Flares - York

You know that feeling when you walk into a place and immediately feel like you've stepped back four decades? That's Flares. Located on Tanner Row near the river, this is where York comes to shed its Georgian dignity and embrace some proper 70s and 80s excess. Think disco balls, neon, and enough synthetic velvet to furnish a time machine. The drinks are reasonably priced (as night clubs go), the DJ knows what they're doing, and there's something genuinely brilliant about dancing to Blondie and The Human League surrounded by people taking the whole retro thing seriously—or not seriously at all, depending on your crew. It's the kind of place that gets busy on Friday and Saturday nights and attracts everyone from students to folks well past their clubbing years who just fancy a nostalgic throwback.