The Most Legendary Club Nights In Sydney Australia

Sydney’s ‘lockout laws’ might have poured bucketloads of cold water on the Harbour City’s nightlife, but there are still cracking club nights to be found around town every night of the week. Whether you’re looking for live music, backpacker bars, uni nights or LGBTQI venues, you’ll spot a night out for you in this list of Sydney’s best club nights.

Ivy — Ministry Of Sound, Saturday

Bar, Nightclub, Contemporary

© Photo by Rob Fisher / RobFisherPhotographic.co.uk. CDJ 2000s @ Ministry of Sound, London.

MOS transformed London’s clubbing culture in a derelict bus depot in 1991, and although the salubrious surrounds of the Ivy Complex in inner-city Sydney are somewhat different, the super-club is hoping the impact of their 2017 foray into the Sydney scene is equally profound. Ministry of Sound Club Australia launched to much fanfare in June and has lived up to lofty expectations by attracting the country’s biggest DJs, such as Peking Duk, Tigerlily and Will Sparks.

Beach Road Hotel — Sosueme, Wednesday

Hotel

This Eastern Suburbs stalwart delivers something for everyone: a sports bar for the locals to down schooners, a beer garden for Sydney’s social elite to see and be seen, plus a huge upstairs band room that plays host to Sosueme on Wednesdays, a midweek party night that serves up cracking live music for free. Score.

Stonewall Hotel — Drag Nights, Friday and Saturday

This Oxford St institution has been one of the jewels in the crown of Sydney’s vibrant LGBTQI scene for two decades, delivering live entertainment seven nights a week. But the highlights of Stonewall’s weekly calendar are the legendary drag shows on Friday and Saturday nights, when all three levels are routinely packed to the rafters.

Greenwood Hotel — Greenwood Thursdays

Pub, Australian, Pub Grub, Wine, Beer

By day, the Greenwood Hotel dishes up award-winning pub grub in the heart of the North Sydney business district. By Thursday night, the courtyard of the converted chapel swells with North Shore teenagers raising a Vodka Cruiser to toast finishing school or getting into uni or leaving on their gap year. This place doesn’t carry the nickname ‘Teenwood’ for nothing.

Home The Venue — Homemade Saturdays

101/1-5 Wheat Rd, Darling Harbour NSW, +61 2 9266 0600
When it comes to dancing until the wee hours on a Saturday night in Sydney, as the cliche goes, there’s no place like Home. Homemade Saturdays brings a diverse lineup of DJs to an even more diverse crowd of tourists and locals that flock to this Darling Harbour super-club, with techno, trance and house tunes spread out over three levels and eight rooms.

Ivy Pool Club — Marco Polo, Sunday

Bar, Wine, Beer, Australian

Sydney’s only rooftop pool bar sparkles with beautiful weather and even more beautiful party-goers every Sunday over summer. Marco Polo enters its tenth season in 2017, pumping out disco, deep and classic house by the pool plus hip hop, bounce and electro in the Changeroom.

Sly Fox — Birdcage, Wednesday

Enmore’s favourite late-night venue hosts Sydney’s favourite lesbian night each Wednesday, serving great-value drinks specials and local DJs until 3am. Sly Fox enjoyed a redesign in 2015 that injected the inner-west institution with a retro 1970s ‘key party’ vibe but the commitment to quality live music hasn’t wavered, especially on Birdcage Wednesdays.

Scary Canary — Wet Wednesdays

469 Kent St, Sydney NSW, +61 2 9267 7087
Those same backpackers make a beeline to this inner-city Kent St venue on Wednesdays for a club night that’s every bit as rowdy as it sounds. Scary Canary delivers cheap drinks, foam machines, a huge dance floor and a crowd of international party-goers who aren’t fazed its a school night.

About the author

Tom Smith

Tom is a travel writer with a focus on East Asia and Australia. He has contributed to Culture Trip since 2014 and has plenty of recommendations to share.