Dance Clubs in Moscow

Moscow is full of dance clubs, but only a few of them are really worth attention. If you are after bustling dance parties, try Gaudi Arena (check what's on though!), Club Fabrique, Ballantine's Bar, Karma Bar, or B2. For electronic music connoisseurs Propaganda and Kult are perhaps the best places. Sixteen Tonns is good if you want something more "proper", and Shanti is the place to go for Eastern-influenced motives.To meet Abramovich head to club First. If their face control doesn't let you in, try the lower-scale Skazka. Finally, if you are after casino-style entertainment, try Molodaya Gvardiya entertainment center.

Solyanka Club. This new club was opened in Summer 2007 by the people who were running the popular late-nite Mix club in Moscow (see description below). At the moment it's one of the best dance venue in Moscow with quality music, beautiful 70s flavored interior, and interesting mixed crowds.

(video by Chris Two Zero )
There are 3 bars, large dancefloor (which nevertheless gets packed on Fridays and Saturdays), and weird door policy: if you're a foreigner or have an interesting outfit you can get in for free, for all others the cover is 300R ($12).
Address: Solyanka st. 11 (metro Kitai Gorod or Taganskaya).

Denis Simachev Bar. The Russian designer Denis Simachev is famous for cutting edge outfits, which combine the latest trends with the Soviet legacy. This bar, which turns into a nightclub after 10pm, is located on the ground floor of his Moscow boutique. The place stands out thanks to the eccentric mix of stylish interior and kitchy details, as well as eclectic selection of music: from cheesy Russian pop to the best funk, hip-hop, and house in town. Favourite among Moscow's creative crowd as well as upper class fashion freaks, the Bar still feels a bit on a "posh" side though. The drinks are expensive ($10 for vodka, $8 for a beer), but considering it's the only place in Moscow of its kind, perhaps it's the only way to keep it going, especially that the entrance is always free.
(see video by Denis / Way to Russia)

Address: Stoleshnikov per. 12 (metro Okhotny Ryad or Tverskaya).
 
 
Propaganda Cafe. Propaganda is one of the first and better clubs in Moscow. Popular among clubbers and expats (especially house parties on Thursdays), chill-out crowd (quality electronic music on Tuesdays and Wednesdays), and gays (ChinaTown parties on Sundays), it manages to be popular and "alternative" at the same time. Recently (March 2007) they launched regular nu rave parties every Friday, which attract huge crowds with glowsticks and colorful outfits.

During the daytime, they serve tasty food and sell relatively cheap drinks. Meals start at $5, fresh juices - $3, beers - $3-$4). After 11, the tables and chairs are taken out, and what looked like a chill-out cafe is transformed into a bustling night club. The crowd cools down only by 4-5am.
To give you an idea about the kind of music they have there, among their previous guests were DJs from Ninja Tune, Compost, Grand Central, and major UK house labels.
The club's interior is very casual and nice, there's an open space at the dancefloor, as well as more intimate corners on the first floor.
On weekends a lot of people come to meet and get together, so if you go on Friday or Saturday it might remind some kind of dating gathering.
Address: B. Zlatoustinskiy ( pereulok, # 7. tel. (495) 924-5732, View Map metro Kitai Gorod (orange or violet), Lubyanka (red). Open: mon-fri 12.00-6.00, sut-sun 15.00-6.00, the food is served all the time, except on thu-sat until 23:00. Dance events start at 23:00. Entrance on sat after 23:00 - 70R (3$), facecontrol.

Mix Club. THIS CLUB WAS CLOSED IN 2007, BUT THE PROMOTERS OPENED THE NEW SOLYANKA CLUB, WHICH KEPT THE BEST OF THIS OLD PLACE. This is one of these places where you go at 4am to get a boost for another 6 hours of partying. Happy people, intimate atmosphere (the club is not very big), and very quality techno and hard house music. Known to be the best spot for those on E or acid but also good for a nice, energetic, and friendly time out.
Address: (intersection of Novy Arbat and Sadovoe Koltso - entrance on Sadovoe Ring). Open Mon-Sun, 11pm - 9am, Entrance: 200R - 500 R ($7-$15)
 

and events on an almost weekly basis. Apparently this club used to be a chicken battery. Large grain silos sit on top of the main building, with lights featuring the club logo projected onto them. It’s an impressive sight on first arrival. Inside there is a main level with a large dance floor and an upstairs VIP level. The main level is meant to convey the atmosphere of a warehouse while the VIP level, replete with chandeliers, feels more like a medieval castle. You get what you pay for.
The club includes seven bars, a chill-out zone and plenty of comfortable couches. The central stage makes the DJ clearly visible from both levels. The club also employs some very talented VJs and scantily clad dancers. Drinks are reasonably priced for a club of this sort with most spirits and beers between 100-150 rubles. To get there your best bet is to take a car from the metro, assuming you can find a driver who knows where it is. Attempt walking there at your own peril - chances are you simply won't find it...

