The best clubs and lounges in NYC

This raging East Williamsburg venue complex features the massive outdoor Brooklyn Mirage sanctuary and a pair of plush indoor rooms: a 15,000-square-foot Great Hall and cozier Kings Hall, that still has a 800 person capacity. You'll see some of the biggest artists in the electronic dance music scene in the open-air Brooklyn Mirage during the summer month, and then keep the party going all year round in the interior spaces which have also hosted heavy-hitters like Jamie Jones, Fisher, Gramatik and Aphex Twin. Don’t miss the immersive projection mapping visuals in both the indoor and outdoor areas.

This hi-fi watering hole boasts three rooms: a lively space for mingling in big booths and listening to vinyl, an airy café with an all-plant-based menu and a back joint that feels like a hypnotic Berlin club for dancing the night away. The beverage program also centers on cocktails concocted from homemade, healthy tonics, and some are also nonalcoholic like the sauce-free blood-orange celery soda or the coconut-water chamomile. We love a nightlife option that leaves you feeling fresh the next day—especially if you don't arrive home until the early morning.

With its top-flight sound system, sophisticated menu and deeply chill vibes, Nowadays is a slice of Neverland for club kids. Opened by Mister Saturday Night cofounders Eamon Harkin and Justin Carter, Nowadays’ ample outdoor space is the home of its day-party incarnation Mister Sunday and the Ridgewood Market as well as a regular slate of readings and discussions. A 5,000-square-foot indoor venue was unveiled earlier this year, so now DJs can spin harder stuff into the wee hours for those who still haven’t adopted grown-up schedules.

Megaclub scale meets Bushwick style in this sprawling entertainment complex tucked away in a burgeoning nightlife district off the Jefferson Avenue strip. The big room fits 700 peeps and boasts a sensory-overloading laser-and-LED light show. And the talent’s decidedly left of the dial, featuring indie-rockers and DJs with a foot still in the underground as well as all-nighters, such as the queer Latinx party Papi Juice. Elsewhere also features a smaller side room that offers its own programming, a second space for larger shindigs and a quiet cocktail lounge upstairs, plus a spacious rooftop deck.

This Bushwick music venue features a state-of-the-art sound system, technicolored lighting, wall decals inspired by mosques and a sunken dance floor. It's a hotspot for both live shows and DJ sets, influenced by global sounds. Plus, it's attached to the kitschy Wisconsin supper club, Turk’s Inn, so you can grab a good meal before dancing all night. 

When you picture a gay bar, there’s probably a very specific set of details that come to mind: cheap, strong drinks served in plastic cups, a sticky dance floor and, more likely than not, a bathroom that looks straight out of an apocalypse film. 

Thanks to ANIMAL, a new queer bar at 307 Meeker Avenue in Greenpoint, we finally have a queer bar that is a little more elevated. On the menu you’ll find classics like the Negroni, Cosmo and Old Fashioned, as well as specialty concoctions like the Animal Spritz (St. Agrestis Paradiso, sparkling wine, soda) and the Animal Mezcal Marg (Mal Bien espadín, house orange liqueur, lime). A wide selection of beers, wines and non-alcoholic cocktails and ales is also on offer. And yes, there's a dance floor.

Amid the handful of both legit and underground DIY venues popping up (and vanishing just as quickly) in Brooklyn, Black Flamingo appears to be here to stay. The chill two-level location opened its doors quietly in 2015, but partiers quickly adopted the restaurant-bar-nightclub, and for good reason: David Shapiro and Etan Fraiman of Battery Harris, Eli Goldstein of Soul Clap, Philipp Jung of M.A.N.D.Y., Gadi Mizrahi of Wolf + Lamb and creative partner, Bryce David, are all scene veterans behind the venue, which serves food upstairs while hosting excellent DJs downstairs and go-to parties like Kaviar Disco Club in the warm, wood-crafted den. You won't find any overpriced cover, bottle service or obnoxious doorman here.

There was a time when Williamsburg was what some people called “up-and-coming,” and if it was ever that, then these days it often feels like it's got up and left. But New York nightlife staples Eli Escobar and Rafael Ohayon have breathed much-needed new life into the neighborhood with Gabriela, a bar they named after a beloved friend who passed away.

The attention to detail and love poured into the venue is evident throughout the space—everyone involved in creating the space are people both Escobar and Ohayon have known for years. The DJs, who are always top-notch, play a mix of deep house, rnb and disco.

Well, it’s a few rooms, actually. Designed with the DJs in mind, the main one has a perfectly placed booth, a solid sound system, an expansive dance floor and a small stage for performances. Another space has a massive square bar, while a smaller spot—the Bad Room—houses a wall of vinyl and another DJ setup for more tunes. Embraced by night owls over its four years in Greenpoint, the club is home to Joshua D. Houtkin and David R. Pianka’s FIXED affair, among other popular soirees.

Located below the already-massive Knockdown Center, Basement fashions a no-nonsense techno venue out of a network of brick tunnels once used to heat the glass-factory–cum–event-space. Self-described as an "industrial catacomb," the venue is accessible via a separate entrance from its above ground sister venue.

In recent years, Bushwick has quickly become a queer paradise, with bars like the Rosemont and the Deep End throwing bashes every night, and the Bushwig festival rising in prominence year by year. And with the June 2018 opening of this double-trouble nightlife hub, the neighborhood may be embarking on a new golden age. Enjoy drinks in the lovely Americana bar 3 Dollar Bill, which features shows and events like Sunday BBQ parties; then head to Sutherland, the fabulous warehouse space in the back of the venue, for thumping dance parties every night guided by sound systems inherited from venues like the Roseland Ballroom. Some of the best drag performers and DJs in the city have begun their takeovers of the new spot; get in early and join the community.

Decked out in surprisingly convincing ’70s decor, this Brooklyn lounge puts its sizeable performance space to a diverse number of uses: the eclectic calendar of live music and DJ sets ranges from groovy funk combos to blippy synth-pop acts, not to mention bingo and burlesque nights. Regardless of what you stumble upon, though, you’ll find plenty of dance space available for showcasing your latest moves. 

Intrepid local booker Todd P, the granddaddy of the Brooklyn DIY scene, oversees this show space and community hub in the Silent Barn's former digs. Booking comes courtesy of various local tastemakers, including plenty of weekday parties in the basement. Expect eclectic music and laid-back friendly crowds. 

On weekend nights, this particular newsstand transforms into a portal to another world, glowing with rainbow-neon lights, operated by people in leather bodysuits and masks. From the outside, the newsstand is the only clue that there is a lot more going on in this unassuming corner of midtown Manhattan. A couple of doors down, full of psychedelic sculptures, karaoke booths, and burlesque dancers, is one of New York’s most unique new clubs: The Stranger. Created by the owners of The Box and known on TikTok as Joe Jonas’ favorite club, The Stranger doesn’t give away too much online. On Google, it shows up labeled as a “coffee stand.” Its Instagram has only one photo, and its website has little but the page to buy tickets.