clubs

Kingston’s nightlife, considering the relatively small size of the town, is pretty good when compared other universities, such as U of T, which haven’t nearly the selection of student-centric clubs. Below you’ll find a list of them all as well as descriptions of how we experienced them. Take our advice with a grain of salt, and check out the clubs for yourself. What is the cool location in one year can totally shift the next.

AJ’s Ale House: Formerly known as AJ’s Hangar, Ale House, or Ale as it is often called, is probably one of the most popular locations for students. This is likely because of the insane deals on pitchers they offer on certain nights (we’re talking $8.00). There is no cover for students on certain nights as well, as long as you’ve got ID.

This club is more of a gigantic bar, with several tiers including a large balcony bar area. There are planes hanging from the ceiling, leftovers from the AJs Hangar days, no doubt. The music is of ample volume, and makes for good background sound. Ale House is not a dance club, however, so don’t expect to be dancing. There are usually some pretty insane lineups outside Ale House on Friday and Saturday nights, so we suggest going early if you don’t want to be waiting long. This can change depending on what’s going down elsewhere.

Stages: If you want to dance, Stages is where you should go. Directly across the street from Ale House, it has two levels- the dance floor and surrounding bar area, and an upper tier from which everyone too nervous to enter the mass of bodies below can observe with drink in hand.

Stages sometimes has all-ages night, so be aware that the girl squeezing your butt on the dance floor could be 15 years old. Drinks are reasonably priced at Stages, and deals are sometimes offered before midnight depending on the day. There is often a cover charge, and the bouncers out front are very careful about who they let in – i.e. bring another piece of ID- if you’re asked for two, and you don’t have two, you won’t be let in.

Elixir: This is the smallest club in Kingston, but it has some of the best shows and atmosphere. Elixir manages to merge club and music venue fairly seamlessly. Usually in the summer, this is the place to be, as it has a great outdoor patio. Like any club in Kingston, it’s a bit rough around the edges, but that’s totally irrelevant when there’s a show playing and a good crowd.

The Cocamo: This is a club totally oriented towards first years. In fact, in our opinion, if you are in upper years, you have no reason to be there- unless you’re very drunk. The Cocamo has a lot of cheap drinks, and you’ll often find coupons or free ‘gift’ drink offers under your rez door. The Cocamobile (a bus) makes rounds regularly to residences and will take groups to the club if called in advance. The dance scene is intense, be wary of drunken ogres who will grind you into the wall.

Smigies: This bar/club has made a comeback of late, or at least a ‘come’ because we’re not sure if it ever had anything to come back to. It’s popular, has a lot of theme nights, and is a regular destination for students of certain programs (film students have, in the past, frequented the bar). There’s a small raised dance floor, a good place to be when you’re smashed and looking for attention. Pool tables are also available.

Tango: I've got a soft spot for Tango. The place and the people are pretty, the drinks are delicious and the sweet potato frites are delightful. The bathrooms downstairs sport grass floors and the dark bar upstairs is Kingston's version of a sleek New York martini house. It's pretty quiet during the day, and a perfect retreat for a lunch out, but it's during the evening that it gets packed with the pretty people.