There was a time when Cardiff’s Exit nightclub formed the epicentre of gay clubbing; as a result, it was packed to the rafters every weekend. The music may have been a bit cheesy, but the atmosphere was guaranteed to be thick, charged and alive. Nowadays, other venues have popped up and Exit is struggling to keep up.

The Venue
Exit has three main areas: the downstairs dance floor with two bars, a beer garden at ground-level, and a second, slightly larger dance floor and bar area. In terms of decor, there is a distinct lack of any real theme running throughout Exit; various chrome surfaces, wooden floors and limited seating are hardly a stylised setting. The beer garden upstairs, replete with tables, benches and canopies, is the most sociable area, where people gather to drink and smoke. Entry is either two or three pounds, and sometimes free if you get there really early on.

The People
The bar staff are very friendly, and service is usually speedy. Exit once drew large crowds, everybody from students to those from the commercial and alternatives scenes could be found here. These days, numbers seem to have fallen off and dance floors are not as busy as they once were.

The Music
The club tends to play dance music downstairs and pop and disco in the other room. Funky house and chart hits are all here in their monotonous glory. On the more positive side, favourites from the 80s, such as Eurythmics and Soft Cell, are played here, and the occasional Girls Aloud mega mix livens things up immensely. It may not be very imaginative, but it can be great fun.

The Drink
One of the reasons people come to Exit is because of the reasonably priced drinks. On draft, you’ll find Tuborg (although it seems very popular and their supply runs out quite fast), Carlsberg, Strongbow, and Tetley’s, with bottles of chilled Stella in the fridge. A pint is around £2.75, with bottles starting from £2.70.

The Last Word
Overall, Exit is not pulling in the crowds it once did and, without a change of fortune, it may not return to former glories.