I have listed all of the Milongas that I know of in London with links to the websites. I trust that most people will get the information that they need from that. I have been to nearly every one of these Milongas and have my own opinions of them based on my experiences and you will find them below. I attempt to publish accurate information that is available to me along with my own personal observations. Please check the website of the venue before visiting as things can change at the last minute. I recently came across a blog post from a lady called Ms. Hedgehog. She has already posted detailed reviews of most of the Milongas and I have linked them on this page if you want more information and a different opinion. Ms. Hedgehog is especially good on the public transportation front as I tend to drive everywhere.
There is a Milonga nearly every night of the week with a class or two before the start of the Milonga. Sometimes there are guest teachers or DJs, so please check the websites beforehand as the Calendar doesn’t specify this information.
There is also a practica or a class to be had nearly every night of the week. Please check the websites.
Jenney Surelia has produced via Google The London Milonga & Practica Map listing the venues in Central London. This should give you an idea of where the venues are and how to get there.
If anyone has an experience they want to share about a Milonga they visited, please leave a comment or review. All feedback is positive even if your experience may not have been ideal.
Happy Dancing!
Sunday
El Porteñito at The Bedford Pub
Balham – Leo and Bridget create a warm and welcoming atmosphere in this lovely venue. Wood panelled walls and red velvet curtains help create an old time charm. There is a bar downstairs which serves good food and they will give you tap water for free. This is my favourite Sunday Milonga and one not too far from where I live. Parking not a problem as there is a large Sainsbury’s car park across the street. (Review)
Tango@33 Portland Place
I haven’t been there yet, although I have heard very nice things about it, and the building is historical and pretty amazing from an Architectural point of view. It is always good to have options for Sunday Tango dancing. Free glass of wine and snacks with entry. Ms. Hedgehog has done a (Review here) and updated here.
Tangology@Sway
Starting from the 20th of September 2009. From 8pm until late. See website for further details, and the Milonga and Practica calendar.
La Mariposa
I haven’t been to this Milonga yet. One could easily come here and then go off to Balham afterwards or pop into Central London as it takes place in the afternoon from 4-6pm. There is no milonga on the last Sunday of the month. For more information please e-mail Ros: tangoangels@rosfreedman.f2s.com. You can subscribe to her mailing list. Apparently they offer free tea, coffee, juices and bisquits too!
Venue -Wessex House, 1a St John’s Hill (opposite the main exit of Clapham Junction Station), Battersea SW11 1TN
Buses 35, 37, 39, 49, 156, 170, 219, 239, 295, 319, 337, 344, 670, 77A and C3.
Trains from Waterloo , Victoria , Watford Junction and many other locations.
Contact Information: phone Ros: 0208 785 9401 mobile 07956 998376 Alan: 0207 652 3633 mobile 07825 952378
Monday
The Square Pig@Holborn
I haven’t been there. Monday for me is a day of rest. Please note that Pablo sometimes alternates this venue with SHOOTING STAR – Liverpool St, 125 Middlesex St, E1 7JF Class 7:30PM, dancing 8:30PM – so check his website before going out.
L’escala @ Halo
Another new venue opening on Monday 30th March 2009 and will run on alternate weeks.
317 Battersea Park Road, London, SW1 14LT
8pm – midnight -full licenced bar -£10 at the door
For more information, contact: antonella_marmor@yahoo.com
tel: 07974465502
The venue is Halo and by train people can go to Victoria & Clapham Junction to Battersea Park or Waterloo to Queenstown Road – buses are 137, 344, 44, 452 all stop close to the venue.
Tuesday
Vino Latino’s Wine Bar
Open until 11pm . Recommended. Parking not a problem. (Review)
Dance Matrix @ Enfield
St. Paul’s Centre
102a Church Street (corner of Old Park Avenue)
Enfield EN2 6AR
Very close to Enfield Chase Station. Off-road parking.
8.00pm: Intermediate Session
8.45pm: Tango Basics Session
9.30 – 11pm: Candlelit Milonga
I haven’t been here. They used to be in Southgate on Wednesday and have moved to a larger venue. I hear it is very friendly and they are the UK distributor for Comme il Faut dance shoes. If the girl can’t go to Buenos Aires……
Details will be at www.dancematrix.com/tango and is on the Google Milonga and Practica Calendar.
