Lagos, Nigeria's most populous city, is known for its adventurous spirit and vibrant nightlife. With a constant influx of visitors and a new bar or restaurant opening seemingly every week, Lagos offers a plethora of choices for those seeking a refreshing cocktail or a night out. There's a vibe for everyone, whether it's a relaxing drink by the lagoon, a buzzing rooftop terrace with spectacular views, or live music.
Nightclubs and Lounges
If you’re seeking a luxurious experience while dancing to great music and mingling with the ‘young, rich and restless’ of Lagos, then Club Quilox is where you should be. Aside from the big dance floor, prompt service and luxurious interiors, the club also has some of the best deejays spinning.
Escape Nightlife is another great nightclub with impressive drinks, fantastic deejays and ambience. It is easily accessible from both mainland and island.
Formerly known as the Bacchus Club, Club 57 is one of the best places to lose your inhibitions and let down your hair after working so hard. Unlike most other clubs in Lagos, it offers all-week service and serves great cocktails.
From the outset, Nitro Nightclub has tried to set itself apart from others with their strict filtering of their clientele, offering great music and a nice ambience.
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Virus Lagos is a casual night club, open only on Wednesdays and Fridays, offering great music and is a haunt of music stars.
The Garage by Caliente is one of the best nightclubs with fairly priced drinks in Lagos, with a large number of expat clientele and great music.
Club Vegas is one of the hottest nightclubs on the mainland. With an easily accessible location in Ikeja and reasonably priced drinks, the club has established itself as the go-to place for fun-seekers.
At Road Runners, located at Yaba in Lagos, it’s ‘party-non-stop’. The location is easily accessible, drinks are affordable and deejays that knows their onions.
The Vault Bar offers great music and drinks, with live music, stand-up comedy shows and special packages also on offer.
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Club Temptation at Surulere is one of the places on the mainland to have a great time with great music, casual, down-to-earth ambience and friendly service.
Rooftop Bars and Waterside Spots
Mood, a rooftop restaurant and lounge, offers a stylish setting that is Instagram-worthy. Vibrant cocktails include pink margaritas and a rum and brandy-based Zombie Era, served with snacks such as double fried crispy plantain.
The View enjoys the calming sounds of the waves lapping at the Atlantic coast. If the stunning rooftop views weren’t enough, It’s located at the top of TwinWaters Entertainment Centre, which also houses two fine dining restaurants, a gaming arcade, and a bowling alley.
A floating bar, coupled with live music and comedy shows, makes Sailor’s Lounge one of Lagos’ best waterside spots. Located in Lekki Phase 1, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a quiet night at this restaurant and bar. The customer service is top-notch - one of those rare places where the staff are clearly and genuinely enjoying themselves - a feeling surely aided by the refreshing breeze of the Lagoon.
Lagoon offers jumbo-sized glasses for their cocktails. Their cocktail menu is eclectic and entertaining too - drinks like “comfortable fuzzy screw up against the wall with a kiss” immediately stand out. Yes, the menu is unabashedly diverse, and its waterside location is enviable.
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Bars with Unique Experiences
The unashamedly boisterous energy of New Afrika Shrine makes it Lagos’ most spirited bar. It was established to preserve the legacy of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, founded by his son and daughter to replace the original Afrika Shrine that Fela himself opened in 1970 before it burned down seven years later.
Today, the New Afrika Shrine is as thriving as ever, and without a shred of pretence. If you happen to visit when Fela’s sons Femi or Seun are in town - both brilliant sax players and band leaders in their own right - prepare for an all-out Afrobeat party, with a multitude of dancers moving to the beat of some of Nigeria’s best musicians. There’s no fancy cocktails here, and you’ll find the only imported items are the cheap lagers. There’s no need for Long Islands or Mai Tais, however, when the locally made palm wine already takes you to the stars (not to mention the pungent clouds of second-hand smoke). It even received a visit from Emmanuel Macron in 2018.
Bature Brewery prides itself on using local ingredients to create some of Lagos’ most delicious craft beers, but that’s not all this relatively new hotspot has become known for. Tucked away in the centre of Etim Inyang Crescent, an area awash with nightlife-chasing expats, the brewery comes alive almost every evening with a fine selection of beers, cocktails and wines at your disposal. On Tuesday nights, Lagos’ millennial crowd flocks here to enjoy some Mexican food spilling over from the neighbouring El Padrino restaurant, and on Fridays, Bature boasts an ever-changing lineup of live music with local artists taking to the stage.
Offering a glimpse of the party style of Lagos’ upper echelons, W Bar borrows elements from many internationally acclaimed restaurants, bars, and clubs, blending them together to create one of the city’s hottest bars. Located right next to the peaceful waters of Lagos Lagoon, guests can enjoy fresh seafood, Italian dishes and classic cocktails as the sun sets (doors open at 6pm), and let their hair down for a dance once it’s dark.
Located at the top of Ikeja City Mall, the mainland’s most visited mall, Rhapsody’s makes up for its mundane car park views with impeccable service and mouthwatering cocktails. Evenings here are anything but calm, and as the mall shuts down for the day, this nightlife magnet comes alive with pulsating music from Nigeria’s biggest artists.
RSVP brings together Manhattan decor and an undeniable Lagos vibe for a classy dining experience. While the restaurant offers some of Lagos’ priciest meals, the Poolside Bar, located right behind, is a casual yet equally gorgeous outdoor bar that offers fairly priced cocktails and a slinky ambience. It’s become a preferred spot for after-work drinks as it’s situated in Victoria Island, one of Lagos’ key business and financial districts.
Here's a summary table of some of the best bars in Lagos:
| Bar Name | Type | Location | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Club Quilox | Nightclub | Victoria Island | Luxurious, great music, young crowd |
| Escape Nightlife | Nightclub | Victoria Island | Impressive drinks, fantastic DJs |
| New Afrika Shrine | Bar | Ikeja | Afrobeat music, cultural experience |
| Bature Brewery | Brewery | Etim Inyang Crescent | Craft beers, live music, expat crowd |
| Sailor's Lounge | Waterside Bar | Lekki Phase 1 | Floating bar, live music, comedy |
| Rhapsody's | Restaurant/Bar | Ikeja City Mall | Mouthwatering cocktails, lively atmosphere |
| RSVP | Restaurant/Bar | Victoria Island | Classy dining, poolside bar, after-work spot |
Why Lagos Is One of the World's Hottest Nightlife Cities
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