Berlinkys Glasgow, Sauchiehall Street
££ | Live music, late licence
I don’t think you can call Berlinkys a club. It is more of a full-production night out: live singers, dancers, confetti, two floors, and no interest in keeping things subtle. More often than not, this Sauchiehall Street staple feels like it is coming off the back of a showtime finale — big, busy, and built for groups, with tables for the first round and a small dance floor that stays pretty full throughout the night. If you want the reliable good-time option, this is it.
Good to know: Book ahead and ask for downstairs; upstairs shuts earlier.
RADIO Glasgow, City Centre
£££ | Cocktails, live music, late licence
RADIO is the new Sauchiehall Street arrival, making a very strong case for staying out late. In the emphatic words of Hannah Montana, it’s the best of both worlds. You’ve got a beautiful speakeasy with velvet interiors, beautiful cocktails, and an ambience that suits the first few. Upstairs, the facade disappears, and you’ll find a more traditional Irish bar vibe: more people, more noise, and live music that brings a fun atmosphere.
Good to know: For a hen, be specific when booking. The speakeasy is gorgeous but more chilled; if you want atmosphere from the start, ask for the livelier upstairs bar.
Maggies Rock n’ Rodeo, Trongate
££ | Live music, late licence
Maggies Rock ‘n’ Rodeo is as committed as the name suggests. Inside, you’ll find saloon-style booths, live music, line dancing and a mechanical bull that is both the worst idea and the best video of the night. Maggies is more themed than polished, but that is the point. For a big, daft, high-spirited version of a Glasgow night out — ideally after a few drinks — the Cowboy Ceilidh night is exactly the kind of nonsense you want everyone bought into. If you want something sleek, this most certainly isn’t the spot.
Good to know: The bull itself may not justify the queue, but watching everyone else attempt it absolutely does.
Kitty O’Shea’s, Waterloo Street
££ | Irish bar, live music
Kitty O’Shea’s is warm, crowded and, in true Irish bar style, completely without pretence: wooden floors, live music, an incredible Guinness and an atmosphere that only gets better as the night goes on. With multiple bars, you are rarely waiting long for a drink, and even better, large groups can reserve without a deposit (a rare and beautiful thing when planning a hen). Ask for an alcove just off the dancefloor: close enough to stay in it, useful enough to have somewhere to call home when the place fills up.
Good to know: Book ahead; there is very little seating without it. Weekend live music runs across both floors until 3am.
Manuka, Bath Street
££ | DJs, late licence
Manuka is probably the closest thing on this list to the club nights you remember from your early twenties. Or at least, it is for me. Set across four rooms on Bath Street, it has the essential ingredients: bars, booths, a dancefloor, an outside terrace and DJs playing hip hop, R&B, house and chart. It is open until 3am at the weekend, and the crowd skews younger, so expect the sudden and humbling realisation that you are a little bit old… Still, sometimes that is precisely what a hen weekend requires.
Good to know: Book a booth if you want a base. Bath Street is still central, but it is a little more of a walk from Central Station than some of the other options on this list.
Sub Club, Jamaica Street
££ | DJs, underground club
Sub Club is on the list, but with a major caveat: this is not a margaritas-and-ambience kind of night. Far from. Founded in 1987, the Jamaica Street basement is one of Glasgow’s great nightlife institutions; dark, loud, sweaty, and built around the music. It is a place for a group that wants house, techno, and a true underground club atmosphere, not somewhere to perch with a cocktail.
Good to know: This is one for the music lovers, not the whole hen party by default.
Wunderbar, City Centre
££ | DJs, live music, late licence
If you’re local, you know Wunderbar as the trusty favourite. Even if you set out with every intention of trying somewhere new, at some point in the night, you will find yourself here. Glasgow’s answer to an Albert Schloss, it’s slightly hard to find but harder to leave, louder than anyone needs at the start of the evening, and usually full enough to decide for you. The crowd is young, the music switches between live sets and DJs, and while it is not the sleek choice, it doesn’t need to be. Reserve ahead of time; walk-ins if there’s more than four of you are all but impossible.
Good to know: Bar service can slow down when it is rammed, but the atmosphere usually makes up for it. This is the practical, lively, no-one-will-complain option.
