Dublin Night Clubs
Dublin is regarded by many to be one of the best cities in Europe for a night on the tiles. There are so many great pubs to start your night off in and a host of nightclubs and winebars to carry on partying until the wee hours. There is something going on every night of the week but as with most cities Fridays and Saturdays are when it really rocks.
Nightclubs in Dublin usually open at around 10pm with last orders for drinks around 2.30 am, closing at 3am. Admission prices range from €5 to €15, but can be higher for special events, such as New Years Eve or when a big DJ is playing. Drink prices are generally inflated in nightclubs with prices being up to 50% higher in clubs than in pubs.
Dress codes vary, in the past many venues preferred patrons to wear shoes but this seems to be on the turn with many not even batting an eye lid at those wearing runners/trainers, the best policy would probably be to check in advance. Getting past the bouncers (door staff) in Dublin can sometimes prove to be problematic, in our experience you should have no problems if you are polite and well behaved in the queue, if you are too drunk don't even bother trying. Large groups can attract unwarranted attention from the door staff, we would advise arriving in twos and threes and meeting up inside.
We would recommend carrying some form of official ID if you are lucky enough to look underage.
Dublin Nightclubs:
4 Dame Lane
A cool and trendy multi-story pub with a dance floor on the top floor. Situated just off Dame Street (across the road from Temple Bar) and identified by the two burning chalices on its walls. This is one of THE cool places to drink and we would recommend turning up before 10pm if you want to get a stamp that will allow you to access the top floor as numbers are limited. Several DJs play over the course of the night and it is a good venue to go to if your group want to chat and drink as well as have a bop.
Boomerang
Busy every night of the week due to it being located in the heart of Temple Bar. With this in mind it obviously attracts the Temple Bar crowd which is generally tourists and students. Great place to go for a laugh and to go on the pull.
Club M
Being the home to much of Dublin's commercial dance music and its location smack being in the middle of Temple Bar means that Club M is always popular and extremely busy.
Lillies Bordello
One of THE nightclubs to be seen in, Lillies Bordello (together with Renards, see below) is just off the bottom of Grafton Street and is where the glitz and the glam, the rich and the famous converge to finish a night on the town. Their VIP area is legendary and if you happen to be in Dublin the night of a big gig or match you will not be able to move for celebrities having a good night out. If you want a club with the glitz and glam then this is for you, the door policies will be stricter too though.
POD, Tripod & Crawdaddy
The POD, or Place of Dance, is one of Dublin's best known nightclubs, it is divided into two separate clubs and a bar that features live acts and DJs. It is situated in an old train station on Harcourt Street about ten minutes walk from St. Stephen's Green. POD is in an old train tunnel and has little in the way of decoration, it has hosted some of the worlds finest dance DJs over the years and is considered by many to be Dublin's premium place to dance. Tripod is a newer element to the Pod and features live acts with and intimate crowd of 250 on the floor and 250 in the bar. Crawdaddy is a small and intimate custom built live venue spread across two floors with cinema-style seating on a balcony and a capacity of 300.
Renards
Renards is a 3 floor Bar/Nightclub in the heart of Dublin city that has fast become one of Dublin’s premier night spots. It is the place to be for certain celebrities and people who want to be seen, if this is your scene then look no further. Whether it’s champagne in the exclusive 'Bubble Lounge' or some quality food and a cocktails in 'Renards Café Bar' or you feel like strutting your stuff on the dance floor in 'Plu + Bar', there are three floors of fun in Renards.
Spirit
Spirit is Dublin's biggest nightclub with three floors - Mind, Body & Soul - of the finest dance music available. This is the venue that you are regularly going to find DJs of international repute mixing their stuff at the weekends. During the day Stress Management and Reiki are available between 11am-8pm. Mind is the subterranean level referred to as the Museum of Holistic Healing with scented candles and oils burning. The atmosphere is very relaxed with numerous Holistic treatments taking place. Body is Spirit's main room located on the first floor and is the main dance floor. Body has a mezzanine level with a small exclusive bar and private seating area to relax in. Soul is the ground floor bar area with soulful and funky tunes to lift the spirit and excite the crowd.
Spy Bar & Wax Club
An uber trendy and intimate cocktail bar that is in common ownership with the POD and Tripod (see above). This is the place to go if you want to relax in stylish surroundings whilst sipping the finest cocktails in town. The basement contains Wax which is a small club in its own right and it has some really kicking nights on.
The Sugar Club
Located just off Stephen's Green on Lower Leeson Street The Sugar Club offers something different for the nightclubbers of Dublin. This is part theatre part nightclub and hosts an eclectic choice of excellent live music ranging from Indie Rock, Jazz, Funk, Ska, Blues and Latin with a choice of regular DJ’s, plus comedy and world cinema. Comfort and style are imperative for a quality evening – tiered banquette seating adorned in plush velour, surrounded by beautiful wood-panelled walls come up trumps in this regards. They have a vast bar with an an award-winning cocktail menu that is open late every night the Sugar Club is open.
Traffic
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Located on Abbey Street on the north side a couple of doors up from Spirit (see above) Traffic has a cool bar upstairs and a nightclub in the basement that hosts some of Dublin's most thumping nights. If Hard House and Techno are your scene then this may be the club for you, the bar is also a nice place to have a drink before heading on to Spirit or elsewhere.