Molotow

Molotow is an 850-capacity concert club in Hamburg, operating at Reeperbahn 136 in the half-timbered building that housed the Top Ten Club. Its current address carries a direct 1960s connection: the Beatles played there. Molotow itself began in a far different setting, beneath the Esso-Häuser complex, giving a show here the particular charge of a working contemporary club inside a deeply musical Reeperbahn address.

Three moves, one live-music lifeline

Molotow opened in 1990 in a shop space within the Esso-Häuser at Spielbudenplatz, building its identity around underground guitar music and early Hamburg appearances by acts including The White Stripes, The Hives and Mando Diao. In December 2013, structural danger forced the evacuation of the Esso-Häuser, closing the club and sending its concerts into other Hamburg venues while the team sought a new base. A short exile in Holstenstraße led to a September 2014 opening at Nobistor.

The next rupture came with the end of the Nobistor lease in late 2024, tied to hotel-development plans. Hamburg Kreativ Gesellschaft took over the basement and ground-floor premises at Reeperbahn 136 in January 2025 and sublet them to Molotow, securing the site for cultural use through at least 2040. Molotow reopened there on March 28, 2025, launching the weekend with British post-punk group Slate, followed the next night by Temmis, Die Störung and Goblyn.

Two rooms, a broad club bill

The booking approach favors emerging and established live acts alongside late-night parties and occasional poetry slams. Indie and rock remain central, yet the current program also stretches into punk, metal, alternative pop, folk, rap-adjacent sets and electronic-leaning dance nights. The ground-floor Club has the larger stage and its own bar; downstairs, the smaller Top Ten Bar serves as a second stage and bar, open Thursday through Saturday from 7 p.m. The venue flags stair access for the cellar bar and toilets, while a ramp serves the step into the main Club.