The number and variety of new bars popping up in Kyiv at the moment are enough to make even seasoned barflies feel light-headed.
But the most popular places are hardly those where everybody knows your name. Instead, they are some of Kyiv’s “secret” bars.
These places don’t have signboards, they are loath to reveal their address and if they don’t like the look of someone they might not even let them in.
However, if a person does manage to find one of these bars, and gains admittance, they can expect to be treated not just as another client, but more like an old friend.
Torf
Of all the “secret” bars in Kyiv, Torf is the oldest and probably the most secretive. Founded by Kirill Kislyakov, a photographer and owner of another bar – Barman Dyktat – Torf was initially planned as a TV studio for a private internet channel Torf.TV. However, the owners and their friends started gathering in the place on Wednesdays and Saturdays to chill and mix tasty drinks. It evolved into an exclusive drinking spot.
The place soon became famous among artists, bartenders and politicians, but the only evidence of its existence online was an Instagram feed with the hashtag “mesto kotorogo net” – Russian for “a place that doesn’t exist.”
Torf’s owners don’t disclose the address of the bar, but one can find it on the Foursquare app or using Google maps.
Hendricks’s Bar
Not far from Torf’s, another hidden place is Hendricks’s Bar in the basement of the True Burger Bar at 42 Bohdana Khmelnytskoho St. The bar is known for cocktails made on the basis of the eponymous Hendricks’s gin. Classic and house cocktails go for around Hr 120-160.
To get into Hendricks’s Bar, clients have to ring a bell at the armored security door that leads into the small basement bar. Hendricks’s Bar doesn’t consider itself an exclusive, secret place, but the staff will only open the door if there are free seats available. The bar works only on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, from 6 p.m. until 3 a.m.
Hendricks’s Bar. 42 Bohdana Khmelnytskoho St. 6 p.m. – 3 a.m. on Thu, Fri, Sat
Loggerhead
It’s easy to miss Loggerhead, which opened last year in the yard near 1 Tarasa Shevchenko Blvd, where the Bite & Go deli café is also located. To find Loggerhead, go into the archway and keep to the left. There can be found a metal door that looks like the entrance to an electrical room. However, to the left of the door a lever has been installed, which, when pressed, summons a staff member, who will decide whether to let you in.
This place takes its name not from the species of turtle; but the blacksmithing instrument, consisting of a metal ball or bulb attached to a long metal handle, which was heated in a forge and used to melt or heat liquids. It was used in the 18th century to warm up ale or beer — when beer was often drunk warm, mulled with spices and honey. The bar works daily from 7 p.m. until 1 a.m., but can be very busy on the weekend.
Loggerhead. 1 Tarasa Shevchenko Blvd. 7 p.m. – 1 a.m.
Barbakan
Barbakan, a hidden art bar in Kyiv’s historical Podil district, opened before the EuroMaidan Revolution in 2013-2014 as a place for friends only, but it soon became popular among politicians and artsy people. The entrance to the bar is located in the yard at 42B Verkhnii Val St.
Barbakan still has the atmosphere of the closed club, even though it doubles now as an art gallery, which often hosts poetry readings and lectures. This place still has no signboard, so the easiest way to find it is to just to ask people who are smoking outside for directions.
Barbakan. 42B Verkhnii Val St.
AM Bar
The tiny drinking hole AM Bar is tucked away at 6 Velyka Vasylkivska Street, and calls itself a secret place for a very simple reason: clients have to go through an archway leading from Pushkinska Street into the small maze of paths between buildings in the block bordered by Pushkinska, Velyka Vasylkivska, and Bulvar Tarasa Shevchenka. The bar has only a few tables, so it often gets crowded.
The place is famous for its cheap and tasty nalyvka, a fruit liqueur popular in Ukraine, for just Hr 30. One can also find here several dishes that go with the drink, such as pie with chicken or salmon (Hr 40-60). The bar also has lots of craft beer available, for around Hr 70 for a 0.3 liter bottle. AM Bar works daily from 2 p.m. to 4 a.m.
Am Bar. 6 Velyka Vasylkivska St. 2 p.m. to 4 a.m.
Parovoz Speakeasy
The now legendary bar Parovoz Speakeasy is hidden in the basement of Kyiv Cinema at 19 Velyka Vasylkivska St. The place doesn’t have a signboard and is named after the speakeasy bars that opened in the United States in the years of Prohibition in 1920s and 1930s. The place first opened in 2002, and was refurbished and reopened in 2013.
Parovoz is famous for its cocktails: there are all the classics such as Martinez or Sazerac (Hr 160-220) as well as contemporary house cocktails. Unlike most of the “secret” bars, Parovoz serves not only appetizers but full meals such as salads, steaks and pasta. It works from 12 p.m. to 3 a.m.
Parovoz Speakeasy. 19 Velyka Vasylkivska St. 12 p.m. to 3 a.m.
