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De Montfort University
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A Short Guide to Going out in Leicester

Okay I decided to write up a short guide to going out in Leicester, feel free to suggest additions or things to change. Most of this is based on my experience from last year so some things may have changed for the start of the new term. Some input from a DMU student would be cool to! I might add website/facebook links, locations and the best post-night out kebab shops if I get some time.

Here's a Google map to a lot of places in Leicester (courtesy of Kink):


Here's another Google map I made including Oadby Halls and all the places in this list:
Going out in Leicester Google Map


MOSH - Probably the best alternative club in town, open Tues, Weds, Fri and Sat with slightly different styles of music on each of the 3 floors each night but basically revolving around Indie, Punk, Metal, Ska etc. Cheaper to get in with NUS, no dress code, plenty of alternative types alongside your standard indie boys and girls. Watch for the dance floor mosh pit if something like Rage Against the Machine comes on as the last song of the night!

ESKO BAR – Probably my favourite venue I found last year, it’s a small bar situated near the city centre that hosts some really good more specialized nights each month. Some examples of the monthly nights are:
Filtered - liquid d’n’b (gets some big names in like Commix, London Elektricity etc)
Shivoo - just general good party music like hip hop, breaks, house etc
Modulate – monthly dubstep with more big names.
Well worth checking out this place if you fancy something different (or if you just want to check out the quirky ceiling made of old wine bottles!). No dress code as far as I can tell, drinks are standard prices for a bar and don’t turn up early cause things don’t usually kick off till past 11:30 and end at 4/5 am!

ZANZIBAR – the official Leicester Uni club night pretty much. Everybody goes to the Mondays at Zanzi, many drinks are a £1, buses go from uni halls, generally a good night out on the cheap, various themed nights (which past the first few hardly anyone bothers to dress up for). They also run nights on other days where it’s not just student orientated, they sometimes get minor celebrities like Big Brother rejects or Neighbours actors to come and say a few words.

LEICESTER SU – Well Leicester Uni students will find it hard to avoid the union really, in the main rooms you’ve got Red Leicester Wednesdays which are basically cheese nights and Mad Fer It Fridays which is slightly less cheesy with the occasional minor celebrity/one hit wonder.
In the Lounge you’ve got Shampoo on Thursdays which plays older tunes from 60’s/70’s/80’s and finally you’ve got Squids in the Redfearn on Sundays which is £1 drinks night with general pop music (usually at unnecessarily loud volumes).
Oh and of course on other nights you get the big bands coming through at the Venue, usually your standard Indie/Rock bands but occasionally other things like big d’n’b and hard dance raves.
Some people are happy going to the union every week but I found it got old really fast. Drinks prices are good though and you’re guaranteed to see people you know.

LIQUID – If you’ve already got a Liquid in a town near you then you know what its like; standard club with various themed nights/drink deals/occasional big DJ focusing on Hip Hop, R’n’B, UK Garage and other mainstream dance music etc. Only been twice so can’t really say much else about it. I hear they put on some good nights specializing in Asian music actually. Smart casual dress, standard bar drink prices if there’s no offers on.

LIFE – I’ve never been to Life so someone else may have to fill in on the details but from what I can tell it’s where a lot of the locals go on a Saturday night; the queue is always huge! Got a bit of a reputation for being a bit chavvy but it’s probably over exaggerated because the students are scared of the locals :tongue:
I think the music is more towards mainstream dance but probably gets the usual urban selection too. No idea about drink prices (I think they do a £1 before 11 kinda deal but not 100% sure), smart casual dress.

LOADED DOG – The standard Leicester Uni local pub, near the junction with Dominos on the corner. It’s a Scream pub so if you’ve got a yellow card bring it along for slightly cheaper drinks. On Sundays they do £1 a drink deals. Pool tables, small dance floor, not enough seating, just your standard pub really! Always going to have people from uni in there chilling out, food is alright at lunchtime but nothing special.

LEICESTER UNI HALL BARS – Not really sure about these at the moment, I’ve heard rumours that all the bars except GMS have shut down this year (which makes sense seeing as it’s the only one that got serious use). Basically cheap drinks, TV for sports events, pool tables, Nintendo Wii, plenty of seating, just a good place to chill or for pre-going out drinks. You can get tickets for various nights here too. A lot of the hall events happen in the bars so I’m sure you’ll be seeing a lot of them!