B2. A huge dance club with four floors, several dancefloors, a large chillout room with a restaurant and pool rooms, a cinema room, a cafe, a big scene on the last floor. Features all kinds of music: from Russian rockers to British electronic music. Probably, one the best dance club in Moscow.
Address: Bolshaya Sadovaya (Garden Ring), #8, tel. (495) 209-9909, fax: 209-9918. See Map Mayakovskaya metro. Open: wed 19-6 thu-sun 21-6. Entrance: around 150R (6$)

B1 Maximum. A recently opened "twin" of B2 club (above) is a much bigger space and features concerts by famous Russian and foreign dance and rock music stars. It's kind of like Ikra club but less alternative and bigger (can host up to 4000 people).
See a video of Chemical Brothers concert at B1 (filmed by Chris Two Zero)

Address: Ordzhonekidze st. #11, tel. (495) 648-6777 See Map Shabolovskaya or Oktyabrskaya (orange line) metro. Open: wed 19-6 thu-sun 21-6. Entrance: around 300R (10$)

Gorod. This is Moscow's techno music paradise frequented by the leading European (especially German) DJs and live acts. Two dancefloors: a more intimate one adjacent to a bar, and a big one with a stage and projection screen. The crowd is quite mixed and you can still meet some slightly agressive suburban teenagers, but the good music brings everybody together and they dance spreading good vibes throughout the whole place.
Address: Staraya Basmannaya, 20/13 (metro Kurskaya or Baumanskaya, 5 min walk from 35 mm Cinema on Garden Ring). Tel: +7 495 261 6174, Web: www.gorodclub.ru

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Fabrique Club. If you've been to the London's Fabric, expect roughly the same thing: large dance floor, several levels, a few bars, summer terrace, loud music, lots of people. DJs spin mostly house, face control is arrogant at times, but the club is still perhaps one of the best places if you want to have the real party experience. Opened from midday till 6 am on Fridays and Saturdays only.
Address: Sadovnicheskaya st., #33 (metro Novokuznetskaya), tel.: (495) 953-6576.


Krysha Club. A recent addition to the list of "high class" Moscow clubs, this place leans towards bohemian crowd, so it's a bit more interesting than the others. In the daytime there's a restaurant serving tasty Asian food, in the evening there's a bar on one floor and dancefloor on another. Very good tech house music mixed with techno, Fridays are especially popular when the parties usually go on until 6am. The drawback is that it's really hard to get in: there's a strict face control, so unless you are wearing some designer stuff, you'll have a hard time at the entrance.

Address: Naberezhnaya Tarasa Shevchenko (just behind Ukraina hotel on the embankment) (metro Kievskaya or Barrikadnaya)


Shanti. A rather chill-out club with eastern motives. Tuesdays feature minimal electronic music, Fridays - deep techno, Saturdays - downtempo, Mondays - ethnic music. Whether to dance or not is up to you, but as a cool, well-designed bar this place is among the best.
Address: Myasnitsky per, #2/1 (Krasnye Vorota metro), tel. (495) 783-6868. See Map Mayakovskaya metro. Open: daily 20.00 till the last client. Entrance: free
 

 
Karma Bar. A popular dance club for younger people with oriental flavor. Features R&B, house, trance, hiphop music.
In the center of the dancefloor there's a statue of Buddha, and this club was called "Buddha Bar" not long ago. Moscow Buddhists didn't like it, threatened to curse the club and wrote a letter to Moscow mayor. The club changed its name to something more neutral, and the dancefloor Buddha had bronze tits attached.
Address: Pushechnaya ulitsa #3, (metro: Kuznetski Most (violet), Teatralnaya (green). ) View Map, tel. (495) 924-5633. Open: wed 19-6 thu-sun 21-6. Entrance: around 150R (6$)

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This venue manages to be a pub, a restaurant, and a club at the same time, so expect to see a mixed crowd of 30-something office types, hip clubbers, and city-dwellers.

The pub is located on the ground floor and is not of much interest, unless you want to have a business meeting in an informal atmosphere. The restaurant on the second floor has a more relaxed feel and is perfect for a date or a casual evening out with friends. A meal is about $10-$15, beers start at $3.
The main attraction is the club part of the venue, which often hosts renowned bands, electronic musicians, and DJs.
Address: Presnenskii Val, #6, tel. (495) 253-5300. metro Ulitsa 1905 Goda (violet) - exit the station, turn right and walk 1 minute. The club is to your right. View Map Open: mon-sun 18.00-6.00. Entrance: mon-wed, sun free, thu 100-150 R ($3.5-$5), sat $5-$7. Internet: http://www.16tons.ru
 
 
 
Skazka Club (Ministerstvo).  For those who enjoy standing in long queues to enter exclusive clubs, this is the place to go. Skazka is the new manifestation of Ministerstvo, which was once at the pinnacle of Moscow nightlife. This compact, multi-leveled club boasts a sunken bar and two-tiered dance floor. Vocal house seems to be the preferred genre of the DJs and the club has aspirations of attracting big-name international acts on a regular basis. At ten dollars for a scotch and coke, Skazka may not be the most expensive club in Moscow but it’s not exactly value for money either.
Address: Malaya Nikitskaya Ulitsa, #14, metro Barrikadnaya. Tel: 968-3109, Website: www.skazkaclub.ru. Open thurs-sat 12am-6am.
 