Wednesday
Zero Hour@The Dome
Tufnell Park – Large dance floor, bar, free tap water, good DJ’s and friendly welcome. They also sell ladies shoes, mainly Neo Tango. The venue has been recently updated and now has a larger, more airy feel to it since they knocked down that wall opposite the bar and gave it a paint job. The floorcraft can get tricky (not as bad as Negracha), but generally most people try to behave and move in the line of dance. The DJ’s vary from week to week which can have an impact on how big the crowd gets, as there are a few firm favorites, and the parties are generally well attended and fun. It has a charm and is quite popular. Open until 12pm, later on party nights. Parking not really a problem and it is opposite Tufnell Park Underground Station. Recommended. (Review)
Tangology@Sway
Eleonora has recently arranged a free evening of Tango at Sway Bar in Great Queen Street. From 8pm until midnight. I have not yet had a chance to go to this milonga although Ms Hedgehog has a review here. And Golondrina has a review here. Please check her website for more information as the venue has been known to change or be cancelled at short notice.
Thursday
Abrazos@Vauxhall
Milonga hosted by Jenney Surelia – from 10-12 pm – Milonga £5
Traditional music with a touch of something new played in tandas and cortinas…
Open classes from time to time, please check the calendar or subscribe to our email newsletter for regular updates. PLEASE CHECK HER WEBSITE AS THERE HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO BE CHANGES TO HER SCHEDULE.
Poema@Latvian House
I haven’t been to this Milonga. Thursday is another day of rest for me.
Milonga Sur with Oscar and Sofia – South Croydon – Milonga from 8:30pm
Old Whitgiftians Association, Croham Manor Road, South Croydon, Surrey CR2 7BF
Classes start at 7:30pm – Class and Milonga £10 – Milonga Only £8
E-mail: osc_tango@hotmail.co.uk or telephone 07533 857 365 for more information.
Milonga is 3x per month
Friday
Carablanca Tango Club@Conway Hall
(Formerly Tango the Argentino Way) – They used to be at The Welsh Centre and are London’s longest running Milonga. They have moved to a new venue – Conway Hall has a lovely floor, with lots of room and a friendly atmosphere. Each time I have been there I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It finishes at 12pm or sometimes later. They regularly host guest teachers, so it it worth checking out the website. It will be open every Friday from January 2009, but please check the website to be sure as there are occasional closures in support of other events. Parking not a problem. Recommended. (Review)
Negracha@Wild Court
With two rooms to dance in, one for Tango Salon and the other for more modern styles and Latin beats, there is something for everyone here. Bar, open late. The floorcraft can sometimes be a bit tricky with some people dancing large. This is a big issue with this venue as there are people that like to dance in a more modern way to traditional music and it has been known to cause problems.
I like how they changed the layout of the place. Ms. Hedgehog’s review is pretty accurate. This is definitely the place to see and be seen, as it is very popular with most of the teachers here in London. It is certainly entertaining watching the dance floor for a variety of reasons.
Parking not a problem. (Review) It is near to Holborn Underground Station.
Midnight Milonga@The Tango Club
Lovely room with wood panelled walls, friendly atmosphere. Open late. I have only been here once to a Milonga because a friend was DJing – I had a lovely time. I really like Liz, and the people were friendly. Parking can sometimes be tricky.
If you wanted a change of scene or wanted somewhere else to go after Carablanca, I would certainly give it a try. Milonga from 22:00 to 02:00.
Tango@The Welsh – Modern Tradition
Milonga at The Welsh Centre (see Events Calendar for more information). Ms Hedgehog review.
Saturday
The Tango Club
There is a Tango Tea on the first Saturday of the month from 15:00 to 18:00 if you are up in town on an afternoon. Now that sounds really nice (the cakes on the website look yummy!)
The Crypt – Farringdon
Hosted alternate weeks by El Once Club and Dancetango. The venue is underneath a church. Lovely dance floor with brick vaulted ceilings. An unusual, but great place to dance. Free glass of wine with entry. Plenty of free water. Teas, coffee and cakes also available. Paul’s cakes (El Once) are particularly yummy – he bakes them himself!
I always try to get out to The Crypt. The dancefloor is lovely, though can sometimes be a little bit slippery in certain places, and the people are very friendly. On occasion, it can get very busy, especially as it may be the only venue open on Saturday evening or if there is a special event or guest teacher. They usually have a little break of Salsa or Jive in the middle of the evening for a change of pace, but generally the music is traditional Tango music.
Sometimes there are guest teachers, guest DJs or live music, which can bring the price up from £9 for a normal evening, so check the websites to see what is going on and who is hosting that week. Open until 12:30am. Parking not usually a problem. Highly recommended. (Review – El Once ) (Review – DanceTango)
Corrientes Tango Club
Chalk Farm – The room is very big so there is plenty of room to dance in and the floor is quite good. Mina and Giraldo have made a huge effort with the space considering it is in a school. I usually have a good time here.
The music is generally quite good, mainly traditional, and there might be a Salsa break later in the evening, so no complaints on that front ( I like Salsa).
