The White Swan has been a gay venue on Commercial Road for more than forty years, which makes it one of the longest-running in London and by some distance the main one in the East End. Older regulars still call it BJ's White Swan.
It is a pub upstairs and a club downstairs. The basement is neon-lit with a serious sound system, and the DJs play dance and club classics rather than anything current. Amateur strip nights, cabaret and themed parties fill out the week, and it has three spaces that get hired for private events.
It sits a minute from Limehouse DLR and directly next door to Sailors sauna, which explains a good deal of the traffic between the two late on.