FAN CLUB – Another alternative club located near the back of Zanzibar. Can’t say I’ve ever been there when it’s busy but I’ve heard it’s got a good vibe. Smells a bit weird though :s-smilie: Anyway its open Thurs for 70’s music, Fri for 80’s and Sat for 90’s. No dress code, cheap drinks galore.

EMPERIA - Never been but I hear it’s sorta like Life. Someone else will have to fill in on this one ‘because I know next to nothing apart from it had a massive Bassline night last year!

SOUQ – Again never been here but it looks quite good. Here’s the lineup from their facebook page:
MONDAY - Uk Asian Flava's - More News to follow
TUESDAY - Weekly dose of upfront RnB and Hip-Hop with Resident Dj Kid J
WEDNESDAY - SUB LOW - Best in DUB STEP / Drum n Bass with guest DJ's every week - BENGA (launch night) & DUBCHILD,
THURSDAY - Franchise in conjunction with DMU ACS
Funky House, RnB, Party Vibes
DIRTY FRIDAYS - Official Weekend Student Jam - Everything from Pop, Cheese, Alternative, Commercial RnB
Saturdays - BASSCAMP vs JELLY BABY
The highlight of SOUQ's weekend, make no mistake - fast becoming one of the midlands most talked about nights BASSCAMP teams up with JELLY BABY to blow your mind

DMU – Someone from DMU better fill in on this one. Believe it or not Leicester Uni students can get in to the DMU SU no problem (I assume it’s the same the other way round). There’s a new weekly D’n’B / Dubstep / Hip Hop night on Tues called Modified that promises to be quite good. That’s all I know really!

THE CHARLOTTE – This is the live venue for the more underground and local bands that come through. Also hosts the massive jump up D’n’B night ‘Genetic’ and the equally massive Dubstep night ‘Exodus’. Listings: http://www.thecharlotte.co.uk/

ORIGINAL FOUR – Really nice venue with four floors that has various different nights during the year, some student orientated, some not. They get some really good DJs in here from around the world focusing on loads of different genres. Recently they’ve had Digitalism, Justice and Switch which bodes well for all you electro heads!

RETRIBUTION/REDEEMER and DRY DOCK (courtesy of Punktopia)
punktopia
Ret/Redeemer is in Leicester Square, opposite Megazone on Belgrave Gate. Round the corner from Fanclub (lol). Back in the day it used to be a goth/alternative club, although now it's a little less... heavy. The DJs/ownership has changed, it's called Redeemer now, but it's essentially the same thing. Metal, metal and more metal. With a bit of punk rock too.

The Dry Dock is near some of the uni halls, next to Homebase. Easy to get to from the odeon/morrisons. It's a scream bar shaped like a boat, my "local" (half an hour's walk but better than the alternatives).


REVOLUTION and BANTER (courtesy of Kink):
Kink
Revolution is a stylish bar quite nearby for people who have dressed more formally. It specialises in everything Vodka; it's got an electric atmosphere with a great selection of drinks, that can either come on offer if you have bought a VodkaCard or your NUS Card, as long as it's vodka!

Banter is near Braunstone Gate I think. And there's some kind of myth that it's so called because you can hear yourself talking in there - it has lots of areas with sofas and beanbags. Its nice and you get a 10% discount when a student.


QUEENS ROAD (courtesy of Kink):
Kink
Queens Street has a nifty selection of bars favoured by students. It's still quite unspoiled though:
Olive's is more like a pub for young people and is very friendly with cheap beer.
Babelas is a bar for chilling in with loads of chairs and sofas upstairs, and lots of loud indie music.
Bar dos Hermano is very continental feeling with large windows, Spanish/Trance music, Sangria and European foods if you want them, there's a secret little passage that links it to the club next to it which is surprisingly cheap as it is still quite unknown.


TIME BAR - This one's a cocktail bar right next to the train station. Chilled, no dress code but a sorta smart casual atmosphere. 2 cocktails for £5 if you get their discount card. Wouldn't spend a whole night in here but good if you like cocktails I guess. Oh and they have full size american pool tables.

FOR PROPER BEER (courtesy of Tomber):
Tomber
For people who like proper beer - Out of the Vaults, The Ale Wagon, the Criterion and The Swan and Rushes are all super, The Ale Wagon slightly less so (beers good, atmosphere's a bit cold)


VARSITY/YATES/WALKABOUT/SPOONS – Well these are your chain pubs/bars that you can find everywhere. Cheap drinks, occasional student nights, I’m sure you’ve all been to one of these before! Notably the Wetherspoons in Oadby is a 15 min walk from halls and is worth checking out for their cheap pub lunches, curry nights, grill nights etc. While I’m on the subject of Oadby there’s a pub on the main road called the Old Library that has a weekly quiz night, good for a quiet night out!