The price is usually around £9, or more if something special is going on, which is pretty standard for most of the venues. Generally, the quality of the dancing is very good – though it can get hectic during special events when there are a lot of visitors who don’t usually go to Corrientes, otherwise there usually isn’t an issue with floorcraft here, which makes a pleasant change. Open late, 1:45am. Parking not a problem. Just a few yards from Chalk Farm Underground Station. Recommended. They are not open every weekend, so you need to check the website for events. (Review)
Milonga Arrabal
has its opening night on Saturday 23rd May and is a monthly milonga.
Beginners Tango class: 7-8pm and Milonga: 8pm to midnight
Milonga £7; Milonga and Class £8
LOCATION: (1 minute walk from Warren Street tube station)
Venezuelan Consulate, 56 Grafton Way,London 1T 5DL
Milonga Sur with Oscar and Sofia – South Croydon – Milonga from 8:30pm
Old Whitgiftians Association, Croham Manor Road, South Croydon, Surrey CR2 7BF
Classes start at 7:30pm – Class and Milonga £10 – Milonga Only £8
E-mail: osc_tango@hotmail.co.uk or telephone 07533 857 365 for more information.
Milonga is once a month – see calendar for more information.
10 responses so far ↓
Corrientes Social Club // December 1, 2008 at 11:50 am
Thank you for creating such a wonderful and interesting blog!
Best of Luck
Arlene // December 1, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Thank you for your kind comment. Let me know if you have any special events and I’ll add them here. See you soon!
A x
Ms Hedgehog // December 1, 2008 at 8:48 pm
And thanks for your comments about me. Feel free to disagree as well, I can only speak for myself and I have certain tastes – for instance I don’t drive, and places that don’t get good till after midnight are just too much trouble for me. The more reviews the better, really, if a stranger is looking for a dance
I need to get out of my own comfort zone and do a few more of the ones on your list.
Arlene // December 2, 2008 at 8:48 am
Ms H, I think you have described most of these places pretty accurately. and you have been to all of the popular venues. Everyone will have their own unique experience, that may be different from mine. It all depends on the night, which is why I always try again. Having a car has been a Godsend for me as I live in SW London, otherwise I never would have gone out much. Might be good to try and network and share a lift. if possible.
One can’t have too much information these days!
Happy dancing!
A Taste of Tango // December 5, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Hola Arlene
Great idea, I would suggest my map which brings together all the milongas and practicas in London on one convenient google map. No reviews, but everyone is listed and it’s updated when I get new info.
http://www.tasteoftango.co.uk/londondancing.html
Tango-Fever // January 6, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Our compliments for creating such a complete and detailed blog. It must have taken you a lot of work, but it looks really good!
Keep up the good work!!
Rene & Hiba
Jules // February 1, 2009 at 6:59 am
A wonderful resource. I will be in London from Feb 16 to Mar 2 visiting from Minneapolis. I look forward to experiencing tango in the various locations described here!
Tal // July 23, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Hi Arlene,
I have read in great detail all your reviews of London Milongas and have been to most of them at one time or another.
While I was learning (I/we all are still learning) the Argentine Tango the venues and music and atmosphere were not too important a detail as my primary focus was “can I lead this dance without making too many mistakes”.
Some 4 – 6 months ago I began to notice that I was sitting out far too many tracks at certain venues and assumed it was me being a bit slow at asking ladies to dance. However, as we all know that the same faces turn up nearly everywhere in london, I noticed some of these were also sitting out dance after dance and we got together to discuss why.
It was the music, stupid!
Track after track all sound the same and while being traditional tango offered nothing in the way of energy, imagination or variations in rythm or melody. Tango Vals aside the Tango and Milongas failed to include the popular classics and as a result are generally very flat. How difficult a decision is it to play La Cumparsita, El Choclo, Por Una Cabeza or a string of popular up-beat Milongas that one doesn’t confuse with Vals.
The one venue we all agreed broke this mould was La Mariposa on Sunday afternoons at Clapham Junction. Alan Walters who runs the club with Ros Freedman has got it just right and many other DJ’s would do well to take note. He even plays a track from Carmen that fits in beautifully to a Tango.
The music to a large extent creates the atmoshpere and again the Mariposa has IMHO the best ambience of all the clubs.
Not many tangueros know this venue so let me recommend you pay a visit one Sunday afternoon. Classes 2 – 4pm and Milonga 4 – 6.30pm.
Andreas // July 25, 2009 at 3:33 pm
@Tal: La Cumparsita is traditionally always the last track in a milonga, it ends the evening. Many people won’t even dance it.
A track from Carmen at a milonga? I shudder at the thought.
Evie Abat // July 27, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Fantastic resource! Hope to check out a few the next time I’m there. Beso!