KOKO Camden Review: Inside the Victorian Theatre Turned Club

Last updated: 11 September 2026

KOKO is the venue I end up explaining most often, because people hear "Camden" and picture a sticky-floored indie night. It is not that. It is a Grade II-listed Victorian theatre on Camden High Street that has been rebuilt, renamed and reinvented for more than a century, and since 2022 it has run one of the most serious electronic programmes in London. Here is what the room is actually like, and who it suits.

A Theatre That Has Been Reinvented Six Times

The building opened in 1901 as the Camden Theatre, with Ellen Terry performing at the inaugural event. It became the Camden Hippodrome in 1909, where Charlie Chaplin performed. In 1945 the BBC took it over as its first broadcasting studio, and The Goon Show was recorded there for a decade. The Rolling Stones played in 1964 and recorded their Cops and Robbers EP on site.

Then it turned into a music venue proper. It was the Music Machine from 1977, hosting Adam Ant, The Clash and the Sex Pistols through punk and new wave. In 1982 it reopened as the Camden Palace and became central to the new romantics, with Spandau Ballet, Culture Club and Grace Jones. Madonna played her first UK show there in 1983. It was rebranded KOKO in 2004, and that era belonged to Amy Winehouse, Pete Doherty and The Libertines.

KOKO closed in 2019 for a restoration that ran into a fire, a flood and the pandemic before reopening on 28 April 2022. The same year it launched KOKO Electronic, which is the strand most of my clients are actually booking for.

What the Room Actually Feels Like

The thing that makes KOKO different from almost every other club I book is that it is a theatre, not a converted basement or a purpose-built box. You walk into a horseshoe auditorium with three tiers of balconies stacked above the floor and a dome overhead. Capacity is 1,410 standing across the floor and balconies, which is large by central London club standards but nothing like a warehouse.

The practical effect is sightlines. On the floor you are in the crowd with the booth in front of you. From the balconies you are looking down on the whole room, which is a genuinely different experience of the same set and the reason the boxes get booked out first. If you have ever found big clubs flattening and anonymous, the vertical layout here is the fix.

The Music: KOKO Electronic on Friday and Saturday

Friday and Saturday late sessions run under the KOKO Electronic banner, with doors at 10pm. The programming is house, disco, techno, melodic and Afro house, and the bills are international rather than residents-only. The autumn 2026 calendar alone includes Gordo, Fideles, Franky Rizardo, Lee Burridge, Green Velvet, Oscar Mbo, Hernan Cattaneo and Shanti Celeste, with Arodes and Ahmed Spins on the Halloween weekend.

Midweek is a different animal. Sunday to Thursday the doors open at 7pm and the building reverts to a live venue, which is why you will see a jazz night, a rock show and a sold-out pop date in the same week as a techno bill. Worth checking what is on before you assume a Wednesday is a club night.

Tables, Boxes and Where to Sit

KOKO runs private boxes, tables, the Artist Box and The Red Room, with fast-track entry and premium drinks service. Tables start from around £1,000 minimum spend, and move up depending on the night, the DJ and where you want to sit.

My advice on placement: if your group wants to dance, take something close to the floor. If the night is about the occasion, conversation and a view, take a balcony box. A box at KOKO gives you something most London clubs cannot, which is a private vantage point over a full theatre rather than a roped-off corner of the same room everyone else is standing in.

Doors, Dress Code and Practical Details

KOKO does not run the kind of strict dress code you get in Mayfair. There is no published policy, and the crowd reflects that. People dress for the music rather than the door. That said, management reserves the right to refuse entry, so use judgement.

A few things that catch people out. For Friday and Saturday Electronic events it is no ID, no entry, so bring a passport, driving licence, foreign national ID or PASS card. Bags larger than A4 are not allowed in. Age limits vary by event, from 14-and-over with an adult through to strictly over-19s, so check the specific night. The address is 1A Camden High Street, NW1 7JE, a couple of minutes from Mornington Crescent.

Who KOKO Suits

KOKO suits you if you actually care who is playing. The bills are the draw, the sound and sightlines do them justice, and the absence of a hard dress code means the room fills with people there for the music rather than to be seen. It is a strong choice for a birthday where the group wants a proper night out rather than a table-service tableau.

It suits you less if you want a small, intimate Mayfair room where the table is the whole point and the night is about the company. That is a different brief, and there are better venues for it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a dress code at KOKO Camden?

No published dress code, unlike most Mayfair clubs. Dress for the night you are having. Management still reserves the right to refuse entry.

How much is a table at KOKO?

Minimum spends start from around £1,000 and rise with the night, the DJ and the position. Balcony boxes and floor-side tables price differently, so tell us the occasion and group size and we will come back with options.

What nights is KOKO open as a club?

The late club sessions are Friday and Saturday under KOKO Electronic, doors at 10pm. Sunday to Thursday the venue mostly runs as a live music space with 7pm doors.

How big is KOKO?

1,410 standing across the floor and the three balcony tiers.

Want a table or the guestlist for a specific KOKO night? Tell us the date, the DJ and the group size and we will sort it. message us on WhatsApp and we will take it from there.