 

B-Club Ahh, it’s a shame this place is so expensive. Otherwise it would be one of the nicest clubs in Moscow. In its short existence B-Club, as one of Moscow’s few hip-hop / r'n'b clubs, has managed to attract some big-name international stars including DMX and Tony Touch. And almost every week sees the arrival of a top-class DJ from Europe or the USA. Often, usually once a week, there is a performance from a local hip-hop group or solo MC which adds a bit of spice to the night. The DJs do a nice mix of both hip-hop and R&B. Women outnumber the men almost 2-to-1, the interior is classy, the lights snazzy and the sound system is high quality. It’s hard to find anything to complain about with the quality of this club.
But entry costs 500 rubles ($18). And then you’re confronted with prices of 200 rubles ($7) for a 330mL beer or 250 rubles ($9) for a 200mL cocktail. And if you want to sit down you’ll be hit up for even more cash for the pleasure – up to $300! This means that most people are confined to bar stools for the night, which are in short supply. But if you’ve got the cash to spend and enjoy this style of music then B-Club beats Moscow’s other overpriced clubs hands down.
Address: Strastnoy Bulvar, #8a, metro Chekhovskaya. Tel: 200-4639, Website: www.b-club.biz. Open Thur-Sat: 23:00-6:00 and for special events.

Studio 11. Studio 11 was born out of a desire to make better use of the huge De La Guarda venue. The club takes over the arena on weekends after the theater shows have finished. The large club has three floors. The main level features a sizeable dance floor set in a semi-oval around the stage. Upstairs is a balcony, also with plenty of dancing space.
The music is too loud and there is no chill-out room for non-VIPs. The only respite from the music is downstairs where there are no chairs. In fact, the whole club suffers from a severe chair shortage. There is plenty of eye-candy with four table dancers positioned around the main dance floor. Judging by their outlandish and energetic gyrations, the young crowd seems to thoroughly enjoy the club. Unless you go with your partner keep one arm well rested for your return home. It’s that sort of place. 100 rubles for beer and vodka, 150 rubles for most other spirits.
Address: Ordzhonikizde Ulitsa, #11, metro Leninsky Prospekt. Tel: 725-5855. Cover charge and opening times depend on the events.

 
Club First. Favorite among Moscow high society, oil magnates, and top-models, this club is impossible to get into unless you have a club card or an invitation. You might also get through if you manage to persuade their face control that you are a VIP.

While the club itself is nothing special and the music is not especially nice, it is still an unforgettable trip into the world of Moscow bourgeois. This is the reason why the entrance is always full of people who are dying to get in.
Address: Pluschikha, #64, metro Frunzenskaya Tel: (495) 540 28 47. Open Fridays and Saturdays 12.00 until 6.00


Molodaya Gvardiya. Labeled an “entertainment complex,” this flashy, two-storey building is decorated in the sort of way that the future was depicted in 1970s movies. Everything is on a large-scale with kooky furnishings and oversized prints lining what are otherwise sparse walls. Downstairs is a casino with black jack, poker, roulette, slot machines and a number of bars. Upstairs is the “Cadil Luck” restaurant, which converts into a live music venue, and a small disco with its own small bar. Apparently there is also a sushi bar down one of the maze-like corridors.
Make sure you come on a night when something is going on or you’ll find no one here other than the staff. Of course, that adds to the mind-trip atmosphere of the whole place evoking feelings that you may have stumbled into the club of a James Bond villain after-hours. They’ll try to make you buy $30 worth of casino chips to enter so, unless you’re a gambler, come with a flier for the club or disco to bypass this obstacle. House DJs play Friday and Saturday nights and live acts perform regularly. Once inside drinks are reasonably priced – 80-120 rubles for beer and spirits.
Address: Dmitrovskoe Shosse, #27 (joined to the Hotel Molodezhnaya), metro Timiryazevskaya. Tel: 780-3601. Open 24 hours.



Mio. A small, but very popular house club with strict door policy. Features the most popular Russian house DJs. Worth going if a special event is on.
Address: Kaluzhskaya sq., #1, metro Oktyabrskaya. View Map Tel.: (495) 238-5848., open Monday - Sunday 12.00 - 6.00, entrance free, face control

Tochka. A big club (more than 1000 people), not very nice inside, but sometimes features great concerts. Among foreign groups that came there recently are: "Red Snapper", "The State of Bengal"; also Russian rock bands play there often - check out the What's On in Moscow section.
Address: Zvenigorodskoe shosse, #4, tel. (495) 253-4355. Area: Tverskaya, metro: Ulitsa 1905 Goda. Open: mon-sun 12.00-17.00 and 21.00-6.00. Entrance: (if there's a concert) mon-thu $2-3, fri-sun $6-18.
 

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