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Talk of London’s dwindling nightlife is rife these days. There are fewer and fewer places staying open from sundown to sunrise, the city was declared the worst in the UK for a party and recent stats showed that half of all Londoners are in bed by midnight, because there’s nowhere else to go.
While all of that might be disillusioning, we’re here to let you know that London nightlife is far from dead yet. Our city still has some of the best places in the world for dancing all night long, so long as you know where to look.
Our newly updated list of London’s greatest nightclubs features a whopping 40 venues across north, south, east and west that offer outstanding programmes, excellent sound systems and a proper good night out. For 2025, we’ve chosen one club that represents the crème de la crème. And it stays open ’til 6am.
Time Out’s number one club in London for 2025 is none other than Venue MOT Unit 18 in Bermondsey. Our deputy editor and resident nightlife expert Chiara Wilkinson, said: ‘Why is MOT the best club in London? It’s hard to put into words. Sure, it’s not the easiest to get to and it doesn’t have the biggest dancefloor or the glitziest DJ bookings. But it does do everything a good underground club should do: it closes late, it champions young promoters and nurtures new scenes, it has a banging sound system and just generally has an exciting vibe with a spirited crowd who are there for the culture. London nightlife at its finest.’
In second place is FOLD in Canning Town, ranked for its variety of techno and house parties and its iconic queer-focused Sunday day party, UnFOLD. FOLD was followed by Peckham’s The Carpet Shop in third place. Doubling up as a taco restaurant during the day, The Carpet Shop is a ‘small DIY-feeling no-frills space’ with nights offering everything from psytrance to Italo disco.
Check out the full list of London’s greatest clubs here.
Want more of the city’s finest? This is officially the best bookshop in London and this London pizza is officially one of the most delicious in the world, according to Time Out.
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