Overview of Dabbers Bingo
In the heart of East London, under the shadow of the famous Gherkin building by Aldgate tube, sits Dabbers Bingo. Read all the juicy gossip on what makes Dabbers Bingo THE popular bingo and entertainment night out in London.
Forget Nan’s fave game. Forget strip lighting covering a hall of bucket seats. In fact, forget everything you thought you knew about bingo. The bespoke built, contemporary bingo hall which opened its doors in November 2018 is where Dabbers introduced London to hilarious “Dabette” hosts, brilliant bingo, perfect prizes, clinking cocktails, and more.
Here’s all you need to know:
- Dabbers Bingo Event Overview
- What to Expect at Dabbers Bingo
- Dabbers Bingo Tickets & Booking Information
- Upcoming Dates & Locations
- Games & Prizes at Dabbers Bingo
- Food & Drink Options
- Testimonials & Reviews
- FAQs
Dabbers Bingo Event Overview
This is not a simple night with numbers – it’s a full-on entertainment spectacle with rave style lighting, comedy, music, live performers, and a buzzing crowd that’s ready to party. (Of course bingo purists will still find the game they love here – it’s just a version with cheeky calls and big laughs!)
For high-energy, club-night fun, whether a wild night out with friends, a birthday party, a hen party or just a good ole boogie, you’ve found it.
Dabbers might have started as bingo and now offers a whole lot more. Founder Ed Wethered partnered with the people of Musical Bingo, Gospeloke, and Comedy House Party to create Dabbers Bingo, aiming to “replace cups of tea with cocktails, bingo callers with comedians, and dreary prizes with incredible experiences”, which led to its expansion beyond London. Dabbers Bingo UK events now run around the UK.
What to expect at Dabbers Bingo
Dabbers Bingo is a big, bold bingo game filled with fun. You will feel the party energy as soon as you arrive in the memorabilia-filled lobby where you buy your bingo cards for 3 rounds as you would a traditional bingo hall, and this only escalates throughout the night. Sessions last up to around 3 hours. After grabbing a drink (cocktail, four-pint pitcher of beer, or affordably priced champagne), head to the main bingo hall downstairs.
The social vibe grows when you join a table with other Dabbers. Don’t worry, you’ll be best friends in time (if you do want a little more privacy there are banquette tables on the sidelines, and some exclusive ‘Baller Booths’ available for hire).
Each night has its own twist and theme such as Disco Bingo, Bingo Voyage, Brunch Bingo, Drag Bingo, Bottomless Bubbles Brunch Bingo, Family Brunch Bingo (Sundays – suitable for kids), and much more. There’s quiz nights and karaoke nights too. Hilarious banter, confetti cannons, dance-offs, and interactive games will ensue, as will lots of audience participation. If you wish you can be in the spotlight, competing in side challenges and sing-alongs for your chance to win extra prizes.
Dabbers Bingo Tickets & Booking Information
Once you’re seated with your drinks, the fun really begins!
Getting Dabbers Bingo tickets is easier than shouting ‘BINGO!’ You can purchase tickets directly from the Dabbers Bingo website which is easy to navigate, just head to “Book by Date” or “Events. Prices vary depending on which night and package you choose. Various types of tickets are often on sale including standard tickets, reserved seating, group tables, and VIP packages.
Standard ticket prices range from around £10 to £20. Each event is different and some offer included drinks packages.
In the “Promotions” section of the site, you can buy a DABBERS SOCIAL MEMBERSHIP for £95 which gives you lots of freebies, including 6 free tickets to any Dabbers Social show, food and drink discounts, free VIP booth upgrade, and more. Family Brunch Bingo tickets start at £12.
Entertainment, bingo cards, and dabbers are included in all ticket prices at Dabbers Social Bingo. Dabbers Social Bingo tickets go like hot cakes, so we always recommend booking in good time to avoid missing out!
Upcoming Dates & Locations
The party never stops at Dabbers Bingo UK (as their Instagram account proves!) You can find events taking place almost every night throughout the year at the flagship East London venue Dabbers Social Bingo City which is a 2 minute walk from Aldgate tube, and a 5 minute walk from Liverpool Street Station. There’s seasonal events for Halloween and Christmas etc, and alongside regular weekly shows you will also find special themed nights and shows in pop up venues.
