Address: Milton Keynes
Phone:
Opening Days / Times: Fridays and Saturdays 9pm to 3am
Prices: £4 on Fridays,
Age Limits: 20+ on Fridays
Capacity: 1000
Rooms: Main Dance floor, restaurant, upstairs seating
Who's been there: Dunno.
Who is there: Dunno (Can't find any fliers )
Parking: A fair bit
Main Beer: Kronemburg

Dress Code: Um, standard stuff, no jeans, white trainers, etc.

Ah, The Empire. It's quite a long way away, so we don't go very often. However, this night club is definitely worth traveling for. Once you get in, the first thing that hits you is that the décor is fantastic. Everything is done up, bits of it like a big face, bits like a boat (including the bar S.S. Flamingo's, which is what the club used to be called), everything in this club has been thought about very hard before implementing. For instance, the smoke machines, one above either side of the dance floor, are dressed up to look like dragons heads, so the smoke comes out of their mouths. Clever, clever… 

The second thing that hits you is what is drumming your head. The music is very loud, and very good quality. Beats really thump, thudding through the air with more richness than James Earl Jones's voice. The lights are also excellent, although at times, because The Empire isn't that big, it can seem very bright if they are all being used. 

It has a few arcade machines in a corner as well, including the excellent Enhergiz (it's a 3D fighter, but you can choose Cloud or Tifa from Final Fantasy 7 as your character), and (result!) an original Pole Position machine. 

The two DJ's I heard were really good, the second one especially, and they both had an excellent choice of music, with some incredible mixes of Better Off Alone and Get Get Down. They also played the Big Beat mix of the Casualty theme tune, which is the dogs*. The DJ also acted as a part-time MC, keeping the crowd jumping about with varied shouts of enthusiasm. 

The seating plan is very good, with plenty of room, and two small 'booths' either side of the dance floor where you can sit and watch people dancing, but you have to get in very early to get into one of them. The restaurant serves the standard fare for fair prices, and there are three bars surrounding the dance floor. There isn't a cocktail bar, which is a shame, and brings us on to the bad bits of The Empire. 

It's pretty small, with only one dance floor, which in itself isn't very big. And, when we went of Friday, it didn't really get busy until midnight, and no-one likes an empty club. On Saturdays, though, it's a different story, with hundreds of people trying to get in. 

But, with that considered, The Empire is a great club, and the music really is top notch. We like the Empire. It's well worth a visit.

This is a misc. review.