Arcade Cafe
C-6, Str. Smardan 30, tel. (+4) 0727 25 70 22, (+4) 0722 77 76 74, www.arcadecafe.ro. Onemore reason to hail Strada Smardan as the new Messiah of nightlife destinations. This little place is a cool mix of cafe, DJ bar and deadly serious club, though the music is always at the right volume and never stifles conversation. Basically there are two parts to this place: upstairs is the cafe (serving hot milk: our kids liked it!) and downstairs is the club. The cafe is open from (around) 10am.
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Open 10:00 - 03:00, Sat, Sun 10:00 - 05:00. PJEWAtelier Mecanic
C-6, Str. Covaci 12, tel. (+4) 0726 76 76 11. You will like it the minute you walk in the door. Perhapseven before that. Old Town has needed something a bit differ- ent for a while, and this place is it. A modernist, minimalist bar/ cafe where every chair and table is different, and which has something of a ‘What communist Britain might have looked like’-chic about it. The price of beer is good, and they serve a variety of wines by the glass. Brilliantly simple it is anti-fitze Bucharest at its best and as a result you can expect to see us here often.
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Open 10:00 - 05:00. PJBSWBeer O’Clock
C-6, Pasajul Vilacrosse, tel. (+4) 0767 23 33 35, www.beeroclock.ro. This little pub in PasajulVillacrosse has probably the biggest selection bottled beers in the city: so it is aptly named. With brews from all over the world you could drink a different beer every night for a month and not try the same one twice. What’s more, besides the beer they also have the appropriate glass in which to serve it: great attention to details. Tiny, with only a few places to sit, it’s worth reserving if you want to be sure of a seat. Note: there is now a much bigger Beer O’Clock on Strada Gabroveni further down in Old Town. We prefer the tiny original.
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Open 16:00 - 02:00. Also at (C-6) Str. Gabroveni 4. Open 17:00 - 02:00. PJBWBoma Pub
C-6, Str. Covaci 3, tel. (+4) 021 312 05 52/ (+4) 0722 80 01 86, www.bomapub.ro. Beer and very goodpizza (and fair bit else besides) in a rather nice setting on Strada Covaci, which, with the recent opening of a few other decent places is quickly becoming the new Lipscani street-to-be. Boma is a sweet little place, decked out with wood and boasting perhaps the comfiest chairs of any pub in the city. Drinks are well priced and service comes with a smile. An excellent place for a livener or two.
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Open 12:00 - 02:00. JVBSWBordello’s
C-6, Str. Selari 9-11, tel. (+4) 0748 88 10 85, www.bordellos.ro. From quiz nights to live music, this isa great pub, complete with excellent bar food, Heineken, Mur- phy’s and Paulaner on tap and Sky Sports on four screens.
Great food: tapas in the pub (the ribs are just about the best we’ve ever had in Bucharest) and more sophisticated fare in the restaurant bit. Why Bordellos? Read the drinks menu and you
will find out why. You can’t miss this place by the way: just look for the ‘tarts’ in their underwear beckoning you in. No wonder it is always full.
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Open 12:00 - 02:00, Thu, Fri 12:00 - 05:00, Sat 14:00 - 05:00, Sun 14:00 - 02:00. PJESWCantina Sport Bar
C-6, Str. Franceza 52, tel. (+4) 0733 11 04 64, www.cantinasportbar.ro. On the southern tip ofOld Town, where Strada Selari meets the river embankment, this enormous sports bar is a bright and breezy place to watch the match and get your hands on some decent grub. Decent pizza costs very little, but most popular of all appears to be the
pui la rotisor, served up with copious amounts of beer.
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Open 08:00 - 02:00, Fri, Sat 08:00 - 04:00. PJLBSWColorteca
C-6, Str. Lipscani 43, tel. (+4) 0751 26 82 45. Super little bar in a narrow Lipscani passage that it ishome to a surprisingly large number of speakeasies. This one could well be our favourite, not least because of the colourful
Caffe Gelato
C-6, Str. Franceza 46-48, tel. (+4) 0732 00 88 88, www.caffegelatobucuresti.ro. Find itat the bottom of Strada Smardan.
