Dublin’s late-night scene is getting a lift, with a brand-new basement club opening just off Stephen’s Green. The venue, Chez Spice at Kaldero, promises a no-door-charge, vinyl-only, music-first atmosphere — the kind of space many Dubliners have been crying out for as the city continues to lose more clubs than it gains.
The team behind Bahay and Kaldero — recently featured in The Irish Times Top 100 Restaurants of 2025 and celebrated in Hot Press’ Best of Dublin — are transforming their award-winning restaurant every Friday and Saturday night. After dinner service wraps, the basement on South King Street shifts gears completely. At 10pm, the lights dip, the tables slide away, and the space becomes a late-night home for house music and proper dance-floor energy.
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In a city where long-standing venues have been shuttered, redevelopment pressures are mounting, and nightlife options remain limited, Chez Spice arrives as a rare and welcome cultural boost. Co-founder Alex O’Neill says the team wanted to create something that feels genuinely needed right now: “Night-time venues aren’t just entertainment. They’re where people meet, collaborate, get ideas, and build the creative fabric of the city. When you lose venues, you lose part of the city’s identity.”
Chez Spice is positioning itself as exactly that — a creative, community-building space in the heart of Dublin, run by people who are deeply embedded in the city’s food, music and cultural scenes. With a vinyl-only policy and DJs given full control of the night, it’s aiming for a more intimate, craft-driven club experience than the city usually gets.
Its launch is set to make an impression. Opening weekend kicks off on Friday 28 November with Richie Castillo and guests, followed by an all-night session on Saturday 29 November led by Irish house favourite TR One. With free entry and a late closing time, the venue looks likely to draw a crowd from the start.
For a city that’s been battling closures, planning standstills and a shrinking nightlife offering, Chez Spice feels like a rare win — a new space, run by Dublin creatives, opening at a time when the city needs it most.
