At Expat Ukraine, we’re huge fans of Lviv, Ukraine. When one of our writers recently spent a three month period there working on a consulting project, I knew he had to write a guide on the city’s nightlife. He’s a big city guy who works in Kyiv quite often, with Lviv being the smallest place he’s ever lived. To put it simply—he’s a serious expert when it comes to nightlife. While Lviv certainly is no Las Vegas, it’s clear that there are definitely plenty of good times to be had while visiting. Today, we present to you: The Expert’s Guide To to Lviv Ukraine Nightlife.

Without further ado, I’ll hand it off to him.

Nightlife in Lviv, Ukraine: Does It Exist?

Lviv is not exactly the first place you think of when looking for a “party city,” and that’s a good thing. I lived in Berlin for five years, but have now relocated to Kyiv. Every so often, I’m sent to Lviv for up to a few months on end, and I’ve found the nightlife scene there to be surprisingly good…if you know where to look.

The positive side is that Lviv is a student town, with about 20,000 college students moving into the city every school year. For many of these fresh-faced college girls, Lviv is the first time they’ve ever left their even smaller town or village. Considering they have never lived away from their parents before, many of them are ready to get a little crazy and do what young people do…party.

Simply put: there is an abundance of beautiful girls in Lviv. For a bachelor looking to spend some time in Ukraine, Lviv is an excellent choice.

Tacky or Cool?

Nightlife in Lviv, Ukraine gets a bad rep because to be completely fair, there are plenty of tacky nightclubs that play horrible music all over town. If you’re looking for quality nightlife and you go in unprepared, you’re probably going to be disappointed. Unlike in Kyiv, you can’t just bounce around the city center and find something cool.

Instead, you have to know where you’re going. Fortunately for you, this list will provide you with more than enough options to keep your nights plenty active while in Lviv.

In fact, there are actually a few decent nightclubs in town that you should know about.

The Best Clubs in Lviv – Period.

• Malevich Night Club – If you’re into the standard clubbing experience, definitely check this place out. It is surprising, but in Lviv, you have one of the largest nightclubs in all of Eastern Europe. Malevich is currently the go-to hotspot in Lviv, and for good reason. The club is open every night of the week, and there’s always a decent enough crowd to justify popping in. The facilities themselves are beautiful, and I often wonder how someone got the money to build this place in Ukraine. It’s freaking massive, with top quality sound and lighting. Best of all, prices are very reasonable by Western standards, and you can easily make reservations and get bottle service for under $75. It also goes without saying that the quality of the girls in this place is seriously off the charts. There’s also a strip club on the second floor of the club called Pink Show Girls.
  
• Fashion Club – I’ve been coming to Lviv long enough to remember when this place used to be the coolest spot in town. Now, Malevich has taken that title. My, my, how Ukraine nightlife has changed! That being said, Fashion Club is located just steps away from Rynok Square. Prices are similar to Malevich, though it’s usually a much smaller, slightly older crowd. It costs maybe ₴150 ($5) to get in, so I’d say it’s worth checking out during your nights out in Lviv.
  
• De Luxe – Even though this place is nowhere near the center, it’s a decent club for Lviv. Here, you’ll find a far more local crowd as most travelers won’t venture out from the city center to go to a nightclub. While it’s smaller than both Malevich and Fashion Club, you’ll find some unexpectedly talented DJs here and some seriously cute girls. Here, you’ll be a bit more exotic to the local girls. If you’re looking to meet someone, I’d try it out.

Other than these three, I can’t really suggest most other clubs in Lviv. Every time I went to Rafinad, METRO or Piccasso, I always regretted it afterward. While none of these places are dangerous, they’ll overcharge you at the door, they book horrible DJs, and are decorated like it’s 2003. On top of that, each of these places is predominately a Turkish nightclub. Anybody who has dealt with Turkish tourists in Ukraine knows it’s a headache that’s best avoided. Deviate from my recommendations at your own risk!

Bars: Usually The Worst Part of Ukraine Nightlife

As you may have noticed already, Ukraine is not the typical “bar scene” type of country.

Most Ukrainians prefer to sit at a table with a group of friends while drinking, instead of perching at a bar where you can make new friends and start conversations with others. It’s a longstanding part of their culture, and it’s not changing any time soon. In other words, finding a proper Western-style bar in Lviv was pretty difficult.

Luckily, we’ve done the hard work for you and found a few gems. I always start my night off by rotating between a few of these places. They’re all within 100 meters of each other.

• The Drunken Cherry: This is the perfect place to start off your night. Situated right on Rynok Square, this place is little more than a tiny room where you buy Cherry flavored Brandy, stand around a communal set of tables, and chat with groups of people. It’s always full, and you can meet tourists from all over here also.

• Choven: Choven is a Western-style beer pub that’s situated two streets away from Rynok Square. Here, you’ll find groups of people hanging out after work. It’s less popular with girls (for obvious reasons), but sells excellent beer and has a lively atmosphere. Both bar and table seating makes it a reasonable choice for socializing and seeing friends.

