4 dance clubs in Bristol our editors have drunk at, sorted by score. All Bristol nightlife.
Motion ★ 4.5
St Philips · 2 Victoria Terrace, Bristol BS2 0TD
Motion turns a riverside skatepark-turned-warehouse complex into Bristol's biggest club, an internationally booked home of techno and drum and bass nights.
Tip: Buy tickets ahead through the club's own site; the Marble Factory next door handles the live shows.
Lakota ★ 4.2
Stokes Croft · 6 Upper York Street, Bristol BS2 8QN
Lakota has carried Bristol rave culture since the early 1990s, its Stokes Croft warren of rooms now joined by the Moon Club and the open-air Gardens space.
Tip: The Gardens day events sell out fastest; the original rooms still deliver the sweaty jungle history lesson.
Thekla ★ 4.3
Harbourside · The Grove, East Mud Dock, Bristol BS1 4RB
Thekla stages gigs and club nights in the hold of a 1958 German cargo ship moored in Bristol's Mud Dock, an institution of a venue running since 1984.
Tip: Pressure on Thursdays and Pop Confessional on Saturdays are the student rites; check the hull for the Banksy grim reaper story.
Strange Brew ★ 4.2
Old City · 10-12 Fairfax Street, Bristol BS1 3DB
Strange Brew mixes club nights, gigs and art shows in its Fairfax Street event space, the connoisseur's small room of central Bristol's night-time scene.
Tip: Its bookings lean leftfield; trust the venue's own programming even when you know none of the names.