Anyone who has been going out in London for as long as I have (one thousand years) will know that queer nightlife is always changing in the capital. When I first started going out as a teenager, scuzzy late-night bars like The Joiners Arms (RIP) and The George and Dragon (also RIP) in Hackney were king, while G-A-Y Late in Soho (also RIP) was where you went if you wanted alien green shots for £2.50 on a weeknight.

The 2010s saw a huge decline in queer spaces across the city (from 2006 to 2017, the number of LGBTQ+ clubs, bars and performance spaces in London dropped by more than 50 per cent), mostly due to the usual suspects: gentrification, rising rents, a generation who went out less than their predecessors. Throw a pandemic into the mix and, for a long time, it looked as though queer nightlife might become a thing of the past. “People used to party IRL!” I imagined saying in the future. “Sure grandma, let’s get you to bed.”

But in 2025, I’m actually feeling positive. Gloomy stats aside, down on the ground, queer nightlife hasn’t felt this exciting in ages. The other night, I went to three queer bars within the space of three hours – Dalston Superstore, The Divine and Roses of Elagabalus – the nightlife equivalent of an all-you-can-eat buffet. And, as people with more stamina than myself tell me, roving LGBTQ+ club nights are now a dime a dozen, with an uptick in nights for QTBIPOC (queer, trans, black, indigenous and people of colour). To that end, this pride month, here’s an uplifting guide to queer clubbing.

Goldie Saloon

I can’t tell you how much I love this bar. Cocktails? Never-ending lesbians? Places to sit?! And it’s not even in a basement like most sapphic locales. If only Goldie Saloon existed when I was 21 years old – but hey, it’s still fun some 10 years later. Based in Hackney, this bar slash “big FLINTA*-gay living room” is perfect for low-key nights with the girls, and dates. It’s also open for breakfast, brunch and the rest.

Dalston Superstore

Dalston Superstore needs no introduction, really, but any list would be incomplete without it. The LGBTQ+ bar and brunch spot, which first opened its doors in 2009 at a time when other clubs were closing, is a lot of peoples’ favourite for a reason (cheapish drinks, excellent music, a perfect variety of nights). It might look like a corridor when you first walk in, but there are enough nooks, crannies and hidden levels that it’s more like a big queer maze. The best thing about Superstore, arguably the GOAT of all Dalston bars? You can have an insane night there and then, a few hours later, return for some waffles and a Bloody Mary.

La Camionera

If you like your bars chill with a side of lesbian, then look no further than La Camionera, a Homerton-based cocktail bar and tapas joint (with an outside smoking area that is flirtier than any speed-dating event) that opened last year following a big crowdfunder that reached more than £80,000. “La Cam, as it’s affectionately known, isn’t all rowdy parties,” wrote Zing Tsjeng when she visited the bar for British Vogue’s November issue. “You can just as easily nip in for a coffee in the day or tuck into some biodynamic orange wine and a plate of funky, deep-fried anchovies and pickles (“gross but sexy”, in founder Alex Loveless’s words) by night.

The Divine

When legendary LGBTQ+ club The Glory shuttered its doors in 2024 due to redevelopment, it felt like a blow to the East London drag scene. That was until the owners opened The Divine in a bigger, bolder venue just a few bus stops up the road in Dalston. Now, The Divine – an LGBTQ+ club, venue and performance space – is a mainstay of the “genre”. Think: lots of dry ice, endless dancefloor bangers and some of the weirdest, wildest performances you’ve ever seen. It’s also open until 2.30am on a Friday and 3am on a Saturday, which is always a big plus.

Retro Bar

Full disclosure: Retro Bar – which has been a pub since the 17th century, although not a gay pub obviously; that didn’t happen until the ’90s – is right around the corner from the British Vogue office in the West End, and is a long-time favourite among my colleagues (if someone doesn’t have their leaving drinks at Retro Bar, did they really leave at all?). It’s easy to see why this old-school gem is so beloved – wildly cheap drinks, a fairy light-strewn gallery wall and a very eclectic jukebox… it’s the sort of bar we rarely get anymore, in this overly polished age. The only downside is that it closes at 11pm.

Suzio

Experimental queer Latinx night Suzio – founded by musicians Baby Cocada and Marissa / Manuka Honey – is just as hedonistic as it is fashion-forward, which is why it’s a big favourite here at Vogue HQ. Think: back-to-back baddies on the decks, everyone wearing rubbery bikinis to the club and plenty of sweat. “There’s a whole new generation of ravers throwing iconic events and innovating culture,” Manuka Honey told me earlier this year for the June issue. Rumour has it that model Alex Consani is a dance-floor regular.

Club Stamina

When I did a shout-out in the office for the best new queer club nights, Acting Fashion Features editor Mahoro Seward immediately brought up Club Stamina, one the capital’s most zeitgeisty raves (DJ and stylist Mina Galán, who founded it, recently opened for Addison Rae). “In less than 12 months, the party has grown from a happenstance shindig to a regular party with a feverish cult following among London’s creative and queer milieux,” Mahoro wrote back in December, after a sweaty night in London Bridge, “earning a particular reputation as a joyous haven for trans club-goers and connoisseurs of progressive Latin club sounds.”

Club Are

The most recent Club Are I went to was possibly one of the funnest parties I’ve attended in some time. It takes place during the day on a Saturday in a new build complex in the Olympic Park that also houses a Breakfast Club and a Madrí-sponsored beer garden – my friend thought I’d punked her when her Uber dropped her off. Nevertheless, it really is one of the best dances out there. The crowd is resplendently, gorgeously queer – think the total inverse of the homogeneous Vauxhall cis muscle gay cohorts you’ll find dominating dancefloors across town – and there’s always such buoyant, joyful energy. That’s reflected in the music, which largely gears around high-energy prog house and blarey trance, though tends to progress towards a full techno stomp towards the end. As for the looks, the crowd turns them out, for sure, though if there’s one thing to dress for, it’s to sweat. – Mahoro Seward.

Bootylicious

“London’s longest-running party for QTBIPOC people and allies” is quite a crown but Bootylicious wears it. With nights everywhere from Vauxhall to Embankment, legendary club night Bootylicious is for queer people of colour and fans of Afrobeats, Amapiano, dancehall, trap, garage and R&B. “This isn’t a club to disappear into with your mates,” wrote British Vogue’s Amel Mukhtar after heading down in 2023. “There’s no separation between groups. The dance floor pulses as one.”

UnFold

Over its three or so years running, UnFold has become something of a London queer scene institution, recently celebrating its 100th edition at the end of May. Taking place bi-weekly on Sunday afternoons and evenings (with the occasional 24-hour bender when it falls on a bank holiday weekend), the Canning Town club night is as close as you can get to a Berlin-style party without having to deal with EasyJet. Taking place at Fold, this is one for those who like it dark, fast and hard – the music, that is!

Techno dominates, but it’s generally a more progressive, eclectic and fun approach to the genre than your dated, 2015-Berghain-era “untz-untz”. In terms of vibe, it’s relatively hedonistic, though not darkly so – I know as many people who go totally sober as who indulge – and it’s a pretty charged energy, though not overly cruisey. While it isn’t explicitly a queer night, per se, the crowd is queer-dominated and you’ll see CSM scene divas, harness-clad human pups and audiophile nerds all thrashing it out to the megawatt soundsystem in harmony. If you’re looking to hit your step count and then some, this is one for you. – Mahoro Seward.