In October 2022, another dedicated venue was announced. This is the second of the Dabbers Bingo venues to launch, and is located in the Hackney area of London, about a 5 minute walk from Hackney Central.
Look out for the popular Dabbers Bottomless Brunch – a famous feature of the venue. From 1.30pm to 3pm every Saturday there is ‘wild bingo, fab prizes, and sassy hosts’. Choice of brunch dishes and boozy jelly shots and you get to ‘pimp your prosecco’ for 90 minutes with edible glitter, berries and cocktail syrups. Check out all the latest Dabber Bingo dates on the official website.
Games & Prizes at Dabbers Bingo
At the heart of Dabbers Bingo is the classic game of bingo. Daub numbers from your bingo cards if they are announced by the bingo callers. Get 1 line, 2 lines or a full house to take home a winning prize. Each game at Dabbers Bingo is different and so are the prizes.
Expect quirky gag gifts and novelty items as well as cash jackpots. Many games have jackpots upwards of £1,000, so there is everything to play for at a Dabber Bingo event. Other types of prizes include spa dates, dinner vouchers, hotel stays and annual passes to Dabbers Bingo.
Food & Drink Options
The food and ‘SIP, LAUGH, REPEAT’ drinks at Dabbers Social Bingo is very much central to the whole experience, and is described by Dabbers as “yummy comfort food with inspired extra special touches”. You can order food by using the QR code on the menu at your table to order online, speak to a member of the Dabbers team, or pre-order before the show to be ready when you arrive.
‘Small Plates’ include panko halloumi balls with Szechuan sauce, cauliflower poppers with red tapenade, and triple cooked potato wedges with melted mature cheddar and chives, while on the mains menu you’ll find imaginative twists on classics such as the prawn cocktail pizza, the ‘lucky mother-clucker’ monster munch fried chicken burger, and the ‘peace and love’ plant-based burger.
If you just want something to share, try ‘The Big Dipper’: baked camembert sitting inside a pineapple, with a selection of skewered appetisers to dip into it including griddled pineapple, chorizo, figs, grapes, olives and cured ham. The drinks menu is just as extravagant, with espresso martini, negroni, tequila lemon jelly and pink lady cocktails available, along with beer, wine by the bottle, and soft drinks.
Testimonials & Reviews
Don’t just take our word for it, see why everyone is adding Dabbers Bingo to their social calendar. One attendee said:
“Excellent night we had so much fun. The food was delicious and so much entertainment”‘.
“Brilliant afternoon. Booked this for a birthday celebration and went beyond expectations”.
“Not your average bingo night with your Nan, so much fun and an INCREDIBLE food pop up. Would definitely go again! Thank you team”.
If you want to know more about exactly what is Dabbers Bingo from attendees themselves, take a look at the 600+ Google reviews.
FAQs with Founders Ed Wethered and Jonny Unknown
What is the Dabbers Bingo experience?
Dabbers Social Bingo is the UK’s first contemporary venue purposefully designed to celebrate the beloved game. We’ve taken all the best bits of bingo and given them a facelift. The numbers on balls are now fired out through a custom-built bingo blower machine. The calls have been injected with contemporary, tongue-in-cheek wokeness and urban slang. We’ve added in game-show twists to the format, with hilarious comedians at the helm to guide the show alongside our “Dabbettes,” who sing and dance while calling out the numbers. The fun doesn’t just end there — our cocktail and food menu has been designed to extend the theatre to your table too. We’ve reinvented nostalgic party classics into mouth-watering sensations, all served by engaging and friendly servers.
Why is your event/show different from other live bingo events?
Our focus has always been about creating unique experiences and lasting memories. The Dabbers team put their heart and soul into the 17+ shows they have curated, so within the hall there’s always something for everyone. We aim for all our guests to leave feeling they were part of something special and that this club belongs to them.
Where did the idea for Dabbers come from?
It all began with co-founders Ed Wethered and Jonny Unknown, who had previously been running bingo pop-ups across London, wanted to build a new contemporary bingo hall that celebrated the golden era of the bingo club.
