The best student bars and clubs in Nottingham
Nottingham offers some of the best nights out in the UK. So, freshers: here are the best student clubs and bars in Nottingham to blow your student loan on.
Last updated: 1st Sep 2026
Originally published: 12th Aug 2022
If you’re heading to Nottingham for uni, well, first of all, fantastic choice and congrats! When it comes to a proper night out, the city doesn’t disappoint.
If you’re a fresher, you’re probably gearing up for some mad outings, and we want to help you make the most of Notts’ nightlife. There are some incredible student clubs in Nottingham, and bars too, that cater to pretty much all music tastes and vibes.
Ready for when you meet up with your new fresher mates, here are the best student bars and clubs in Nottingham.
Photo: ROCK CITY / Facebook.com
Where: 8 Talbot Street, Nottingham NG1 5GG
Rock City is widely regarded as the gem in Nottingham’s nightlife crown for a reason. Going since 1980, it offers loads of gigs, club nights, and parties, with weekly club nights: Tuned on Thursdays, Get Lucky on Fridays, and Rebel Rebel on Saturdays - each with drink deals and multiple genres across a couple of rooms. Outside the club nights, in the Beta room, you'll find intimate gigs, with bigger gigs in the Main Hall.
Having hosted Nirvana, Slipknot, Bowie, Oasis, and loads more, Rock City's iconic for a reason. You don't truly get the right to call Nottingham home as a music- or nightlife-loving student until you've walked through its doors.
Find tickets for events at Rock City
Photo: Rescue Rooms / Facebook.com
Where: Masonic Place, Goldsmith Street, Nottingham NG1 5JT
Rescue Rooms is one of those places you’ll keep finding yourself at during your uni years. Saturdays are all about Romance, Nottingham’s biggest indie club night, with free entry and drink deals all night - they also have a weekly indie night on Tuesdays with two-for-one drinks. And Wednesdays see the weekly quiz with free entry and the chance to take home £50.
Fandom parties often take over on Fridays, bringing dedicated themed nights to icons including Charli xcx and Taylor Swift, and musical theatre. And, of course, they host a fair few gigs, karaoke, plus late-night events on their patio.
Find tickets for events at Rescue Rooms
Photo: Stealth / Instagram.com
Where: Masonic Place, Goldsmith Street, Nottingham NG1 5JT
If you’re serious about clubbing, Stealth - “the home of dance music in Nottingham” - is the spot. The sister venue to Rescue Rooms next door, Stealth has two rooms with Funktion-One sound systems.
It's home to NTU’s official student night, Stealth Tuesdays, with two rooms of tunes and two-for-one drinks. You’ll find hip-hop, R&B, amapiano, house, and more in room one, with house, tech house, garage, and DnB in room two. Sometimes they’ll team up with Rescue Rooms for a four-room student night takeover. Outside of that, they always have plenty of DJs booked in, with their 2026 autumn/winter season revealed.
Find tickets for events at Stealth
Photo: The Bodega / Facebook.com
Where: 23 Pelham Street, Nottingham NG1 2ED
Bodega is one of those spots everyone ends up at, whether you’re a student or a local. First of all, there's a happy hour every day until 7pm - £2.50 lager, two for £10 cocktails, £4.50 Guinness, £3 Thatchers, £12.50 bottle of house wine, and £14 bottle of prosecco.
Then there's Indie Wednesdays, 00s night Shameless on Saturdays, and Pop Confessional on Fridays, both with drink deals. Plus, there are quiz nights, The Bodega Social club on Mondays with board games, and gigs booked in.
Always buzzing, always brilliant, Bodega also has two of Nottingham’s best beer gardens for chatting. With multiple awards under their belt, The Bodega is the perfect all-rounder.
Photo: Nottingham Secret Garden / Instagram.com
Where: 17, 3/4 Trinity Walk, Nottingham NG1 2AN
Hidden away, fully covered, and built for late nights, Nottingham Secret Garden is where the ‘cocktails and tunes’ crowd come to play. It’s all about looking sharp, drink in hand, and moving to house remixes that keep the floor alive. Think beer garden raves, immersive playground vibes, and parties rolling into the early hours, with deals on cocktails.
