Hotsy Totsy is a nightlife spot in Binnenstad, Ghent.
Hotsy Totsy on the Hoogstraat is a dark 1930s-style bar with red velvet and a record collection: the most atmospherically speakeasy-like room in the Patershol without being a formal cocktail bar.
Tip: The bar is at its best on quieter Tuesday and Wednesday evenings when the Patershol crowd thins and the vinyl gets full attention.
Address: Hoogstraat 1, 9000 Gent, Ghent
Het Oud Canten Huis on the Kammerstraat is Ghent's long-running LGBTQ+ bar near the centre, with a friendly mixed crowd, drag nights and a late license through the weekend.
Tip: Drag performances run on selected Saturday nights; check the Facebook page for the monthly event schedule.
Het Oud Canten Huis on the Kammerstraat is Ghent's long-running LGBTQ+ bar near the centre, with a friendly mixed crowd, drag nights and a late license through the weekend.
Tip: Drag performances run on selected Saturday nights; check the Facebook page for the monthly event schedule.
Rococo in the Patershol cobbles is Ghent's closest thing to a listening bar: dark, candle-lit and playing a carefully chosen vinyl programme to an arty late-evening crowd.
Tip: The bar is at its best on a Tuesday or Wednesday when the Patershol is quiet and the music gets full room attention.
Cafe Video in the Zuid has been the haunt of Ghent's art and underground crowd since the 1980s: art-covered walls, cheap Belgian beer and absolutely no social media presence.
Tip: No Google listing, no sign on the door; the only way to find it is to walk down Bagattenstraat and check if the light is on.
't Dreupelkot serves only jenever: 100+ varieties in a standing-room-only dark wood pub near the Groentenmarkt, open until 01:00 at weekends.
Tip: The bar has no seating; you stand at the dark counter with your glass. No cocktails, no wine, no beer: jenever only.
De Dulle Griet on the Vrijdagmarkt is Ghent's most-loved brown cafe with 500 Belgian beers: the Max-glass shoe ritual is the late-night cultural centrepiece.
Tip: Hand over a shoe as deposit for the 1-litre Max glass; you get it back when you return the glass. The ritual is mandatory.
Kompass Klub is Ghent's leading electronic music club: a converted industrial space at the Vynckier site on Nieuwevaart with a Funktion-One sound system and resident DJ nights.
Tip: Tickets sell out for big bookings; buy on Kompass or Resident Advisor in advance. Door queue builds after midnight on Saturdays.
