Pérola Negra Club

Bars, mirrors, and a red that never goes out

The pole bars and mirrors that multiply the dance floor remain the hallmark of Pérola Negra Club. In the heart of Baixa in Porto, the venue was for decades a legendary cabaret and sex club —the first in the city to program striptease and live sex shows— until it closed and, on November 18, 2016, reopened as a nightclub. Mário Carvalho, a name linked to Indústria, leased about 550 square meters and chose not to erase that memory: scarlet ceilings and sofas, a long bar, and a burlesque air tuned to recover the spirit of the 80s nightclub, with disco and house as the dance floor compass.

The house that changed rhythm in 2018

At the end of 2018, the project changed hands and ambition. With Jonathan Tavares in programming, the space was reformulated as a cultural, inclusive, and collaborative club. Publishers and collectives like Favela Discos, Príncipe, Ouro Bravo, and Ill Pitched occupied the agenda; Kebraku opened the door to baile funk, trap, and reggaeton. There was a bridge with the Dutch scene and the Pip club in The Hague, theater with Palmilha Dentada, and a concert by Dealema with the Pérola Negra Band. The dance floor has seen Pantha du Prince, DJ Stingray, Marcellus Pittman, Actress, Adam Port, Moullinex, John Talabot, andhim, Red Axes, Quantic, or Nídia.

Cinema marquee and dawn on Gonçalo Cristóvão

The facade retains a marquee of light bulbs and a black-and-white billboard that announces guests like a premiere. Inside, an illuminated staircase leads to the hall: central wooden dance floor, disco ball, red benches, and an atmosphere that still smells like a cabaret. The club prioritizes consent and mutual respect and opens, habitually, on Fridays, Saturdays, and eves of public holidays until 6:00 AM. Today, the programming mixes house, disco, afro, and Brazilian funk, and the Porto scene continues to treat this old salon as one of its most recognizable dance floors.