Cabaret Voltaire

Went as a solo female and had a blast great edm music everyone was polite no creeps a few friendly men but nothing uncomfortable or weird dance floor opens at 11z

I've been in here a few times, but never checked in due to stupidity, alcohol or bad signal. I blame the bad signal more than anything *cough*

So, yes. Cabaret Voltaire is a pub that always has something going on. It's a popular place, even if you're just popping in for a drink. There's plenty of comfy seats, trendy barrels for resting your drink on, and nooks and crannies. Yes folks, both kinds. Nooks AND crannies. No skimping on the crannies here.

With a nice range of draft beers, and a well stocked fridge of ciders and bottled beers, not to mention a full range of spirits and cocktails on the go, you won't be spoilt for choice.

The pizza here is also recommended, I've taken in the "pizza and drink for 9.95" offer a couple of times, and never been disappointed with a pizza yet. And no, no olives or anchovies on any pizza that comes near me, thank you very much.

Whether you're here for a gig, an event or just a club night, the atmosphere is pretty relaxed and chilled out, and the slightly dark, cavern style surroundings add to that ambience to make it something different from the norm.

Take a wander down Blair Street, past the haunted vaults, and step inside - you won't be disappointed.

Cab Vol is great if you're into less mainstream music than you'll hear in a 'normal' club. And if you don't mind sweat dripping off the low ceilings onto you at least once a minute, or drinking out of plastic cups.

I have to honest, it's not my thing. I've been dragged along on a handful of occasions by friends, and each time I go i'm determined that this will be the time I have a great night there and leave at 3am completely converted. It's been four years, and it hasn't happened yet.

That has a lot to do with the people that go though, as opposed to the club itself. On tuesdays this place pulls in a lot of "rahs" from Edinburgh Uni, thinking that wearing weird coloured skinny jeans suddenly makes them alternative. It doesn't, and their huge back-combed blonde hair dos look even more ridiculous than normal.

I love Caberet Voltaire.

In fact, I only have one complaint - so lets start with that. Cheap coke. Simple and not very much of a problem, especially when it has a double something or other in it. The trouble is when your are just gasping for it by itself and it tastes a bit 'bleugh'.

Anyway, my one complaint over, I can get on with how good this place is. Firstly, Cab-Vol is underground - in the vaults of Edinburgh meaning the sound system in here rocks. Its amazing. Secondly the music they play varies night to night, so one time you might be listening to drum 'n' bass, and the next night somethng far more indie. Pretty cool, and although some nights may not be everybodies cup of tea, I love all of it. There are also some live music evenings, which are usually followed by an after party - which I thoroughly recommend. Thirdly, the layout of the club - it doesnt sound like something great, but one room can have the atmosphere of a quiet pub lounge while next door (albeit through 3 foot of heavy stone wall) there is a rave going on with the volume turned up to 11.

Drinks are cheap (so the nasty coke isnt too bad...) and generally Cab-Vol is consistantly one of the best nights out in the city.

DEFINITELY AVOID!!!!! Horrible security and not that great of an atmosphere at ALL. I travel the world and have yet to deal with this kind of rudeness from a front door person. Please have respectful security that does not offend your clientele before even entering the club. We left and went back to another club because of the rudeness, but YOUR security has already told them not to let us in after spending hours and quite a bit of money at the other club. Awful experience all around.

I'm quite partial to the underground, cave like feel of Cabaret Voltaire. I like a nice dark, moody atmosphere, where you can lurk around in the shadows sipping a drink and pretending to be mysterious. Being a massive sneaky people watcher, this scenario appeals to me. Alternatively, you might just want to be normal and go there and have some fun and good times.

The gig space of Cabaret Voltaire is kind of like being in someone's basement, and isn't particularly big, but it has given any gigs I've seen quite a cool, intimate feel. I recently saw a few really decent bands here and smugly stood right at the front, just because I could, so it's a good place to catch any bands that you want to see close up. Apart from gigs, Cab Vol hosts a range of regular club nights and has showcased some fairly big name DJs in its time, so it comes well recommended if you're looking for something a bit alternative and not your run of the mill chart music assault.

It's a little shameful that I still haven't been to this Edinburgh club on a night out, but I finally made it there to see a comedy show. The most bizarre show I have ever seen, but this review is about Cab Vol (as it's popularly known) so I'll stick to that.

It's extremely central, being just a few minutes walk from the Royal Mile. I was surprised by the sheer size of the place; normally this may create an almost impersonal atmosphere, but Cab Vol is quite cosy and cave like, spread across two levels and wonderfully lacking in day light of any kind. As I said, I haven't been when the whole place is vibrating with music, and packed with people, so I've got more Cab Vol experiencing to do! However, it's worth heading there on a Tuesday night, when entry is free and music is dubstep, house, and techno. It's definitely going to be the first night I head there anyway.

Cabaret Voltaire is easily my favourite club in Edinburgh. It offers different club nights each day of the week with resident DJs and special guests, in the past these have included big names like Annie Mac, Steve Aoki, Krafty Kuts, Justice and Plump DJs. The music is mostly electronic (d'n'b / house / electro / techno), however there are sometimes gigs on earlier in the evening before the club nights start and these tend to feature up and coming indie bands, I saw Florence and The Machine & Little Boots here before they hit the big time.

The club is situated in some vaults underneath South Bridge, and when you're inside it really does feel like you're in the bowels of the city. Admittedly the place does get pretty crowded and sweaty, but that's an intrinsic feature of its underground charm. This is not the place to go if you just want to pose and observe the world from a seat, dancing is obligatory!

There is no dress code and you could feel equally comfortable here in a pretty dress or your scummiest jeans. Drinks are relatively cheap, prices do vary depending on what night of the week you're there though.

If you're into music or the club scene, Cab Vol is definitely somewhere you should visit.

This is an underground club with a great mainstream music sound system and some of the most fun nights out in Edinburgh. At the beginning every month they have a 60s night which is grand, but Tuesdays and Thursdays they have electro and drum and bass with no entrance fee!

As a music venue, I can say I have been very pleased, I came here a couple of weeks ago to see the ever so lovely Angus and Julia Stone, and I was impressed with the effort put into the show. It was only in one room, and packed, but somehow the underground atmosphere just brought so much to the show. The bar tenders were lovely and even the door men are not as aggressive (as seen in other well-established clubs).
Why do people always get cramped in the back at gigs? There was plenty of space at the front where the stage was, and luckily the stage was higher up so everyone could see. The sound was superb as well, and even when Julia Stone was confused with her amp, the sound man was superb and efficient.

The only think I can really hold against this place as far as gigs are concerned is that after the concert the lights are crudely turned on and cleaning starts immediately whilst we are all still there, in order to be ready for the next event.

I'm reviewing this mostly to remind myself to come here again on my next visit!
Doesn't get busy until late and the crowd are very young (possibly underage) but I definitely want to come back!