Which New London Club First? Palais, Club Cheek, Gaffe and Coven Compared

If you only try one of London's new clubs this winter, make it Palais on Rye Lane in Peckham: a 500-capacity basement that opened in February 2026, with a five-way Funktion-One system, a strict no-phones rule and tickets from £10 to £27.50. Go to Club Cheek in Brixton second, for a cheap DIY night under a railway arch. Gaffe is the long night, running to 07:00, but it has moved from Wandsworth Road to a warehouse in Edmonton, N18. Coven in Soho is a queer cabaret and techno club that shuts at 1am, so treat it as the start of a night. Time Out added three of these rooms to its best-clubs list in August as a news item. Here they are side by side, judged the way a DJ judges a room: sound, door, price and hours.

The four rooms side by side

Ticket ranges are the RA tiers for autumn dates at the time of writing (late September 2026), including fees. They move as releases sell out.

Palais, Peckham: the one to go to first

Palais is in the old Jones and Higgins department store at the top of Rye Lane, which housed the original Peckham Palais club until 2011. Co-founder Jamie Rule told Mixmag, which called it London's best new nightclub, that the building had stood empty for around 12 years and been squatted, and that the team had to rebuild it from scratch. Night Group, the team behind Netil360 and Night Tales, runs it. The club is an acoustically treated 500-capacity basement with a ground-level booth and, by Rule's account to Mixmag, ten Funktion-One BR118 subs, two BR121s and a BRF132 infra bass. That is a lot of sub for 500 people, and it is why I put it first. Upstairs, the Ballroom is a cocktail bar and listening space, open Fridays and Saturdays from 7pm, with walk-ins welcome subject to capacity.

The door is strict and clear: a sticker over your phone camera on entry, removal if you film, 21+ with physical ID, no suits. Chaos in the CBD held the first residency, Rhythm Section was named as the next, and 15 Years of Rhythm Section lands on 14 November with Bradley Zero. Main Phase plays all night on 27 November. There is no lift, so the basement is stairs only.

Club Cheek, Brixton: the DIY arch

Club Cheek is the Cheeky Soundsystem crew putting their own custom four-way rig under the tracks on Barrington Road, in what the venue calls an old Victorian train station. The first nights were in September 2025; its RA listings start on 5 September. The main room has a mezzanine overlooking the floor, lasers and a disco ball. RA and Time Out say 300 capacity, but the hire listing puts the main hall at up to 220 standing, so expect it to feel small. Independent promoters run the nights, house, electro, ambient and techno, so quality depends on the night. The upside is price: most autumn tiers on RA sat between £10 and £19. November was still thin at the time of writing, so check RA before you commit.

Gaffe: no longer South London

Gaffe is the one where the old information is wrong. It started in a basement under a Soho barber shop, then ran a railway arch off Wandsworth Road, which Mixmag reported in January 2025 as a 150-capacity club with a Funktion-One system. In the second half of 2025 it moved. Its RA page and hire listings now put it in a warehouse and courtyard at 1 Anthony Way, Upper Edmonton, a short walk from Drumsheds, which RA lists at 450 capacity with a custom Funktion-One install built with Zion Audio. Nights usually run to 07:00. November has the Colour Codes fourth birthday with Evan Baggs on the 14th and Gaffe presents x Deaf Tech with Batu and Ploy on the 20th. From south London it is a trek, but if you want a room that keeps going after Palais shuts, this is it.

Coven, Soho: a queer club that shuts at 1am

Coven opened on Friday 19 June 2026, according to Time Out, in the former G-A-Y Bar at 30 Old Compton Street, which closed in October 2025. It began as a club night in Hackney Wick, and founder Matthew Jacobs Morgan has described the move as giving the collective a five-storey building with a W1 postcode. By day it is a sober cafe and co-working space. At night it is cabaret and techno DJs across the floors, plus sober events and raves designed for D/deaf queer audiences. Time Out lists it as open until 1am Thursday to Saturday and midnight on Sunday. It has not published a capacity or sound specification, and I could not find ticket prices. Judge it as a queer cultural space with a dancefloor, not a rival to Palais.

Which one first, by who you are

• Sound above all: Palais, then Gaffe. Palais has published the bigger sub specification for its size.
• Cheapest good night: Club Cheek, with most tickets under £20.
• Until the morning: Gaffe, to 07:00. Palais finishes at 05:00.
• Under 21: Club Cheek or Gaffe, but check each listing: some Gaffe nights are 19+ or 20+ (Colour Codes is 19+, Yoyaku x House of Gaffe on 7 November was 20+). Palais is strictly 21+.
• A queer night with performance: Coven, early, then somewhere open late.

My order is Palais, Club Cheek, Gaffe, Coven. For the wider map, including the West London openings and HERE at Outernet, see the best London clubs guide.

FAQ

Which new London club should I go to first?

Palais in Peckham, for its 500-capacity basement, five-way Funktion-One system and strict no-phones rule, with tickets from £10 to £27.50 on RA at the time of writing.

What are the new clubs in London in 2026?

In South London and Soho, Palais in Peckham opened in February 2026 and Coven in Soho on 19 June 2026, with Club Cheek in Brixton from September 2025. Gaffe moved from Wandsworth Road to Upper Edmonton, N18, in 2025.

Does Palais have a no-phones policy?

Yes. A sticker goes over your phone camera on entry, filming and photography are banned, and anyone breaking the rule is removed.

How old do you have to be to get into Palais?

21, with physical ID checked at the door.

Where is Gaffe now?

1 Anthony Way, N18 3QT, in Upper Edmonton, north London. It left its railway arch off Wandsworth Road in 2025 for a warehouse and courtyard that RA lists at 450 capacity.

What time does Coven close?

1am Thursday to Saturday and midnight on Sunday, according to Time Out. It is closed Monday to Wednesday.

Sources

• Palais: official website (club, Ballroom, house rules and accessibility pages, re-checked 8 November 2026); Mixmag feature, 14 March 2026; RA venue page (550) and listings
• Club Cheek: RA venue page (300) and listings from September 2025; Time Out venue review; Brixton Buzz, September 2025; Hire Space listing
• Gaffe: Mixmag, 31 January 2025; Gray Area, 5 May 2026; RA venue page (450) and November listings; Tagvenue listing
• Coven: Time Out, 24 June 2026, and venue listing; Attitude and the Coven press release, 22 May 2026; Soho London
• Time Out news, 3 August 2026, and The Best Clubs in London, updated 29 July 2026

This guide is part of House of MNEEMO's ongoing coverage of the electronic and club music scene, written by London-based DJ and producer MNEEMO, who runs the HOUSE OF MNEEMO party series and its DJ school. For why rooms like these matter, read London's small club rooms vs festivals.