3 clubs that bang in Hanoi

A guide to to get wasted this summer.

Time for cultural explanation: In Vietnam, when it comes to dancing and bass-heavy music, “club” is not the word of choice. And because no kind of sexual teasing service is legal, strip clubs are nowhere to be found, leaving dance clubs taking up almost all the linguistic space left. People here “go to bar” together, and by bar, most of the time they actually mean club. Though riddled with high tables and void of decent dancing space in order to meet the local show-off demand, the nightlife scene here is still worth wasting on.

1900

Lying on the narrower end of the “foreigner” street of Ta Hien, 1900 is the latest addition to the list of Hanoi clubs worth going to. Upon entering, prepare to be shocked. No one would expect a tiny street barely able to fit a Smart Fortwo to host a place the size of a theater. 1900 is now officially the hottest club in the capital, with the space in front of the DJ being the closest to what we call a dance floor, filled with clubbers no matter the day. Nice design, good vibe, dope clientele and civilized music are the things to be expected here. And you’re heading to the Old Quarter anyway, so there’s no harm trying.

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The Bank

Used to be the place that attracts the most “investment”, the Bank [of entertainment, as they claim] is still the place to get wasted for many of the EDM generation in Hanoi. Its weekly “Ladies’ night” is the best in town on offer every Wednesday. The “all you can drink, men pay only” scheme sucks up clubbers from anywhere else and a tsunami of freeloaders that would have otherwise stayed home. It’s a bit off the Old Quarter on Hai Ba Trung Street, but if you are in town and suddenly find yourself with mid-week blues, you know where to go now.

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Hero

Not sure if the clubs suffer from closing time amnesia or the police just loves knocking on their doors past midnight

While clubs suffer from closing time amnesia, the police just love enforcing the post midnight curfew with a “friendly” knock on the door of every single club. No wonder Hero, which somehow manages to stay open all night long, is literally the hero of hardcore clubbers.

Not so different from other venues scattering the city, Hero, on Yen Phu Street, emerges as the only place danceable until 3, sometimes 4, in the morning. Clients kicked out of obedient clubs flock here to waste the last piece of sobriety in them. With all the cages, poles and a… dance floor, what else can one ask for?

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