Say what you want about Sydney nightclubs — you can still find a solid dance floor if you know where to look. Even the best clubs in Sydney have had a rough few years: between lockouts, shut downs, and early close times, the city hasn’t exactly gained the best reputation for nightlife.
But there’s a reason it was once known as an international dance capital — and why new waves of hip hop and South-Asian creative collectives are energising the music scene once again.
People have and will always find a way to dance. Sometimes it takes wading through the worst bars you can find just to feel something.
However, if you don’t have the time and/or the will to make that expedition, we’ve got you covered with this guide to the best nightclubs in the Sydney CBD, Surry Hills, and beyond.
Sydney’s best nightclubs and dancefloors
Club 77, Darlinghurst
It’s an icon partially just because it’s so old. Club 77 has been around for twenty-five years, hosting AJAX, the Bang Gang, and Starfuckers DJs — as well as basically every other alternative electronic act that’s graced Sydney since 1999.
It’s a gritty space, with bathroom walls plastered in cut-out shoe ads and banana stickers, but the grunginess doesn’t reflect a lack of care. Last year, Club 77 relaunched with an updated acoustic set-up — which is perfect if you’re one of the freaks who actually go out for the music.
Due to its late night licence, Club 77 is also allowed to operate until 4 am.
Address: 77 William St, Darlinghurst NSW 2010
Soda Factory, Surry Hills
Personally, I love a fun speakeasy type door, because I delight in knowing secrets — and if there weren’t a line of young people dressed in nightclub attire wrapped around the block, you really might believe that the Soda Factory was, in fact, an old-fashioned soda parlour.
Once you pull on the handle of a mock-Coca Cola machine, you’re led into a Surry Hills club full of dancing, vintage Americana decor, and bubble-gum infused martinis that, depending on your age and general disposition, could either be the best or worst thing you’ve ever drunk.
Address: 16 Wentworth Ave, Surry Hills NSW 2010
Marly Bar, Newtown
Marly Bar — the ground floor and upstairs portion of Marlborough Hotel — is open until 4am Monday through Saturday, which means it joins the small club of late night venues in Sydney.
Every Saturday and Sunday, the Marly’s underground nightclub, Tokyo Sing Song, runs until late in the venue’s basement, offering techno, dubstep, trance, drum and bass.
It typically attracts a younger student crowd, but even older patrons can appreciate a late-night kitchen that offers BBQ Bacon Burger or Tofu Tenders until 10 pm.
Address: 145 King St, Newtown NSW 2042
The Cliff Dive, Darlinghurst
After revamping an old nightclub venue, Mucho hospitality group launched an underground Papua New Guinean tiki bar with a dance floor that goes all night.
You don’t have to pay for the tables, drinks can go as low as five dollars during happy hour, and you can get a dry-ice smoking, watermelon Monkey Hat cocktail that comes in a decorative tiki mug shaped like a literal monkey wearing a hat. What’s not to like?
Address: Basement, 16/18 Oxford St, Darlinghurst NSW 2010
Sussudio, Potts Point
Named after the Phil Collins’ song — which allegedly came from a word he invented while messing with a drum machine — this venue is inspired by retro Parisian disco clubs.
If you’re out on a Friday or Saturday in the Kings Cross area, you can head over for techno and house music either on the dance floor or in private booths. It’s rumoured to be a hotspot for celebrity sightings and has seen faces like Josh Heusten from Heartbreak High.
Address: 2 Kellett St, Potts Point NSW 2011
Abercrombie, Chippendale
Abercrombie, famously the birthplace of Purple Sneakers, has been long beloved as one of the most prominent indie nightclubs in Sydney, hosting big-name indie acts like Vampire Weekend and Bloc Party.
After large-scale renovations, it reopened a few years ago as a triple venue, featuring a late-night wine bar and bottle-shop, a rooftop overlooking the skyline, and a nightclub with a licence to host 24-hour events.
Address: 100 Broadway, Chippendale NSW 2008
Ivy Sydney, CBD
The Ivy Precinct has a little bit of everything, as a hub that contains a long list of bars, restaurants, party spaces, and nightclubs in Sydney CBD. A particular favourite is Ivy Pool Club, modelled after Palm Springs vacation spots.
If you’re tired of getting sweaty at the Pool Club’s Saturday night parties, you’re able to cool down and rinse off in a rooftop pool, get a little less gross, and return to the dance floor. The water is pretty shallow, but that’s probably for the best.
Address: Level 4/320 George St, Sydney NSW 2000
Stonewall Hotel, Darlinghurst
Named after the 1969 uprising led by LGBT activists in New York, Stonewall has made its venue a home for the queer nightlife community in Sydney for the past 22 years.
It’s located on Oxford Street, which is historically Sydney’s central gay district, and hosts some of the city’s most beloved drag queens, karaoke performances, and Chaps Leather shows.
Address: 175 Oxford St, Darlinghurst NSW 2010
Universal, Darlinghurst
While you’re on Oxford Street, you might as well make the most of the night and pop into Universal, another fixture to Sydney’s LGBTQ+ nightlife scene. Longtime Sydneysiders may remember this venue as the iconic gay bar, The Midnight Shift, which Universal Hotels acquired back in 2018.