• JagerWald: A Jagermeister themed bar that’s 30 meters away from Choven. This is a great place to bring dates as the interior is sleek and newly designed. There’s always a tiny crowd here, and in a town as small as Lviv, it is 100% worth stopping into to get obscenely drunk off of $1 shots of Jagermeister. They serve nice craft cocktails also, and I’ve seen plenty of guys successfully bring dates here.

• Music Lab: This place is an old favorite of mine. I’ve brought countless dates here as it’s the right blend of casual and cool. This is a typical Ukrainian bar where everyone sits around at a table, so I obviously do not suggest it for socializing. There’s comfortable booth seating on both floors and you can even order a hookah. An excellent place for first dates, or just to have a drink with some friends.

• Pravda Beer Theater: This is a combination bar and restaurant. While you won’t be doing much socializing here, the place is absolutely gigantic and like no place I’ve ever seen in Ukraine. Run by American owners, they brew some of the finest beer in the country here. I’d avoid bringing dates, as the live music can be seriously overwhelming from time to time. During the summer, they have a lovely outdoor patio as well.

Pro-tip: I’d be careful to avoid P’yalnia. It’s become a hangout for the town’s alcoholics, and even though it’s right next to Pravda and looks like a normal place to stop in for a drink, I do not recommend going. I always see people getting into fights with both security and patrons. Avoid the riff-raff in Ukraine whenever possible.

Pop Up Parties – An Unexpected Gem in Lviv Ukraine

While Lviv is known for food, fun, and architecture, there is a burgeoning dance music scene in the city too.

Make no mistake, Lviv is certainly no Berlin, but if you regularly check websites like Resident Advisor, you can find pop-up dance parties and raves that happen all over the town.

While these only happen a few times a month at best, there are some hardworking promoters who bring in international DJs and throw parties at some seriously cool spots all over town.

I highly suggest you check out the Lviv event listings when planning your trip. It’s a nice break from the standard club scene, and you can mingle with the town’s upper class, hipster demographic as well.

After The Club

Lviv Ukraine nightlife goes very LATE. There’s not much of an after-hours scene, because it’s not uncommon for nightclubs to stay open until 5:00-6:00 AM.

But, if you’re someone who loves to get their late-night grub on after the nightclub, Lviv will leave you disappointed.

In total, you have one actual restaurant that’s open after 1:00 AM.

• Big Plate – Lviv’s only 24/7 restaurant. The food is a little bit expensive by Lviv standards, but still ridiculously cheap when compared to anywhere else in the world. If you’ve ever wanted to eat salo and drink vodka at 4:00 AM, this is the place to do so. Best of all, Big Plate is located just a few meters away from Rynok Square.

Strip Clubs

Ah yes, the strip club.

Generally speaking, I tell guys to avoid strip clubs in Ukraine. You’re already in the country with some of the hottest women on the planet! Don’t you want to try to talk to them?

Plus, in Lviv, the strip clubs are rather “tame” and there are no “extras” on the menu…if you know what I mean.

But, I’ll admit, I’ve been to a few strip clubs on some particularly drunken nights out in the town.

If you really have to visit a strip club, I suggest you check out this place…

• Split – This venue is a classic “nightclub/restaurant/strip club in one” package that Ukrainians seem to love. It is rather disappointing in all three areas, but the strip club inside has shown me a pretty good time before. There are some seriously hot girls working there, and probably the cheapest lap dances you’ll ever get in your life here!

Even still, these places are really nothing special. As I said, I don’t suggest going. In my experience, all that’s going to happen is you’re going to leave horny, drunk and disappointed.

Massage Parlors

The other alternative, if you’re a bit of a “sleazy” type of guy are the “massage parlors” that exist around town.

I’ve never been to one of these, but I’ve only heard horror stories of what takes place in these places. Friends who are a bit…more questionable than I have told me stories of moldy buildings with tattooed, drugged-out women (who are still pretty hot compared to the rest of the world) “rubbing you down” for the low price of $40.

Yeah, not my style at all.

Between the city’s many nightclubs and the popularity of online dating apps like Ukraine Date, I never had to resort to doing anything like that.

And neither should you.

Conclusion – Lviv, Ukraine Nightlife Is Actually A Pretty Good Time!

Surprise, surprise. The tiny town in Western Ukraine has some pretty decent options when it comes to nightlife options.

In fact, Lviv Ukraine is the fastest growing city in the entire country. Tourism numbers steadily increase each and every year and are showing no sign of slowing down. Some say that Lviv still remains relatively untouched by serious tourism and that the entire town could change in the next ten years. My suggestion to you is that you get there as soon as you can.

Here’s the moral of the story: with tens of thousands of young, college-aged girls living in the town and more than enough venues to choose from, you can have a great time partying it up in Lviv. Just be sure to do your homework beforehand!

PS: If you’re not the kind of guy who likes meeting Ukrainian women at the club, check out this website instead.