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
That's a pretty good guide. Man I'm gonna miss Leicester! You forgot to add that Fan Club also has a sixties night, which is the best one! It's all swanging n that.
De Montfort University
De Montfort University
Leicester
Visit website
Reply 2
Hasn't O4 closed down?
Reply 3
Tomber
Hasn't O4 closed down?


If it it should've. Pretty crap really
Reply 4
You forgot Retribution/Redeemer, which is a lot bigger and better than Mosh. And the Dry Dock, which is a thousand times better than Loaded Dog, and only 5 minutes walk from the Odeon cinema.

Also, most of those clubs you listed are fairly chavvy... Zanzibar and Liquid particularly, I wouldn't go near either without a stab-proof vest.
Reply 5
Reflexive
That's a pretty good guide. Man I'm gonna miss Leicester! You forgot to add that Fan Club also has a sixties night, which is the best one! It's all swanging n that.


Yeah I remember going to that before but its not on their website so I left it out, if it definitely still happens ill put it back in!

Tomber
Hasn't O4 closed down?


If it has done must've been over summer, if someone can confirm I'll take it off.

punktopia
You forgot Retribution/Redeemer, which is a lot bigger and better than Mosh. And the Dry Dock, which is a thousand times better than Loaded Dog, and only 5 minutes walk from the Odeon cinema.

Also, most of those clubs you listed are fairly chavvy... Zanzibar and Liquid particularly, I wouldn't go near either without a stab-proof vest.


Never even heard of Retributin/Redeemer where is it?? I've never been to Dry Dock but feel free to do a little write up of it!

What other clubs are there then? You might consider these ones chavvy but from my perspective they're pretty normal...as far as i know there aren't exactly any 'upper-class' clubs in Leicester.

Edit: forgot my tags!
Reply 6
jonzza

Never even heard of that where is it?? I've never been to Dry Dock but feel free to do a little write up of it!

What other clubs are there then? You might consider these ones chavvy but from my perspective their pretty normal...as far as i know there aren't exactly any 'upper-class' clubs in Leicester.


Ret/Redeemer is in Leicester Square, opposite Megazone on Belgrave Gate. Round the corner from Fanclub (lol). Back in the day it used to be a goth/alternative club, although now it's a little less... heavy. The DJs/ownership has changed, it's called Redeemer now, but it's essentially the same thing. Metal, metal and more metal. With a bit of punk rock too.

The Dry Dock is near some of the uni halls, next to Homebase. Easy to get to from the odeon/morrisons. It's a scream bar shaped like a boat, my "local" (half an hour's walk but better than the alternatives).

I consider clubs like Liquid and Zanzibar chavvy because they're full of violent idiots who like bottling people and starting fights. Liquid has changed its name a load of times, each time coincidentally after someone was killed there. Seriously, those places are rough. Maybe they're not so bad on a student night, but I wouldn't touch them on a weekend. The music is dire too, but I s'pose that's subjective.
Reply 7
Cool i've added those in! I guess if you want to be completely safe stick to the student nights, but if you've been to your average 'urban' club in any town/city you'll know what to expect on the other nights!
Reply 8
Revolution the vodka bar on New Walk - where to go if you want to get drunk quickly, and it in't that far from Uni!
Reply 9
Good old rev forgot about that! Sometimes play some wkd tunes in there too
Reply 10
Kink
Revolution the vodka bar on New Walk - where to go if you want to get drunk quickly, and it in't that far from Uni!


Oh yeah forgot about that one! Care to write a few more lines and ill add it in? I remember it being quite expensive...
Reply 11
I dunno if anyone can provide more info on this (and I'm a bit embarrassed to ask it, needless to say :s-smilie:) but does anyone have more info on gay nights/bars/clubs in Leicesters which students may usually frequent?

Also, thanks loads for the guide jonzza - you hear so much about all these different places but you tend to forget about it almost instantaneously afterwards. Also, are Life, Emperia, and SOUQ (is that an acronym or is it Souq?) clubs, disco-bars or just bars?
Reply 12
trm90
I dunno if anyone can provide more info on this (and I'm a bit embarrassed to ask it, needless to say :s-smilie:) but does anyone have more info on gay nights/bars/clubs in Leicesters which students may usually frequent?

