Town Nightlife Reviews

Eastbourne, East Sussex

Eastbourne Overview

By day, Eastbourne is a quiet, seaside town that thrives on the income generated from students through the summer and is generally very large for a town. Initial plans for the town to turn into a city were denied and so Eastbourne becomes border-line between a town and city. This is never truer than with the nightlife. By night the town is transformed into a bustling, busy area with a concentrated area full of clubs, bars, kebab houses and karaoke bars. Stretching between the bus lanes near the station down to the pier, the town is full of busy bars; all catering for different markets. If you’re looking to have a wild night; Shooters cocktail bar and the various bars round the one way system are ideal. In comparison, if you want to relax and have a few quiet drinks, Wetherspoons is great for this.

Nightclubs

This is where Eastbourne really gets confusing. The 4 predominant clubs are that of Kings, Atlantis, TJs and the new ‘club-on-the-block’, Funktion Rooms. On top of this, there are around 4 of 5 smaller clubs around Eastbourne including ‘The Club’ in Hampden Park and Fitzys, Maxims & Bassment all situated in town to name a few. Different clubs have different target markets but all stick predominantly to what’s well-known. The 4 main clubs all attract large numbers of people on different nights with Kings being the busiest and well-known for being one of the best in the town.

Kings

Kings is situated just outside the prime-bar areas at the end of the one-way system in Eastbourne and is easily one of the best places to go at the weekend. Kings is split across two floors with upstairs giving the feeling of being in an American wooden bar with wooden stools, a large dancefloor and bar stretching across one side of the wall. There is almost always a large number of people that come to Kings and the upstairs of Kings attracts an older crowd with the varied selection of cheese and old-time classics.

The downstairs of Kings is really where clubbers can let loose and features a dancefloor situated in the middle of the room and 2 bars on either side in the corners. The music is completely varied on this floor with music ranging from UK garage, hip hop, house, clubland and classics to name a few so you’ll never get bored of the same style of music.

Kings is always busy on a Friday night, generating full capacity week in and week out and Saturday, although slightly less busy, still attracting a hefty number of people. Kings is the number 1 choice in Eastbourne at the weekend with a well-known reputation for being one of the best places to go clubbing at the weekend.

Recommended Nights:
Friday Night Saturday Night

Atlantis

Atlantis has the most luxurious location out of all the clubs and is the easiest to find out of all the clubs. Atlantis is located on the end of the pier down Eastbourne seafront and on a nice evening is a perfect end to the night. However, when the weather is bad, Atlantis suffers more than the other clubs due to its location.

The interior of Atlantis is slightly dated and is in serious need for a refurbishment but other than that, is still a decent venue to go to on a Saturday Night. Atlantis is a one-room venue with cages lining the back of the DJ booth that overlooks a large dancefloor. There is a ‘VIP’ area that anyone can enter at any time for a well-earned sit down and a drink but at peak-time, it is rarely possible to find one of the seating areas empty. There are 3 bars spread across the venue including a small shot bar. The music rarely differentiates between cheese and hip hop so anyone looking for the best dance music should definitely steer clear of this venue!

Due to the popularity of Kings and Funktion Rooms on a Friday Night, Atlantis is rarely busy on a Friday Night but in return, Atlantis is one of the prime places to go on a Saturday Night. On top of this, Atlantis is also the best student venue to go to on a Wednesday Night with arguably the best prices on a Wednesday.

Recommended Nights:
Saturday Night Wednesday Night

Funktion Rooms

Funktion Rooms is situated opposite the bingo hall in Eastbourne and has been arguably one of the best and worst venues in Eastbourne to open. Funktion Rooms boasts 3 floors with a ground-breaking sound system and varied music across the 3 floors. The biggest problem with this venue is that it never seems to understand the Eastbourne public and give them what they want consistently.

Funktion Rooms has arguably the steepest drink prices on a Saturday Night but make up for this on a Monday Night, which has grown to be a ‘must-go’ place for students on a Monday with Pints and bottled alcopops a measly £1.50 and a double house spirit and a mixer only £2.

Having said this, the venue is experimental and is always trying to push the clubbing scene in Eastbourne to the next level, offering the best in dance music and some truly awesome acts performing on bank holidays including Ministry Of Sound, Mass Recordings, Cream, Gatecrasher, Matt Darey and Fierce Angel to name a few. Funktion Rooms has recently grown into attracting garage fans with, in my opinion, has-been performers including ‘DJ Pied Piper’. Funktion Rooms’ popularity is as varied as any venue and is hit or miss whether it is filled to the brim or really quiet. However, if you’re passing by, this venue is a great place to check out; especially if dance music is your thing!

Recommended Nights:
Monday Nights Bank Holiday Sundays

TJs

TJs is the most difficult venue to find if you’re passing through Eastbourne, squeezed between Debenhams and a clothes shop down the one way system, TJs often attracts a ‘hardcore’ crowd with many people repeatedly visiting this venue and rarely differentiates the music and target market. TJs attracts many Indie fans and casual hip hop fans with the blend of Hip Hop and RnB downstairs and an Indie Night on certain nights upstairs.

TJs has some of the best drink prices around generally attracts a friendly crowd. Having said this, however, TJs has a reputation for being one of the most violent venues around with fights erupting at any time. The venue is generally safe so the violence is a mystery but is well worth a mention. There are 3 bars in TJs, one being upstairs and 2 downstairs. The club has recently had a refurbishment and thus looks fairly new although being one of the longest standing clubs in Eastbourne to date. Having said that, TJs is worth checking out through the week with Tuesday being Rock Night and Thursday being one of the best valued venues to go to with a special ‘buy one get one free’ offer than extends past bottled drinks to any drink in the venue minus champagne. TJs is worth checking out through the week but at the weekend its best to head to one of the bigger sized venues!

Recommended Nights:
Tuesday Night Thursday Night