Clubs in Camden: where to dance on a Friday and Saturday night
£3 into the Electric Ballroom, £7 for rock anthems under the World's End, house at KOKO and Soul City at the Jazz Cafe. Camden's club nights, by music, mostly running to 03:00.
By Only Camden Editorial
Camden clubbing is a Friday and Saturday thing, it mostly runs to 03:00, and it is cheaper than you think: £3 gets you into the Electric Ballroom on a Saturday if you book early, and £7 gets you into the Underworld. KOKO is where to go for big name DJs. The Jazz Cafe is where to go for soul and house. Here is the map, by music.
House, disco and techno: KOKO, 1a Camden High Street
KOKO has been a club since the Camden Palace days of the 1980s, when it was a New Romantic stronghold. Today it runs gigs in the week and KOKO Electronic on Fridays and Saturdays, with top DJs and a late finish. The current season runs from disco and acid house parties to headline house DJs, and plenty of nights sell out, so buy ahead. Mornington Crescent is the closest Tube. It is the best looking room on this list: a restored 1900 theatre with the tiers stacked over the floor.
Party anthems: the Electric Ballroom, 184 Camden High Street
The Electric Ballroom has two dance floors and four bars, and regular club nights on Fridays and Saturdays. Saturday is now LOOP, a weekly night of party anthems, house, R&B and throwbacks from 23:00 to 03:00, last entry 02:00, 18 and over. Tickets start at £3 through the promoter. It is a big student and birthday crowd, with confetti cannons and inflatables, and it does not pretend to be anything else. Camden Town station is next door.
Rock, metal and indie: the Underworld, 174 Camden High Street
Under the World's End, opposite the station, the Underworld turns from gig venue to club at 23:00 on Fridays and Saturdays and runs to 03:00. Friday is Blackout Club, billed as Camden Town's biggest weekly alt rock night: alternative, rock, metal and indie anthems from Arctic Monkeys and Foo Fighters to Linkin Park and The Prodigy. Saturday is Camden Rocks Club, with Biffy Clyro, Kasabian, Paramore and Blur on the playlist. Both are £7 plus a £1 fee in advance, which guarantees entry, and both are 18 and over. No tracksuits; trainers are fine. For a rock night, this is the one.
Soul, hip hop and house: the Jazz Cafe, 5 Parkway
When the band finishes at 22:30, the Jazz Cafe clears the floor for the club. Every Friday its resident DJs play club sounds from around the world, with regular hip hop and R&B nights; every Saturday Soul City takes over with house music all night. Tickets run from free to £12.50, and Saturdays start from £5. It is 22:30 to 03:00 and 18 and over. Groups of eight or more can book a mezzanine area overlooking the dancefloor, with fast track entry.
Soul and Motown with a band: the Blues Kitchen, 111 to 113 Camden High Street
A Saturday at the Blues Kitchen is three live sets of soul, Motown, R&B and neo soul, with DJs from 21:00 until 03:00. It is free before 20:00, then £10, with limited £6 early tickets. If you want a live band and a dancefloor in the same room, this is the move. Saturdays sell out, so book.
Indie and themed nights: the Barfly, 49 Chalk Farm Road
The Barfly came back under its old name in June, and the new owners pitched it as a day time pub that becomes a late night club space. Alongside gigs upstairs, its listings run indie club nights from the Propaganda team, plus themed parties such as a Broadway show tunes rave and a Buffy the Vampire Slayer night. Check what is on before you walk up Chalk Farm Road: the themes change week to week.
Club nights by the Lock: Dingwalls
Dingwalls at Camden Lock runs its own club nights between gigs, Club de Fromage among them, and the Lock 17 and Terrace bar does DJs too. It has history as a club as well: in the early 1990s Gilles Peterson and Patrick Forge ran their jazz dance club, Talkin' Loud and Saying Something, here.
After the bands: the Dublin Castle
Not a club, but worth knowing: the Dublin Castle on Parkway has DJs after the bands every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so the night does not have to end when the last act does.
The quick guide
- Cheapest: LOOP at the Electric Ballroom, from £3.
- Best for rock: Blackout Club or Camden Rocks Club at the Underworld, £7.
- Best for house and disco: KOKO Electronic.
- Best for soul: Soul City at the Jazz Cafe on a Saturday.
- Best with a live band: the Blues Kitchen on a Saturday.
- Getting home: Camden Town is on the Night Tube, with late buses outside.
Bring ID: most of these nights are 18 and over. Promoters change nights, so check the venue's own listing before you go.