Also, thanks loads for the guide jonzza - you hear so much about all these different places but you tend to forget about it almost instantaneously afterwards. Also, are Life, Emperia, and SOUQ (is that an acronym or is it Souq?) clubs, disco-bars or just bars?


Can't help you on the gay scene im afraid, i remember hearing about a place called the rainbow and dove that has gay nights but i can't be sure. Oh actually theres also a gay club near fan club but i cant remember the name! If you find out anything i'll put it in the OP.

Life and Emperia would be considered clubs i suppose, not sure about Souq (yep thats the actual name) but i think its a bit smaller so sort of a bar with a dance floor kinda thing.
Reply 13
trm90
I dunno if anyone can provide more info on this (and I'm a bit embarrassed to ask it, needless to say :s-smilie:) but does anyone have more info on gay nights/bars/clubs in Leicesters which students may usually frequent?

Also, thanks loads for the guide jonzza - you hear so much about all these different places but you tend to forget about it almost instantaneously afterwards. Also, are Life, Emperia, and SOUQ (is that an acronym or is it Souq?) clubs, disco-bars or just bars?


There's Streetlife near Fanclub and Ret, which is a full on gay club (if it's still there, my gay friend doesn't speak to me anymore).

There's also Qubec, which I'm pretty sure is still there. That's a gay bar on the corner of the road with Fanclub on. You can't miss it, it's got a rainbow banner above the door...

I can't vouch for either of those, having never been inside... not sure how many students go there. There will almost certainly be gay nights at one or other of the SUs though.
Reply 14
Could someone give me a map or draw me a map of where the Old Library pub and the Weatherspoons pub in Oadby is, in relation to the Halls of Residence on Stoughton Drive South and Manor Road, and in relation to the ASDA too, please?:girl:

Thank-you for the heads-up on Liquid, Punkotopia- I'll make sure to stay well clear of there, if/when I go out and about!:eek4: Where is it though: what street is it on and what else is it near shop-wise or whatever?
I disagree about liquid etc being dangerous. I've been out, must be about a hundred times in leicester, and I can only remember one fight.

http://www.yell.com/ucs/UcsSearchAction.do?scrambleSeed=71322685&keywords=&companyName=old+library&location=Oadby&searchType=advance&broaderLocation=LEICESTER%7CLEICESTERSHIRE%7CEAST+MIDLANDS+REGION%7CMIDLANDS%7CENGLAND%7CUNITED+KINGDOM&ooa=&M=1&lCOption23=Oadby_+Leicester&searchall=&clarifyIndex=&clarifyOptions=

I swear it's not where that 1 is, but south a bit on the corner where it says racecourse. And the Weatherspoons is opposite the 1 on the other side of the road. The uni is to the north west (A6 which is also where ASDA is, a couple of mins up the road by car)
Reply 16
If possible i'm going to make a Google map with all these places on it.

I wouldnt say Liquid is so bad that you have to avoid it at all costs lol its right next to Zanzibar and Matalan.
Reply 17
I've been to both Liquid and Zanzibar a few times (back when Liquid was Creation) and the atmosphere was really, really bad. Y'know, when you walk into a room and you can just tell people are itching for a fight. The sort of guys who knock into you then expect you to apologise.
Reply 18
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&q=nightclubs+leicester&fb=1&view=map&cd=1 See if that works, maybe not though.



And on the gay club issue, Quebec does have student nights and it's the best one...surprisely lots of straight people do go in actually.
Streetlife is a gay club too, but my gay friend said it's really crap in there. He only goes to Rainbow and Dove, and Quebec!

I agree about Liquid...some nights are quite bad. I've been around there a good few times with the police van parked around the corner with the police waiting inside for something to kick off. It's only popular because it's the largest.

And I'd killed by my friend if I didn't mention there is a Gentleman's Club only down the road from Liquid for pole and lap dancers..he frequents that place and says the only expensive thing about it is the drinks...so just get drunk beforehand.
Reply 19
jonzza
If possible I'm going to make a Google map with all these places on it.


:hugs: That would be quite good and would probably decrease confusion over which one is which and where!:p:

jonzza

I wouldnt say Liquid is so bad that you have to avoid it at all costs lol its right next to Zanzibar and Matalan.


:hmpf: We shall see; each one [person] to their own. But Punktopia has said about a nightclub of which changes its name everytime someone is murdered there, so I can't see why there wouldn't be an element of truth in that, as it would take a sick, twisted mind to make up something like that. Seeing as I value my safety and would like to stay alive and well, I'm going to be sticking to Punktopia's warning.

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