Ballie Ballerson

The Venue

Ballie Ballerson occupies a basement space beneath Curtain Road in the heart of Shoreditch, one of east London's busiest nightlife strips. The entrance is easy to miss — a set of stairs leading down from street level into a neon-lit underground world. Inside, UV blacklights, smoke machines and a serious sound system turn what was once a standard basement bar into something between a nightclub and a children's soft play centre reimagined for adults.

The venue launched as a pop-up in Dalston at the tail end of 2016, originally planned to last just one month. It proved so popular that it quickly outgrew the space and relocated to a permanent Shoreditch home. Since then it has become one of London's most recognisable nightlife venues, drawing hen parties, birthday groups, couples on dates and tourists looking for something they will not find anywhere else.

The Ball Pits

The main pit is the centrepiece — a vast, deep pool filled with over a million UV-reactive plastic balls that glow under the blacklights. It is deep enough to wade through and wide enough for dozens of people at once. A smaller pit sits nearby, and a gold VIP pit is available for private bookings. Lasers, LED panels and a haze of smoke complete the sensory overload.

The pits are cleaned and sanitised regularly. Staff patrol the area and there are rules about behaviour — no throwing balls at faces, no climbing on the edges, and no drinks in the pits. Shoes must be flat with a back strap; heels are not allowed in the ball pit areas.

Cocktails and Food

The drinks menu is what sets Ballie Ballerson apart from other bars. Every signature cocktail is themed around a retro sweet. The Dibbie Dabberson combines sherbet Dip Dab with gin and citrus. The Skittles Sour dissolves real Skittles into vodka. The Curly Wurly Old Fashioned infuses chocolate-caramel into bourbon. Some serves arrive with sparklers, and a handful use liquid nitrogen to freeze whipped cream into instant ice cream at the table. Classic cocktails and beers are also available for those who prefer something more conventional. Cocktails cost between nine and twelve pounds.

Neapolitan pizzas are made in-house and served throughout the evening. They are proper thin-crust affairs rather than an afterthought, and they pair well with the sweeter cocktails on the menu.

Bottomless Brunch

Saturday and Sunday brunch sessions have become one of the venue's biggest draws. For around forty-five pounds per person, you get ninety minutes of unlimited prosecco, bellinis or beer alongside pizza and full ball pit access. Drag brunch editions with live performances run on selected dates and tend to sell out quickly. Brunch is the most popular way to experience Ballie Ballerson during daylight hours and booking well in advance is essential.

Music and Events

Resident DJs play every evening the venue is open, spinning a mix of pop-house and disco remixes built on well-known nineties and noughties tracks. The genre is designed to keep energy high without straying too far into pure club territory — think singalong anthems with a four-to-the-floor beat underneath.

Themed nights rotate through the calendar. Neon rave nights, Halloween specials, New Year's Eve parties and seasonal one-offs bring different crowds and decorations. After ten o'clock on Fridays and Saturdays the basement transforms into a proper late-night club, with the ball pits staying open alongside the dance floor.

Booking and Nearby

All tickets are available through the Ballie Ballerson website. General admission starts from eight pounds and includes ball pit access for the full session. Booth packages, baller packages with cocktails, and bottomless brunch tickets are also bookable online. The venue is strictly over-eighteens only and photo ID is checked at the door.

Curtain Road sits at the centre of Shoreditch's nightlife, so there is no shortage of places to continue the evening. Boxpark Shoreditch is a two-minute walk for street food. Old Street and Shoreditch High Street are both lined with bars and restaurants. For something cultural beforehand, the Geffrye Museum of the Home is a ten-minute walk north along Kingsland Road.