Arriving in a new city comes with so many different layers of fears – all valid in their own way. My greatest fear when moving to university was finding nights out in a brand-new city.
I could have really used a guide of all the places I should try, although I must admit I probably would’ve only loosely listened to the advice. The best way to find a club that suits you is to try it all and decide what works and what doesn’t, especially if you don’t have much clubbing experience and aren’t sure what to look out for.
To help you navigate your quest of finding the perfect club, I have put together a tried and tested guide of where to go for the best night out on any day of the week.
Disclaimer: these clubs can all be tried at your own pace, this guide is not intending to encourage you to a week of clubbing. Please drink responsibly and club in moderation.
Monday:
Every week in Southampton is off to a great start, with a short and sweet night at a low cost. Jesters Nightclub offers a £1 deal on pints and shots. On top of the drink deals, you can make Jesters even easier on your bank account by arriving before 10:30pm for free entry – or taking part in the upcoming Jestival, the Gold Card Challenge, which can earn you free entry to Jesters for the entire year!
The club serves their own collection of pint-sized cocktails in various fun flavours and colours; the Jesticle is the usual star of the show, but an underrated personal favourite is the Harlequin, though you’ll definitely have time to try all options and choose your go to as Jesters is usually a safe pick for a fun night out.
With its 2am close, there is hardly ever a good excuse to say no to Jesters, an easy night out with loads of guaranteed fun. The dancefloor is filled with students jumping along to chart music and pop classics and – beware – occasionally shirtless men.
Though the venue is small, it has a highly popular garden where you are always guaranteed to encounter chaos; Jesters is never short on chaos.
This club did not earn its title of Worst Club in the UK by coincidence. You’ll have to see for yourself what the experience of the worst nightclub in the country truly means, and I suggest you do so, on Monday Nights.
Tuesday:
The week isn’t getting any more expensive, as Tuesday nights have a non-negotiable spot reserved for Sobar. Sobar’s drink deals are lethal, encouraging you to purchase 8 shots of vodka at once to reach their minimum card spend limit.
With a £1 double shot of vodka, or more popularly £2 quad-vods, disguised by sweetly sweet mixers, Sobar will not be a night to remember, no matter how much you’ll wish you could.
Make sure you buy your entry ticket in advance or you risk a long queue or even not getting in!
Similar to Jesters, Sobar is a student club at its core, filled with hit songs and drunken dramatics. Sobar has two floors and a garden which is always just as much of an event as the inside of the club. Another 2am close, I would never dare to refer to Sobar as an easy night out, but at least it does generously leave a good amount of time for recovery.
Earning a spot as an undeniable Freshers’ Favourite, Sobar nights make Tuesdays a personal favourite of mine for a night out.
Wednesday:
If you are planning on joining a Sport’s Society at university, you can skip ahead – your team will have socials planned for you on Wednesday nights featuring much more insanity than anything I am writing about here.
For those of you choosing to stay away from university athleticism, welcome to Edge! Edge is the LGBTQ+ club in Southampton which is a different vibe to the previous two nights.
Their Wednesday student night, BAR150, features £1.50 drink deals, upstairs karaoke and a downstairs DJ playing party tunes until 5am! Edge is another club that has a garden filled with as many students as its dancefloors, but this garden sells food!
There aren’t many drunken needs Edge can’t fulfil, and whether you are brave enough to party until 5am or will be the first to suggest going home, I highly recommend Edge Wednesdays.
Thursday:
If you’re using this guide to find one club night you’re willing to attempt – here is what you have been looking for. Trilogy is a classic. The main room of Trilogy hosts D&B and R&B and other Dance music, while the downstairs disco room is mainly reserved for chart music.
Trilogy is most reminiscent of the typical club scene, outside of the unique nights Southampton has to offer, making it a staple night out. Trilogy Thursdays will appeal to anyone who loves a giveaway, with free lollipops on entry – gifting you a ridiculously colourful tongue for the night – free pizza, toast, glowsticks and more memorabilia to remind you of the iconic night.
If you want to dance until 4am, are a fan of club music and looking for the best night out in Southampton, Trilogy is the place. In my very well-informed opinion, nothing quite compares to Trilogy.
Friday:
I will not tell you where to spend your weekend nights. Friday nights are easy, as almost everything is good on a Friday. I will use this space to mention a classic Southampton night out, especially for Freshers.
Switch is a club to keep an eye on, as they tend to run fun events with different perks. Like Trilogy, Switch is another Southampton club which doesn’t have the unique strangeness nightclubs in this city usually might – it is a club that feels like a club, it is often busy and has good club music and gets the job done.
It isn’t special, in my opinion, but it is definitely one to try. It was the first club I tried in Southampton and I loved it, so it will always have a special place in my heart.
Saturday:
Saturday nights are another example of when you won’t struggle to find a good night out anywhere. While many students prefer the weekday nights I have mentioned, I would not call any club on a Saturday night bad.
Keep in mind that drink deals from the student nights do not hold on other days, so your experience will be slightly more expensive, and weekends tend to be less student focused and more of the general public – or as much as you’ll see of them in a student city like Southampton.
You can pick your favourite club from above or you can attempt one of the other clubs in Southampton, though I haven’t found many to be worthwhile. Either way, Saturday nights are rarely unsuccessful.
Sunday:
An unlikely end to the week, Popworld Sundays are something you will probably be sceptical of until you try it. I was. However, pop hits on a vibrant dancefloor, drink deals and a photobooth for a staple drunken photoshoot – Popworld isn’t really missing any marks.
While this is one of the nights out more popular with the general public, and far less student-saturated, the vibes in Popworld are always what you need them to be. Overall, a good end to a carefully curated week of ideal nights out.