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Open 09:00 - 24:00, Sat, Sun 12:00 - 24:00. PJBClate
C-6, Str. Smardan 30, tel. (+4) 0756 09 71 98, [email protected], www.clate.net. Bestice cream in town, and more besides: pancakes, juice and the like.
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Open 12:30 - 01:00. PJNSWIce Cream
oLd town
oLd town
81
December 2011 - January 2012
bucharest.inyourpocket.com
decor, very late opening hours and cheerful bar staff. Usually a good crowd in sipping pre-club drinks, although - like us - many tend to stay here the whole evening. It’s that kind of place.
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Open 15:00 - 05:00. PJNWCurtea Berarilor
C-6, Str. Selari 9-11, tel. (+4) 021 313 75 32/(+4) 0723 27 96 20, www.curteaberarilor.com.Once upon a time the whole of the Curtea Sticlarilor was given over to artisans - especially glassmakers, from whence the name. Now only a few survive and no less than four bars have opened here. This one has given itself the rather cheeky name Curtea Berarilor (Brewers’ Courtyard), though there is no brewing done
on the site. Instead make do with plenty of on-tap pints, of which the default option is Timisoreana.
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Open 13:00 - 01:00, Fri, Sat 13:00 - 03:00, Sun 12:00 - 24:00. PJSWElephant Pub & Live Music
C-6, Str. Gabroveni 16, tel. (+4) 021 311 22 67, www.elephantpub.ro. Live musicpub and club that launches itself into direct competition with the more established Mojo next door. Besides the music there are plenty of screens for watching sports and the like, the beer is well priced and the crowd a very casually dressed mix of rockers in leather and rollers in jeans. Make of it what you will.
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Open 15:00 - 02:00. PJENBWInterbelic
C-6, Str. Selari 1, tel. (+4) 0722 10 01 93, www.interbelic.ro. A cosy little speakeasy in a well-hiddenlocation (find it in the alleyway which links Str. Blanari to Str. Lipscani) and the perfect place to conduct all sorts of secret business, affairs and anything else that springs to mind. Drinks and coffees are reasonably priced, the staff are friendly and it’s worth checking out: if only to show off to someone just how well you know Bucharest and its backstreets.
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Open 13:00 - 01:00. PJNBWKlein Bar & Bistro
C-6, Str. Smardan 11, tel. (+4) 021 313 93 15, www.rembrandt.ro. Bar and bistro insidethe Rembrandt hotel. It’s a great place to enjoy a drink with friends, and the location at the edge of Bucharest’s newly- formed pedestrian zone makes it a favourite for those looking for something just a little more restful. Good bistro food too, and like the hotel itself, everything comes at very reasonable prices.
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Open 07:00 - 02:00. PJLGOktoberfest
C-6, Str. Selari 9 -11, tel. (+4) 0724 33 32 33, www.oktoberfest-pub.ro. What makes this place so specialis how very ordinary it is. You will find the crowd more local than foreign - never a bad thing - and ordinary, ‘out for a drink and a good time locals at that’, not the fitze crowd. The owners try
to make something happen every night, whether its football on the television or impromptu drinking competitions. The house
Oktoberfest beer is a bargain at 4 lei a glass. Upstairs is Okto- berfest 2, which has a small terrace complete with heaters for
the winter. The club Octopus is also inside (on the ground floor).
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Open 24hrs. PJNBOld City
C-6, Str. Lipscani 45, tel. (+4) 0729 37 77 74, www.oldcity-lipscani.ro. Good pub on Lipscani with ahuge beer garden out the back. Serves very good cocktails (a sweet as you like mojito went down very well with Mrs. In Your Pocket) and some pub grub that is far better than you
would assume. The burger was great: try it with the roast potatoes in fresh rosemary for something a bit different. A big screen shows football and the like.