If that sounds like your scene, you’ve just found your spot.
Find tickets for events at Nottingham Secret Garden
Photo: UNIT 13 / Instagram.com
Where: Burton Street, Nottingham NG1 4BT
Unit 13 is Nottingham’s heavy-hitting rave den. It has three rooms: the main room with an immersive wraparound LED wall; room two/The Cage, an industrial caged 360-degree DJ booth; and The Afters, which, set inside a '90s flat hidden in the club, has a house party vibe. You’ll likely head here for the bass-heavy DJs - your DnB, bassline, some UKG - but you’ll also find some house and other genres.
Recently bringing in new sound, lighting, and production, they’ve only gone and taken it up another notch!
Find tickets for events at Unit 13
Photo: www.thelevelnottingham.co.uk
Where: The Students’ Union Building, Shakespeare Street, Nottingham NG1 4GH
The Level's made up of three spaces: the 1.2k-cap The Level, 600-cap The Landing balcony bar, and intimate 350-cap venue The Loft. It hosts gigs and club nights, including their student-only night on Saturdays, which boasts huge tunes (house, techno, DnB, chart, hip-hop, R&B) across three floors, laser shows, and drink deals. You’ll find it just a short walk from the Notts Trent Uni tram stop.
Find tickets for events at The Level
Where: Binks Yard, The Island Quarter, 1 The Great Northern Close, Nottingham NG2 3JL
The city’s “home of social dining” goes beyond great scran - Binks Yard also hosts live music every Sunday, DJs on Thursdays and Saturdays, film and sport screenings, and has plenty of outdoor seats for canal-side dining.
Binks Yard loves a quiz, terrace parties, and game days, also boasting a large selection of craft beer and cocktails, and a wine bar. An all-ages, all-day food, drink, and entertainment venue, it’s a shout to check out on those days when you want to do something but aren't too sure what.
Find tickets for events at Binks Yard
Photo: The Brickworks / Instagram.com
Where: Newark Street, Sneinton, Nottingham NG2 4PP
Out of sight and underground, The Brickworks is an intimate warehouse on the edge of the Creative Quarter. Consciously off the beaten track, it’s the haunt for the cool kids chasing a proper underground vibe. Not strictly for students, but typically made up of a younger crowd, you’ll find plenty of DJs from across multiple genres booked in. It’s raw, it’s real, and it’s one of the most exciting raving spots in the city.
Find tickets for events at The Brickworks
Ocean
Photo: trentevents.co.uk
Where: Greyfriar Gate, Nottingham NG1 7EF
The Big O is legendary for anyone who has called the city home as a student. Student-only and only open during term time, the club has two nights: Wednesdays for Trent Uni (the official sports and societies night) and Fridays for Nottingham Uni. If you’re after that classic, messy uni night surrounded solely by your fellow students, Ocean is where it’s at. Loud, chaotic, and unforgettable. Tickets are available only through NTSU or Ocean’s website.
Photo: Nottingham Bierkeller / Facebook.com
Where: 15-17 Friar Ln, Nottingham NG1 6DA
Bierkeller is chaos in the best way. Steins bigger than your head (cocktail steins if you aren’t a fan of beer), music you can’t help but shout along to, and the kind of atmosphere where everyone ends up on the tables by the end of the night. It’s not subtle, but that’s exactly the point - it’s pure, messy fun.
They do student discounts, including 30% off food, cheaper steins and cocktails, discounted spirit mixers, three for £11 VKs and Hooch, and four shots for £10. Keller Karaoke on Tuesdays could land you with a £50 cash prize; Get Wrecked Wednesdays make Bierkeller part of Nott Trent’s Ocean Wednesdays bar crawl; and Open Mic Thursdays offer budget‑friendly drinks. And yes, they have a beer garden!
Think Freshers Think Skiddle. Find loads of freshers events in the city, or discover Nottingham's nightlife scene more broadly, spanning clubs, raves, gigs, and so much more.
Check out our What's On Guide to discover even more rowdy raves and sweaty gigs taking place over the coming weeks and months. For festivals, lifestyle events and more, head on over to our Things To Do page or be inspired by the event selections on our Inspire Me page.
Header: ROCK CITY / Facebook.com