad night there, every other time I’ve had the most epic time ever. Friday night’s are my favourites, but Saturday’s are good too.
The upstairs is mainly hip-hop, and downstairs is House. Downstairs is super cool as it’s decorated like a garden, and has a huge dance floor, but I just can’t stand those buzzing thumping beats, it hurts my ears. And you just can’t dance to that stuff.
Cuckoo is a members-only club so you have to be on a guestlist to get in, drop me an email on catherine@luxlife-blog.com to get on a guestlist.
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2. Cirque le Soir
Cirque le Soir is another favourite of
mine. The first time I went I hated it, but then I kept going and every time I went it got better and better. Adam and I went on my last weekend in London, and they’d brought the ball pit back just in time for me to have a go before I left! It’s a super awesome club; the music is always incredible (hip-hip and mainstream), and the space is really spacious for dancing. There’s also a cool playground area with the ball-pit, a photobooth, a shop, and various things you can pose for photos with.
There are also regular acts and shows, with dancers and fire-breathers being the most popular. Cirque is dirty AF and everything has a very sexual element, but it’s a lot of fun. Just maybe don’t go if you’re a little prudish 😉 My mum got offended just by people dancing on the tables at Archer Street, so this is definitely not one for her, haha.
Cirque is notoriously difficult to get into, always keep a £10 or £20 note on you just in case you have to pay (I find it depends on who is on the door, sometimes I get in for free, sometimes they make me pay £10. Guys always pay £20, sometimes some girls do too). Dress to impress, and try and make sure you get on a decent promoter’s list, or again, drop me an email and I might be able to help point you in the right direction; catherine@luxlife-blog.com.
Cirque le Soir, 15-21 Ganton St, Carnaby, London W1F 9BN, UK
3. Tape
I’ve only been to
Tape a few times as it only opened towards the end of 2015, but every time I’ve been I’ve had the best time! Again they play hip-hop (can you tell what kind of music I like yet? :P), and my favourite night to go is a Saturday night. As well as
Tape there’s also Little Tape, which is the private member’s club part. I’ve been to Little Tape once, and bumped into One Direction, James Corden, and Jimmy Carr in there! Little Tape is awesome, but the main Tape nightclub is still epic and heaps of fun.
Tape, 17 Hanover Square, Mayfair, London W1S 1HU, UK
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4. Home House
Now, this one I’m afraid you can only get in if you’re a member of
Home House or friends with a member. But the nightclub at
Home House is ah-mazing. If you ever get the chance to go, GO. Trust me. Every time I go I have the BEST time. I’ve been quite a few times over the past coupla years and have never had a bad night there.
Home House, 20 Portman Square, Marylebone, London W1H 6LW
5. Roof Gardens
Roof Gardens was one of the very first nightclubs I went to in London, back in 2012 when I was 20. They have an ‘Over 21’s’ policy, but they overlooked it as I went with a friend who was a member. I’ve been there so many times I’ve lost count, during the day and night, and it’s always A LOT of fun. They mainly play mainstream music, but the whole club is just super classy and fun and I love the outdoor areas.
So many times I’ve sat outside rugged up under the blankets with friends and drunkenly discussed all sorts while people danced inside. I even had my 24th birthday there (and then a second 24th birthday there after they messed up the first time – don’t get me wrong, I had a great time, just a large number of my guests didn’t as they messed up the drinks). Oh, and they have a live saxophone player.
Roof Gardens, 99 Kensington High St, Kensington, London W8 5SA
6. Archer Street
Ok, so
Archer Street is not a traditional ‘club’, it’s actually a really classy bar that closes at 2am. But I had to include it as it’s one of my favourite places. I’ve been going regularly since it opened in 2012, and even though they’ve become a bit dick-ish about entry since they got all popular (you now need a reservation, or you can enter after 9pm depending on how busy they are), I still love them. It’s basically a bar that turns into a dance party, and all the staff sing and dance on the tables, and when they’re not singing and dancing on the tables you can instead. It’s amazing. I had
my twenty third birthday there.
Go on a Friday night when DJ Daza is playing, and you’ll have a night of 90’s and 80’s pop classics. Don’t forget to ask for Steps One For Sorrow, and jump up on the table with DJ Dazza when he does the dance and do me proud (but only if you know the dance obvs, don’t embarrass me please). Also make sure you stay until the very end, as they play Proud Mary and it’s just the best.
If you’re too cool for the
90s pop classics, head downstairs to the underground bar and club for something a little edgier.
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Archer Street, 3-4 Archer St, Soho, London W1D 7AP
7. Raffles
Ah
Raffles. I haven’t been for a year or two now, but I can’t have a London nightclub list without it. In my Chelsea early-twenties party days before I upgraded to Mayfair, Raffles was the club we
always used to end up in! There’s a reason it’s been around for decades, you’re guaranteed a good time. Again it’s a members club, so make sure you find a promoter and get on a guestlist, or see if any of your friends are members.
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Raffles, 287 King’s Rd, Chelsea, London SW3 5EW
The trick with any kind of members club is for each of your friends to have a different membership, so you have them all covered. Personally I have membership cards for Beaver Lodge and Barts in Chelsea, and I used to have one for Ramusake before they closed down last year. Then I have friends with memberships at Raffles, Roof Gardens, and Home House etc. Of course we have our old school members clubs memberships too, but those are very different to nightclubs. Our old school members clubs only have an event every month or two, so we need the nightclubs for the weeks around those 😉
What’s your favourite luxury nightclub in London?
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Many of my favourites here too. I always loved Roof Gardens cos it's unique! I had my birthday there one year and also my hen do!
Archer Street is so much fun, I've been for Disney Hour before and it was brilliant!
I'm so glad Cuckoo Club is on here!! I've only been once but it was the BEST night… now just to get on the guestlist 😀
Jodie x
alajode.com
I remember the first time my friends and I went Cuckoo Club and it was uh-maaazing. We even went all out and hired a luxury chauffeur service to get us there and back – so worth it and would recommend checking it out https://www.llccars.co.uk/