Arq Sydney

Rocked up looking for a place to dance and this was it. Great music downstairs and awesome crowd. The upstairs bartenders are a bit rude but make drinks pretty fast. The crowd upstairs varies immensely from the downstairs crowd. Either way, a Friday night in there is where it's at.

This venue remains popular and energetic, with gay-Sydney mixing happily with travellers from around Australia and the world. Cover charge is $25, and travellers should keep track of local liquor licensing and "lock-out" laws to ensure you arrive with enough time to get inside. There is an 'upstairs' and a 'downstairs' area, with a few comfy chill-out lounges outside the revolving doors and stairs between the two. Laser shows and music are nightclub magic, with a really mixed gay crowd that'll make anyone feel welcome. Lots of muscular guys with their shirts off, but also plenty of other sub-groups too. Dance floor (and stages!) are available for you to get your moves on. Enjoy!

Been going to Arq for many years, and it feels like home! Best dance music and by far the most reliable, popular gay club/bar in Sydney. Everyone always ends up here, especially if you are already out on Oxford Street. Friday and Saturdays are the best as there is a second level open with extra drag shows and laser lights. Xoxo

Visited on Saturday night for drag performer Sharon Needles. Both Sharon and local entertainers were fantastic. Comfortable space with great air-con. Bouncers and bar staff were very friendly. Prices were standard.

I visited this club from the UK a few years back and thought it was amazing. I had a really good night. I went a couple of weeks ago and it had totally lost it's mojo. I can't quite put my finger on why I didn't like it. The music was ok the lights were fantastic, but it just felt so soulless. I tried to give it another go the next day, but they wanted a $25 entrance fee on the Saturday night. Which was just rediculous.

We checked it out around 11pm and it wasn’t busy yet so we went to Stonewalls for cocktails and a show. ARQ, became hopping closer to 1am and it’s was awesome! Definitely a dance club with great music and drinks.

Unfortunately, the good vibes that follows the Sydney gay venues and the Sydney LGBTQ community do not make it through the doors of ARQ. Bouncers are rude and arrogant, drinks are over priced, the venue feels like a drug den, and the music there has gone down. If you want a good night out, avoid this place. Stonewall, Colombian, and many others are much better, which people that have a personality as opposed to expressing their egos.

The best gay club in sydney. Full of all different personalities. Greyhound Melbourne was the best followed by ARQ.

Great club a classic favourite with the locals! Everyone always ends up at ARQ on a night out because it really is the best club on Oxford St. Amazing shows, really big venue, friendly staff! I love ARQ because there are so many different rooms to hang out in, you can have a chat in trash alley or have a boogie on either dance floor!

I've visited Arq three times in total. The first time on New Year's Day 2009. I'd been to Chinese Laundry and then to a random house party. Afterwards I was walking down the street and needed the toilet really badly. I snuck in to a corner shop and asked to use the toilet. The guy behind the till was cool and pointed to the back of the store. As I made my way to the back and sat on the toilet I could hear some decent house music pumping out. I walked out the back to a fence and some guys waved me through and I entered via the smoking area. I had a brilliant time and all the guys and girls were super friendly and also straight friendly. I had an amazing morning or day. The second time was 10 January 2009. I'd been to a gothic themed gay bar (possibly Stonewall l back up Oxford Street when an ex girlfriend ditched me and went of with her friends. I got chatting to the Dj who said he was DJing at Arq later and asked me if I wanted to go with him. Well, it was supposed to be my last night in Sydney and I wanted to go out with a bang! We went to the club and he showed me around (my memory was hazy from the New Year's escapade). Again, I met loads of good people, all straight friendly. The evening certainly went out with a bang from 1:30am onwards, basically life changing. Does anyone know who the Dj was that I met and took my to Arq? I'd like to get in contact with him....really good guy. I went again last year and again Arq didn't let me down. I met tons of cool peeps, totally friendly and such a great vibe. Just to summarise, I went three times and Arq never let me down. If you're looking for a decent party with good people, this is the place to go. Thanks Arq Sydney. If anyone knows the Dj I met on the 9/10 January 2009, please let me know. It's possible he was DJing at Stonewall before Arq.

Corrupt security staff and manger at this club. They found my friends missing wallet but all cash and other items were stolen. They then decided to play games with us, pretend to not understand what we were asking and continued lying to us when asked again about the stolen money while they all smiled and looked at one another.

Poofdoof nite was hectic 🪩✨

From the high-energy driving beats of The Arena, the filthy basement basslines of The Vortex, or the endless jabbering in Trash Alley—every corner of ARQ offers a different flavour of chaos. Whether you're voguing under the lasers, dramatically reapplying lip gloss in the mirror maze of the bathrooms, or deep in a D&M with a stranger about the meaning of life (and by life, I mean Kylie Minogue's career), ARQ has a gravitational pull that defies logic. And then there’s Shaun. Mysterious, magnetic, and somehow everyone's best friend by 4 AM. One minute, he’s leading the dancefloor like a sweaty, glittering messiah; the next, he’s convincing you that kick-ons are a necessity, not a choice. By the time day club rolls around, you’ve sworn a blood pact to be best friends forever—whether you actually exchange numbers or not is another story. ARQ is a fever dream, a hot mess, an institution, and probably the closest thing Sydney has to gay heaven. You don’t choose ARQ—ARQ chooses you. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Would lose my dignity here again.

It sad to see the Arq we know and love disappear. Will miss Arq and glad wil be there for the final parties!!

The best club in Sydney

Have been coming to arq for multiple years but recently have had issues with one staff member just being plane rude and abrasive not to just my group but anyone in general, I believe her name is peach. No wonder they had to pull the plug on arq with staff like her.

Went a couple of weeks ago on a Saturday night—music was trash, sounded like a shopping mall. Walked in and left within 30 minutes. Total waste of a ticket.

Good music