TSR Wiki > University > Choosing a University > City and Nightlife Guides > Aberdeen Nightlife

Please contribute to this article with your favourite bars and clubs in Aberdeen. RGU and Aberdeen students please. Write a little about opening hours, prices, events and atmosphere.

Student Bars

Union Bar

Unfortunately no longer exists due to massive losses :( The second edition closed in Dec 2008 and there are various rumours circulating regarding a 3rd attempt. A new Bar and grill is opening where the union used to be. JP's University Bar and Griil has recently opened up a website. http://jpsbarandgrill.com/

RGUnion

On Schoolhill near the end of Belmont Street. 3 floors of cheap booze, pool, and small dance floors.

Watering Hole

Local bar in the centre of Hillhead Halls. Cheap drinks and various events are held. Open until midnight all week, and 1am on a Friday and Saturday. Frequently shows big sports matches on a massive screen.

Other Student favourite Bars

Scream Bars

Use your Yellow card in these bars for substantial student discounts. You can purchase a Yellow card during fresher's week for £1, or at any other time for £2. You can use your Yellow card in any Scream bar in the country. The only bars in town with Bulmer's cider on draft.

The Bobbin

Right next to Aberdeen Uni's King's College campus. Serving food throughout the day, with special offers after 3pm.

Handy for hitting the pub for lunch and a few cold ones with it being so close to campus. If you end up staying out longer than planned you can pick up Q jump passes for Liquid here as well!

Triple Kirks

Just on the end of Belmont St, opposite RGU Schoolhill campus. Also serves food. Exodus, the club, is upstairs.

The Athenaeum

Situated in the Castlegate, this boutique bar (previously Five) is part of the Snafu family. That means you can expect cheap drinks on Mon/Wed/Thurs (£1 vodka/mix and £1.50 mainline) and also some thoroughly Snafu-esque beats. Electro, House and Techno are all on circulation on the speakers, and the ambience is pretty laid-back.

During the week, you can buy a bottle of wine or a 2 pint pitcher and get some nachos for free. Perfect for skint students that really should know better :) and with your student card you can get discount on the full food menu.

Sin

Next door to Fitzpatricks on Littlejohn Street, this place has become a favourite to students recently. Nice surroundings, decent DJs and reasonable prices.

JP's

In the location of the old Union. Often very busy and full of students. A great place to start your night with various events throughout the week.

Korova

A new bar in town, less than a hundred yards from Liquid on Bridge Street. Named after the Russian word for 'cow', it does great discounts on shots and other drinks on student nights (Mon/Wed)

Korova is split into 3 floors. The top floor is a restaurant area with some cheap deals (2 soups and 2 sandwiches for £7 at lunchtime) and also serves drinks at night. Below this is a club area. In the basement which is accessible on Windmill Brae is the area where gigs and club nights are held.

Friday is the Jagermeister Rock Night, a mix of great drinks promos and alternative music. Plays a mix of rock, metal and screamo.

Shows have been booked but so far the only gig played was the last UK show of American Hardcore band Have Heart, The other scheduled gigs have been moved to The Tunnels. More gigs are expected to be announced though.

The Moorings

Great selection of drinks and various bands. Drinks are very reasonably priced and there is a 10% discount with your student card, 10% discount for pirates and 20% discount for pirates with a student card. Great alternative/metal/rock on the jukebox. Wednesday and Friday nights are always very busy with a great atmosphere, (although it is never too quiet other weeknights), Saturdays have live music and Sundays are 'The Jam Factory'- open mic night.

Illicit Still

Buy one get one free on a huge selection of meals with a student discount card (available at the bar, or during fresher's week). 40% off all drinks on a Monday, 20% off at all other times.

Free Q Jumps for Liquid available every Wednesday night!

Bassment

Downstairs from Moshulu Nightclub, this is a rock bar by night and a steakhouse by day. Loads of cocktail deals at all times.

Paramount

£2 drinks with your Snapfax

Free Q Jumps for Liquid in this trendy bar

Jam

Pick up your wristband, or keyring for various discounts.

Nightclubs

Liquid

Liquid is Aberdeen's 'Biggest Night Club'. It is split across 3 rooms with different music in each.

It's open every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday. Liquid frequently has guest dj's and drink promotions They have a bebo site and facebook site so you can check out whats happening before you head out at night.

Warehouse (Formorally Moshulu)

A great club for those of you who think the likes of Cascada should be locked in a cupboard far, far away, as well as those who think otherwise. Club nights are Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, with free entry before midnight. Different drink promos which last all night make it a decent club for a boogie! Also hosts Obedience School twice a year, which is basically a burlesque/fetish night, with stalls, shows, and various DJ's.

Moshulu is currently being refurbished and will be reopened in time for Freshers week 2009 as 'Warehouse'. Music policy is said to be a little more mainstream than before with a mix of rock, electronic music, dance etc. Moshulu was famed for having a sticky carpet but this is being removed as part of the refurbishment.

Exodus

Upstairs in Triple Kirks (Belmont Street/Schoolhill) - Themed nights throughout the week. Tuesday is Motown night but expect just about anything from the 60's and 70's to be played. Wednesdays is Electro and the rest of the time expect it to be mostly indie with a smattering of nu rave and rock. Discounts with a Yellow Card.

Priory

Free entry, very cheap drinks, and 3 floors make up this converted church. Albeit not the classiest of places, it's good for a few cheap drinks before hitting the likes of Tiger Tiger or Liquid.

Expect drink prices to vary depending on the day of the week. Some nights you can pick up drinks for £1-2, other nights you might ask for a double and not get much change from £5. If in doubt, ask how much the drink is before they make it, otherwise it could end up ending badly for your wallet!

