Limelight

You know that feeling when you're not quite ready for home but everywhere else is winding down? That's when you head down Ormeau Avenue to this institution that's been keeping Belfast's night owls happy since the 80s. The main room thrums with whatever's on – could be indie bands making their Belfast debut, could be a club night that'll have you questioning your life choices at 1am in the best possible way. The beauty of this place is its split personality: early evening it's all about catching emerging acts and established bands, but stick around past midnight and it transforms into something altogether more hedonistic. The crowd's a proper mix – students from Queen's, music obsessives, and those who've been coming here since before most punters were born. It's sweaty, loud, and completely unpretentious.