1A Camden High Street · London NW1 7JE
KOKO: a late licence on Camden High Street
KOKO is a restored Victorian theatre with a licence that runs long after the network has stopped, sitting on one of the busiest and most heavily enforced roads in north London. Those two facts between them are the whole job.
Club nights here run well past the point at which anything is running into Kent. That is the reason almost every booking we take for this venue is the return leg rather than the way in.
A gig and a club night are different jobs here
KOKO runs as a live venue early and a club late, and which one your ticket is for changes the entire evening.
Out around 23:00
A seated or standing gig with a conventional finish. The train is still an option for some.
Out at 03:00 or later
Nothing runs into Kent at that hour. This is the core of what we do here.
Camden High Street
Red route restrictions enforced by camera. No vehicle waits on it, ours included.
Round the corner
We hold on a side street off Mornington Crescent, ninety seconds' walk and on a road that moves.
What is running when you come out
This is the calculation that decides whether you need us. We would rather set it out than have you guess.
| You leave at | Rail into Kent | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| 22:30 | Running | Train is workable for one or two travelling light. |
| 23:30 | Last services | Tight. The Kent connection is the weak point, not the tube. |
| 01:00 | Night tube on Fri/Sat only | Book. The final leg home rarely exists. |
| 03:00 | Nothing | Pre-booked car. There is no alternative. |
| 04:00+ | Nothing until early services | Pre-booked car, arranged before the night. |
Camden from Kent
NW1 is north of the river and just off the centre. The outbound is slow in evening traffic and the small-hours return is considerably quicker.
| Pick-up area | Distance | Evening out | Small-hours return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gravesend & Northfleet | 30 miles | 70–100 min | 50–60 min |
| Dartford & Bluewater | 26 miles | 65–95 min | 45–55 min |
| Bexleyheath & Welling | 17 miles | 55–85 min | 35–45 min |
| Bromley & Orpington | 17 miles | 55–85 min | 35–45 min |
| Sevenoaks & Tonbridge | 30 miles | 65–95 min | 45–55 min |
| Rochester & Chatham | 39 miles | 80–110 min | 60–70 min |
| Maidstone & Aylesford | 41 miles | 80–110 min | 60–75 min |
| Canterbury & Ashford | 65 miles | 105–140 min | 85–100 min |
Working a Camden late night
The building is beautiful and the street is not
KOKO's interior is one of the best rooms in London, restored at considerable expense. Camden High Street outside it is a red route with camera enforcement, permanently busy with people, and no place for a vehicle to wait under any circumstances. We collect from a residential side street a short walk north, which is faster as well as legal.
Book the return, not the outbound
Getting to Camden is easy at seven in the evening. Getting eight people from NW1 to north Kent at three in the morning is the part that has no alternative solution. Most of our KOKO bookings are the return only, and that is a sensible way to do it.
The price does not move at closing time
Demand for vehicles in Camden at three in the morning is exactly the situation app pricing is designed to respond to. Our fare is agreed when you book, days or weeks earlier, and it does not care what is happening on anyone's app that night.
Camden is a whole evening, not just a venue
Almost nobody arrives at KOKO straight from home. The market, the lock and the pubs fill the hours beforehand, and a lot of our bookings include an earlier drop for food. It costs nothing extra when it is built into the quote.
KOKO Camden questions
Late finishes and a road nothing can stop on.
Can you pick us up outside KOKO?
No, and neither can anyone else. Camden High Street is a red route with camera-enforced stopping restrictions. We collect from a side street a ninety-second walk away, on a road the vehicle can actually pull off.
How late can you collect?
Any hour. Three and four in the morning are routine for this venue because the licence runs that late, and the fare is the figure agreed when you booked.
Is the last train an option?
For an early live show finishing around eleven, sometimes, though the Kent connection is where it gets tight. For a club night there is no rail option at all into Kent.
How long does it take back to Kent at 3am?
Faster than the way in. Around fifty minutes to Gravesend or Dartford, an hour to Medway. Empty roads are the one benefit of a very late finish.
Can we get dropped somewhere to eat first?
Yes, and most groups do. Camden has more options within a few minutes' walk than almost anywhere in London, and an earlier drop costs nothing extra.
Can one person book for the group?
Yes. The booker does not have to travel, and we send the driver's name and registration to whoever is going.
Do you cover the smaller rooms in the building?
Yes. Whatever is on, the collection arrangement is the same because the constraint is the street rather than the room.
Is the fare fixed?
Yes, agreed at booking, and it does not change because of the hour, the weather or how busy the night turns out to be.
Other late venues and guides
Everywhere else that finishes after the timetable does.