The ground floor is where the main bar and dancefloor is. A wide range of music is played there but generally expect to hear a lot of pop, dance, and RnB. The second floor is a massive balcony that looks down over the ground floor. There's a lot more seating up there, and the bar is much quieter. The basement is multi-purpose - during the week it can be hired out as a venue for private parties, and it's also used for karaoke. Again, the bar is quite quiet, if you can brave the sounds of someone swinging a bag of cats against the walls...

Fairly strict on ID, so be prepared to be asked. There is a cloakroom to store your coats, you pay for a little ticket and hand it back upon departure to reclaim your belongings, this applies to other clubs in the town, such as Liquid.

Espionage

50% off all drinks on a Monday, and 20% off on all other nights with a Snapfax. Free entry. Three floors.

Tiger Tiger

Free entry and Queue jump before 11pm with a Snapfax. The main student night in Tiger Tiger is on a Monday evening, where vodka is sold at around £1 per nip. Runs themed nights occasionally (recently: Vegas Casino, and Frat Party)

Pearl Lounge

Host's 'Octopussy' on a Thursday night which is very popular with students. Wednesday night is also a popular student night. Drinks are cheap during the week but can be very expensive on weekends.

Snafu

A reasonably small nightclub but very popular. The music policy is a mixture of electro, techno and house although there is a rock/alternative night every Monday. The most popular student nights are Mondays (Black Tooth Rock Lounge), Wednesdays (Electrique Boutique) and also Thursdays (The Dirty Hearts Club). Drink prices for the student nights tend to be around the £1.50 mark, but on weekends and guest nights you may find this increases.

Snafu is the leading venue for DJ bookings and has played host to the likes of Boys Noize, Vitalic, The Crookers, Riton, Mystery Jets, The Bloody Beetroots and also house DJs Gene Farris and Graeme Park.

Every Tuesday is the Snafu Comedy Club - Aberdeens only weekly comedy club - which sees comedy talent from all over the country grace the stage to split your sides. Entry is discounted for students at £3. A nice alternative to the cinema, or an even better prelude to a fun night out.

The Rig

New club...

Other

Sunset Boulevard

Monday nights are student nights here, with £1 games of bowling, and cheap drinks. Bowl to various DJs at the weekend.

Cinemas

Vue

On union street, so nice and easy to get to.

Cineworld (Beach)

Down the beach, this one is a bit harder to get to, but has the best student prices. Use your snapfax here to get £1 off a student ticket.

Cineworld (Union Square)

Largest cinema in Aberdeen, recently opened as part of the Union Square complex next to the railway station.

The Belmont Picturehouse

Located on Belmont Street, old-fashioned style cinema which shows independent and foreign films alongside better quality mainstream films. Smaller screen than places such as the VUE.

Special Events

Gigs

There are a number of different venues for different gigs in Aberdeen.

For the biggest gigs, head to the AECC, in Bridge of Don. Artists such as Muse, Jay-Z, and Girls Aloud have performed there, as well as shows such as Britain's Got Talent, The X Factor, and The Mighty Boosh (January 2009). Drinks, food, and merchandise are quite expensive there. Get there by taking the Red Line bus, which runs frequently 7 days a week. The Killers, Snow Patrol and Lionel Ritchie are scheduled to play in 2009.

The Music Hall is another popular venue for bands such as Bloc Party, We Are Scientists and Cascada. Drinks and merchandise are reasonably priced, and it's in a prime location for heading into town afterwards.

Moshulu is the place for most alternative gigs, and many bands have played there before they hit the big time. Drinks and merchandise are quite cheap, and as Moshulu is a club most of the time, you can either enjoy a seat or get on the dancefloor. Also right next to Bassment for pre-gig drinks. The gig listings for Moshulu can be found here [1]

Other smaller venues include Tunnels, underneath the St Nicholas square; Cafe Drummonds, on Belmont St next to Vodka Bar; Kef, which is below Vodka Bar. Generally these are the places to catch popular local bands in action, although some of them have played host to larger acts such as Pendulum. Snafu also frequently hosts gigs as part of their Black Tooth Rock Lounge nights and also throughout the week.

The Tunnels and Cafe Drummonds are the lifeblood of the local music scene. Gigs are played at these venues most nights a week and lineups can range from all local bands to touring bands from across the country. They host a wide variety of gigs ranging from indie to death metal! Doors for gigs at Drummonds open at 7pm with the first bands usually onstage between 7:30pm and 8pm. Price varies with the promotor but expect it to be no more than £5 at the door. The capacity of Drummonds is around about the 250 mark

The Tunnels is split into 2 rooms. Tunnels 1 and Tunnels 2. Tunnels 1 is the venue nearest the entrance. Both are roughly 200 capacity and have seating and a bar area. Like Drummonds door usually open about 7pm for gigs and prices are usually about £5 on the door. However their have been some internationally renowned bands such as Every Time I Die and Misery Signals playing at the Tunnels and these shows are around £10 in advance and usually sell out very quickly.

Other Music Events

Northsound's 'Free' Concert

Every second year, Northsound radio takes over one of the large parks in Aberdeen to host an all day, free, open air music event, with local bands and more famous artists. Keep your eye on the northsound website, close to the summertime to get hold of your free tickets.

The event is currently hosted at Hazlehead Park in the North of the city and is held around the time of the Offshore Europe event at the AECC (September, bi-annual)

As of May 2009, Northsound have yet to unveil any detail of a 'free' concert n September 2009.

Other Aberdeen Sections

• University of Aberdeen Guide
• University of Aberdeen Accommodation Guide
• The University of Aberdeen Discussion Forum