When did you begin running shows/events?
We launched November 2018
How do you see live bingo continuing to evolve in the next decade?
I’d imagine through new technology and new ways in which people socialise. Perhaps some kind of 3D teleportation where you and your friends can all be beamed in to play together from remote places.
What were the challenges of setting up your own venue in central London?
Where to start… raising the investment, finding the right site, hiring the best team, understanding the importance of great training… and then just when we really got going we were hit by the pandemic.
How do you find the right hosts to appear as your resident Dabbettes?
For the hosts we visit comedy and cabaret clubs, the production team also go up to the Edinburgh Festival every year in August to discover new talent, and we run an annual talent competition called Dabbers Next Top Bingo Caller. For our callers, we often recruit via the Dabbettes dance community, or people apply or are recommended to us.
Dabbers Bingo Next Top Bingo Caller
(And Our Charlie Shakespeare Joined the Judges!)
In the search for Dabbers Next Top Bingo Caller, our very own Charlie Shakespeare was invited to become a judge at one of the heats…
“The heats are hotting up fast and on 29th May it was my pleasure to be invited to Dabbers Bingo in Aldgate, London to judge the latest heat of the Next Top Bingo Caller competition.
London based comedians, cabaret acts and performers have been competing each week to get a job as Dabbers new bingo caller. Sunday was the fourth and final heat. I was invited to judge the event whilst also enjoying the show with my fiancée and some friends. The afternoon officially kicked off when the host, comedian Sikisa Bostwick, signalled for the Dabbers balls to drop…
First up was drag queen Crudi Dench who set a high standard going forward and ultimately finished in second place in this round. Other acts included cabaret artist Sue the Cleaner, musical duo The Pinky and comedian The Manager, but the winner – as voted for by the audience and judges – was Barbra Bennett.
Barbra stormed onto the stage with tremendous energy and didn’t miss a single beat as she presented her section of bingo. My favourite part of her act was when she stopped the game mid-flow to head over to the bar and pour herself a cocktail with 80% Malibu and 20% mixer. Clearly, the staff weren’t aware this was going to happen, and I loved how Barbra took full control of not only the stage, but the entire venue. Her attitude said; “I’m the host now and whether I win or lose, I’m making this moment my own!”
Barbra certainly deserved her place in the next heat, but was ultimately pipped at the post in the final by Crudi Dench from Brighton. Contestant and runner up Viggo Venn went on to win Britain’s Got Talent.
The event had BBC New Comedy Award finalist, Sikisa Bostwick, as host with esteemed judges from the worlds of entertainment and bingo in the form of Kate Daughton, Ex Head of Comedy at the BBC and Co-Founder of Boffola Pictures; Miles Baron, Chief Executive of Bingo Association, and comedian, Hannah Byczkowski, from The Traitors (BBC, 2023).
The Top Bingo Caller event has now become an annual highlight in the Dabber’s Social Bingo calendar.
The Talents of Amy Webber (winner 2023)
Amy really is multi-talented. She started dancing as a child in Japan, going on to try opera singing in her teen and actually read opera at University. At that point pop music became more of a passion, together with making people laugh. At the age of 27 she brought the two together and created her unique act, as heard on BBC Radio 4.
When not performing Amy teaches children through educational songs, and is a singing teacher. She says she loves “being in charge of the organised chaos of being a bingo caller” and says her experience working with children of a young age is not “dissimilar to commanding a bingo game”.
Musical Bingo
Dabbers Bingo was created in part by the people who brought the world Musical Bingo back in 2008.
Musical Bingo takes place at venues across the South East of the UK, including nights at Dabbers Social Bingo.
Dubbed “London’s ultimate interactive club night”, Musical Bingo is a chance to party to some of your favourite tunes while playing for prizes in a fun-filled, often wild and wonderful atmosphere.
The event’s catchphrase is ‘eyes down ears up’, and that’s exactly what you have to do when the music starts and you begin to mark off the songs on your bingo card to win prizes.
Musical Bingo’s success has taken it to festivals all over the world, and the uniquely talented hosts and comperes ensure that a night at Musical Bingo is one like no other. Here’s a full Musical Bingo review!
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