The Best Nightclubs in Melbourne for Every Sound and Style

Melbourne is a nightlife mecca, boasting a diverse range of hotspots from live music venues to DJ-driven clubs and electric dance floors. Whether you’re a fan of deep house, techno, or classic club beats, this city has it all.

These nightclubs offer an experience that’s far more exhilarating than any night of sleep. So, slip into your best dancing shoes, because we’re about to take you on a journey through the best spots to party in Melbourne.

Stamina

Down in the old Banana Alley Vaults, Stamina doesn’t just turn up the volume — it detonates it. Saturdays here run on hard techno, hard bounce and BPMs that feel less like music and more like a physical force moving through concrete. Three rooms glow under strobes, NEXO stacks push out sound with chest-thumping clarity, and the crowd locks in for the long haul, feeding off a pulse that refuses to drop.

It’s raw, relentless Melbourne: sweat on stone, bodies in motion, a night that doesn’t slow or soften — it surges.

Banana Valley Vaults, Melbourne CBD

Solace

Solace slips into Croft Alley like it’s always been part of the city’s nocturnal architecture — a three-storey fever dream carved into Chinatown’s shadows. The lines nod to Bauhaus but the mood is all Melbourne: low light, clever angles, an undercurrent of anticipation. The first level eases you in with cocktails built for lingering; upstairs, the tempo sharpens as loungers catch the glow of passing bodies; climb again and the night breaks open. The top floor is pure release, driven by Funktion-One precision and electronic acts that stay with you long after closing time.

21-25 Croft Alley, Melbourne

Club Retro

If your weekend calls for pure, no-overthinking fun, Club Retro is your girl. Three levels, a rooftop, glow-lit bars and a dance floor that refuses to wind down before sunrise. The playlist is a shameless ride through 80s, 90s and 2000s anthems, the tracks you know word-for-word even if you pretend you don’t. It’s messy in the best way, loud in all the right corners, and built for nights that turn into stories. Gather your crew and let the nostalgia carry you till closing time.

383 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne 

The Lame Duck

Gertrude Street knows how to keep a night moving, and The Lame Duck sits at the centre of it with a grin. Inside, the room glows with retro glamour: hot-pink palms, wood panelling, a little sparkle, a lot of character. DJs spin the kind of tracks that pull people off their bar stools, and suddenly the whole place feels light, loose and ready for whatever comes next. It’s intimate, cheeky, and very Fitzroy after midnight.

Level 1/247 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy 

Angel Music Bar

Angel Music Bar leans into Melbourne’s after-dark buzz with precision: sleek lines, smart cocktails and a sound system built to swallow you whole. Sitting on Bourke Street, this two-level audiophile den runs on Funktion-One power, delivering bass that arrives before you do. Downstairs hums with energy and low-lit chatter; upstairs is the sanctum — soundproofed, intimate, designed for total immersion. DJs take the room deep into the early hours, pulling a crowd that’s here for one reason only: to get lost in the beat and stay there.

12 Bourke Street, Melbourne 

Miscellania

Miscellania brings Melbourne’s underground instinct into full focus — a rooftop, loft-style haunt above Swanston Street built for those who crave sound that pushes beyond the usual. Since 2022, it has grown into a beacon for experimental electronic artists, vinyl fiends and late-night creatives chasing something more textured than standard club fare. Minimalist architecture keeps the room raw and alive; city lights hover at rooftop height; the music leads every moment. It’s a late-night haven for curious ears and the city’s most adventurous dancers.

2/401 Swanston Street, Melbourne

Glamorama

Glamorama is a Fitzroy icon and the go-to spot for Melburnians craving a Friday or Saturday night boogie. Both rising and established DJs draw crowds with pulsating techno beats that keep you dancing. Red LED lights flash overhead as you soak in the music, groove with friends, and lose yourself in the energy of the night.

393 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy

Nerve Club

If hard and fast is your tempo, Nerve Club hits the accelerator every Friday. A newer face in Melbourne’s after-dark scene, it has already carved out a reputation for late-night intensity — the sort of room where the kick drum feels like it’s moving through the floorboards. Expect hard techno, turbo-charged house and high-voltage sets from local heavyweights and international guests. It’s the place you end up when you want a night that goes all the way in: loud, relentless, and charged with bodies that don’t stop moving.

585 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne

Howler

Hidden down a car park entrance opposite the Brunswick Baths, Howler transforms a former wool store into a lush, warehouse-bar canvas. Trees and hanging plants soften the industrial shell, while inside the main space plays host to indie, electronic and arts-driven performances late into the night. It’s Brunswick’s refreshingly unconventional take on a night out: music-first, community-oriented and creatively charged.

