XXL (AWAITING NEW LONDON VENUE?)
As the name would suggest, XXL combines bulk and...leather, with harnessed hunks crowding the dance floor. Gay scene mover and shaker Mark Ames established XXL in 2000, and within several years the club developed near-iconic status. In March 2012 it moved from Arcadia (formerly the Arches) to Pulse — an enormous (and then relatively new) south-of-the-river club located five minutes' walk north of Southwalk Tube station. On 24 June 2019 XXL was served an eviction notice by developers and new landlords Native Land, and on Saturday 21 September 2019 lost its Pulse. As of 2023 Ames is staging XXL parties at Boltz in Birmingham (Kent St, Lower Essex St, B5 6RD). As for London, watch this space.
- trans-friendly
- 30+
- 40+
- Backroom
- dancing
- leather
- outdoor seating
- bears
- cruising
- men-only
- $$
- fetish apparel
- dive
- nightclub
Hours
Wed
9:00 pm - 3:00 am
Sat
10:00 pm - Midnight
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Hours
Wed
9:00 pm - 3:00 am
Sat
10:00 pm - Midnight
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Reviews
Add a reviewfun
A fun night out with friendly crowd, big dance floors, naughty area and nice staff. Music is very pop commercial remix.
It's gone to pot
This club needs to get back on track Music is terrible and its lost all direction not know who it wants to appeal to
XXL has lost it's charm
Currently £15 entry-that's before you pay for coat check & drinks-this an expensive and (since XXL moved to Pulse) soulless experience. The club is vast with several rooms,bars & dance floors. You will certainly have plenty to look at! I preferred XXL at it's old venue, now it all feels very impersonal & harder to meet new friends. It has lost the sense of intimacy that the old club had. Seems Owner Mark Ames is all about milking the pink pound rather than the customer experience. The 2 lovely outside smoking areas of the previous venue has gone too,now you are just stood on the street outside & made to feel like a social lepor. Yes, smoking is a bad habit but the fact is lots of gay men do smoke. It's a free country & my choice to smoke-I don't need a supposedly inclusive gay club to make me feel like an outcast. The outside areas in the old venue were always busy & fostered lots of conversation. That vibe has gone. For this reason alone I will not be going back. The music on the main large dance floor is very unimaginative handbag-house-expect Kylie,Rihanna,Beyoncé & similar generic pop. They have been playing some of these songs for years now (Kylie's "The One" for example) and it's wearing thin, sadly what was once a nice friendly clubbing experience has become an impersonal,sterile and tedious one.
Bring On The Bears
My husband & I had a blast here. Great tunes+ older guys = one great time!
Need company:)
Hey guys, i want to go to xxl for the first time but i don't have nobody to go with.....anyone wants to go with me ?? I am into bear, chubbies and cubs. I will be on holiday from the 12th to the 19th of january.