The new owners have stayed true to the Sydney nightclub’s original mission and now host drag shows, disco and funk dance parties in a pink and gold tiled space.
Address: 85-91 Oxford St, Darlinghurst NSW 2010
Noir Sydney, Darlinghurst
Noir Sydney is on the swankier side of the spectrum, and offers high-end bottle service, private VIP booths that come with customisable bottle engravings, and a private waiter. It’s relatively new, opening up on Oxford Street a little over a year ago.
The venue isn’t as committed to a particular genre of music as it is to general fanciness, but has hosted major acts like the Gorillaz and Yolanda Be Cool. It’s obviously not cheap, but I guess that’s why we recommend pre-drinking lol.
Address: 163 Oxford St, Darlinghurst NSW 2010
Coogee Pavilion, Coogee
Let’s be real: the point of going to Sydney isn’t its glowing nightlife reputation. The point is that it has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
Much like the Ivy, Coogee Pavilion houses a whole host of businesses that have truly nothing to do with clubbing: coffee shops, pizzarias, a magnetic Scrabble board, and family-friendly enterprises dominate the ground floor.
But if you make your way up to Coogee’s rooftop, you’ll find free live music, a view of the shore, and parties that run the whole weekend (but are best on Sundays).
Address: Level 3/169 Dolphin St, Coogee NSW 2034
Glass Island, Sydney Harbor
Not that it’s a competition, but I guess the thing that’s better than a nightclub that overlooks the water is a Sydney nightclub that literally sails amidst it.
Glass Island is a three-level floating event venue that runs cruises every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Guests get 360 views of Sydney as they dance to music over a state-of-the-art sound system during events like Red Room or 80’s Replay.
It also operates as a private venue, so if you have a few thousand dollars to spare, you could just rent out the whole thing yourself and throw a party with 400 of your closest friends.
Address: 37 Bank St, Pyrmont, 2009
Flamingo Lounge, Potts Point
Located in a historic venue that was once home to Hugo’s Lounge, Flamingo Lounge offers two spaces: a terrace where guests can watch the sunset while sipping Flamingronis (when a flamingo meets a negroni, the menu explains) and a discotheque specialising in house, RnB, and hip-hop.
This Sydney nightclub offers bottle service, VIP lounges, and also VVIP lounges that offer privacy for celebrities. Personally, as a plebian, I think it’s more fun to go out when you can imagine all the famous people who may be in your general vicinity, but hiding from you.
Address: Level 1/33 Bayswater Rd, Potts Point NSW 2011
Kings Cross Pavilion, Potts Point
The early 20-something Sydneysiders who used to inhabit World Bar were right about one thing: getting a cocktail is just cooler and better when it comes in a teacup.
After slinging whimsical cocktails throughout the early-2000s, World Bar shut down in 2018 — but in its place, a new figure in the dance bars of Sydney, Kings Cross Pavilion rose up. Although Kings Cross abandoned the original venue’s name, it kept the teapots and the house music.
The new owners also added an updated sound system, DMX lighting, and a late-night permit that keeps the dance floor open until the wee hours. Most importantly, it’s just huge—the space can house up to 900 guests at once, who will scatter across the venue’s many dance floors and bars.
Address: 24 Bayswater Rd, Potts Point NSW 2011
Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach
If you’re out in Bondi, you really don’t have to leave the beach to make it to an all-night dance party. Beach Road Hotel is beloved for hosting live music and DJs, as well as a sheer abundance of space to move around on Bondi’s biggest dance-floor, which can hold up to 650 people.
Unlike most Australian hotels, Beach Road Hotel is actually a literal hotel — so if you’re from out of town, you can simply crash where you are.
Address: 71 Beach Rd, Bondi Beach NSW 2026
Candeleria, Elizabeth Street
Sydney’s Latin disco club was formed by two of the biggest DJs in Australia’s hispanic music scene. If you’re tired of EDM and House music, you can head over here for salsa, bachata, merengue, reggaeton, and tropical pop.
It’s conveniently located, and hosts student nights and rumba raves until 3 am. And, unless you have great drugs, who really wants to be up past then anyway?
Address: 58 Elizabeth St, Sydney NSW 2000
Scary Canary, CBD
Despite the name, this one isn’t exclusively for people who love tiny songbirds and/or fear. Scary Canary is a good place to find cheap drinks, sticky floors, and nice girls in the bathroom, all while thumping around to electronic music. It’s attached to backpacker accommodation, so it has a big international crowd, as well as a heavy uni student presence.
It’s the kind of place you’d go to talk to strangers, chug blue drink, find a bathroom with every tap randomly turned on at the same time, which obviously isn’t for everyone — but sometimes a chaotic night is a beautiful thing.
Address: 469 Kent St, Sydney NSW 2000
Honourable Mention: Resident Advisor/ H.A.T.S. Group on Facebook
This one is obviously not a specific place, but it’s worth noting that Sydney’s dance scene is largely centred around events rather than specific venues.
So, go reactivate your Facebook and join the 29.6 K member House And Techno Sydney group, or just head to the Resident Advisor website — there’s stuff going on, you just have to look for it.
Lead Image: Beach Road Hotel/Instagram
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