33a Bermondsey Street,
Bermondsey,
London,
SE1 3JW
(020) 7403 7730
The ViewLondon Review
Cable is a 1050-capacity, multi-roomed club in the arches underneath St Thomas' Hospital, playing host to the best garage, dubstep, drum and bass and house music DJs every weekend.
The Venue
Grimy and underground - literally - the club is built into the stone-walled arches, although a few concessions to more sophisticated, modern decor have been made here and there. It's been cunningly divided into three main spaces, with the main room focussed around the DJ decks, the bar space (equipped with another pair of decks) and a separate third room with comfy sofas for those in need of a brief sit down before resuming their dancing. There's also a small VIP room with room for 20-30 people located at the top of a spiral staircase in the main room, which overlooks the decks and the busiest part of the dancefloor. Smokers are able to go outside to the back yard - not the most glamorous of locations, but there's no time limit for your stay as other clubs sometimes insist on.
The Atmosphere
Pretty crowded in most if not quite all areas, with dancing to the impressively loud but clear sound system almost the sole activity. Even the smoking area gets pretty full at times, but there are some nice touches, such as a bottle bar which means those queuing to dump their coats for the evening won't go thirsty. The crowds are generally polite and good natured, though, which certainly helps when the sheer numbers of people become oppressive
The Music
Definitely all in the dance/electronic bracket, and underground too. Cable (whose staff include at least one member of the team which made Fabric such a clubbing landmark) holds a lot of the current aces in the dance music pack, from drum and bass nights like Swerve (Fabio's night) and Shogun Audio, DJ Friction's event/label, plus the legendary Metalheadz, Cable’s other nights include the dread-happy Subdub, trance kings Freejak, and on Sunday mornings the club opens at 5am for house/techno fans to continue partying until lunchtime at the Jaded sessions, another party with plenty of history: it used to be at The End.
The Drink
Club prices, obviously, with a bottle of San Miguel/Becks/Desperado in the £4.20-£4.50 range, a single Jack Daniel's, Eristoff, Courvoisier, Bells, Beefeater or Malibu with a mixer coming in at £4.50, a glass of house wine costing £5, as do shots of sambuca, tequila and Jagermeister. For the teetoallers, designated drivers and those just generally skint, there are juices and other soft drinks at £2 or Harrogate bottled water at £2.50.
The Last Word
If the prospect of being in an enclosed space with 1,000-plus ravers doesn't appeal, then you're probably not the kind of hardened, dedicated clubber that Cable appeals to. But if your idea of fun is being part of an enthusiastic throng, celebrating a particular brand of underground dance music, it most certainly is.
Cable has been reviewed by 19 users