7-11 Dawson Street, Brunswick

Bar Bambi

Down AC/DC Lane, Bar Bambi channels LA-and-Italy glamour with a late-night pulse. On one hand it’s plush velvet booths, Italian wines, creative share plates and live piano; on the other, it shifts into a sit-up-and-dance space brimming with DJs and to-midnight energy. At this seductive late-night player, Melbourne’s most glamorous move a little sharper.

Enter via basement 103-105 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

Electric Bar

Formerly known as Electric Lady Lounge, Electric Bar has undergone a resurgence, quickly establishing itself as one of Melbourne’s best nightclubs (even Dua Lipa has paid a visit). Each weekend, the line stretches up Chapel Street, signalling the anticipation for the party that begins the moment you step inside. With drinks flowing, top-tier DJs rocking the packed dancefloor, and swinging chandeliers adding to the chaos, this venue offers an unforgettable night out. 

265-267 Chapel Street, Prahran

HER Music Room

HER Music Room is where immersive art and killer beats collide. Step into the intimate, soundproof space and sink into a vinyl collection that hits in all the right places, spun by top-tier DJs every night. It’s a setting built wholly around sound — until you slip upstairs to HER Rooftop for a little air and city glow. A seamless blend of music, mood and late-night energy in the heart of Melbourne.

Level 1, HER, 270 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne

The Emerson

The Emerson is where Melbourne’s nightlife hits its peak: a bar, eatery, and nightclub that morphs into a pulsating dance floor after dark. For laid-back vibes, the newly revamped Emerson Rooftop offers killer views, a killer drinks menu, and mouthwatering Japanese-inspired bites. But when the weekend rolls in, it’s time to get down at The Club, where the city’s best DJs keep the party going ‘til the early hours.

141-145 Commercial Road, South Yarra

New Guernica

After more than a decade soundtracking the CBD’s after-dark adventures, New Guernica has slipped into a new postcode — and Collingwood suits it. The club’s Thursday night hedonism has earned near-myth status; most Melburnians have found themselves beneath that disco ball at least once, losing hours to basslines that don’t quit.

Now set inside a heritage corner building on Smith and Gertrude, New Guernica still pulls heavyweight electronic acts and cultivates the sort of night where the room feels alive, the crowd moves as one, and 4am arrives far too quickly. It remains one of Melbourne’s defining dance floors — a rite of passage with serious staying power.

64 Smith Street, Collingwood

The Night Cat

Renowned as one of Melbourne’s best live music institutions, The Night Cat is a vibrant bar and nightclub beloved by many. Specialising in funk, soul, Latin, disco, hip hop, and R&B, this Fitzroy favourite has launched the careers of some of Australia’s biggest names, including The Cat Empire and The Bamboos. With its edgy vibes, bustling party nights, and a unique 360-degree stage, it keeps loyal regulars coming back for more. 

137-141 Johnston Street, Fitzroy

The Toff in Town

The Toff’s magic lies in its split personality — two venues tucked into one hidden floor of Curtin House. Step left and you’re in a moody carriage-style cocktail room, all velvet, intimacy and late-night glamour. Step right and the space opens into one of Melbourne’s most beloved live-music rooms, where bands, DJs and genre-bending performers keep the city moving long after midnight.

It’s this duality — refined booth-side cocktails on one side, sweat-til-late dance energy on the other — that makes The Toff a genuine Melbourne icon. A place for creatively charged nights, last rounds that turn into next rounds, and the sort of music-led experiences that define a city’s after-dark culture.

2f/252 Swanston Street, Melbourne

Onesixone

A Prahran institution, Onesixone has solidified its place as one of Melbourne’s premier nightclubs, serving the next generation of ravers year after year. Synonymous with late nights on Chapel Street, this all-encompassing entertainment venue offers a space and vibe for everyone. With lavish booths, a cosy rooftop bar, and a pulsating light-up dance floor, you’ll want to pack your sunnies — especially if you’re staying for the Breakfast Club.

161 High Street, Prahran

Sub Club

While plenty is happening across the city’s streets, it’s what lies beneath them that excites us. A subterranean music venue hiding in plain sight, Sub Club is as underground as it gets. Sitting somewhere between an art installation and a nightclub, the bunker-like space favours left-of-centre sounds and subcultures that entice an eclectic range of punters every weekend.

Flinders Street, Melbourne 

Now you know where to find the best nightclubs in Melbourne, discover the city’s best hidden bars for something a little more low key. Looking for more inspiration for fun in the city? Find out what’s on in Melbourne this month.