BAUDELAIRE EVIL FLOWERS BAR

We have already written about our soft spot for the Bukowski late night drink bar that attracts the younger, sophisticated and artistic local crowd. Now we have good news for those who like the Bukowski’s Bohemian atmosphere but at the same time seek calmer and quieter surroundings. The owners have recently opened a second venue in the same Bohemian spirit. The well-elaborated literary concept elevating the drinking culture to a completely new level is not missing!

Baudelaire Evil Flowers Bar pays homage to the famous French poet Charles Baudelaire who took the very essence of the carefree lifestyle to his heart and is known for his love for alcohol and drug use. We cannot imagine a better literary figure to represent a night bar than the author of the Evil Flowers. Now, we’re not inviting you to copy the bad habits of Mr. Baudelaire, by any means. But what is a better way to live through the fleeting, ephemeral moment than to experience it with a group of friends and a couple of sweet shots or mesmerizing cocktails?

LOCATION

Baudelaire Bar is lucky to be hosted by one of the most prestigious streets of the old Pressburg – Panská Street. The Hungarian aristocracy built many opulent palaces here in the 18th century in order to be close to the reigning empress Maria Theresa, who fondly visited Bratislava frequently at that time. That’s actually what the name means in Slovak – the Aristocracy Street!

(source: Baudelaire FB page)

If you are visiting the city, you will for sure walk past this bar quite a few times when moving through the Old Town’s most significant sights.

INTERIOR

When we enter the place, we immediately feel like in a French-style gentlemen’s bar, clad in wood and adorned with the patterned wallpaper. Antique brass lamps, marble looking floor and engravings of the evil flowers on the walls complete the picture.

The dominant feature of the place is the bar, backlit with a distinct blue color. The central theme of the flowers flows from one detail to another, and the bar is no exception – it is supported by the massive artistic construction made out of the iron flowers. Imagine the tones of the jazz music or funk and you got the idea of this place.

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Baudelaire bar has one spacious room filled with cute little tables as well as with the bigger ones.

WHY IS BAUDELAIRE SPECIAL

Baudelaire positions itself as a bar. Not a nightclub, not a cocktail place, not a winery nor a beer pub. It is simply “just” a bar. This means that everyone gets what they need – the offer includes local wines, smaller brewery beers, playful shots and our favourite – signature cocktails.

The place is owned by three friends – young, likeable guys who had enough of the corporate life and started organizing theme parties in the city. The idea of getting people together grew bigger and they decided to create a space where people would meet to have good time – Bukowski Bar. Proof of them doing a great job is a newly opened venue Baudelaire.

WHAT TO HAVE IN BAUDELAIRE?

Drinks, obviously :) The menu does not contain any meals, so let’s talk liquid! Oh and when discussing the menu, we should mention that it won the Slovak Bar Awards for the best design and concept. This is not surprising as we have not seen a more creative one – it not only contains beautiful artistic engravings but its structure is also very unique. The drinks are organized based on the plant (or the evil flower if you prefer to call it that way :)) that they are made of. This is why, for example, the beer, the whisky and the vodka are listed in the same category – barley.

What totally got us were the light drinks or cocktails called “Muses” which are named after the famous femme fatales like Czech actress Adina Mandlová, American model Edie Sedgwick, Haitian dancer Jeanne Duval or French model Kiki de Montparnasse. The menu includes beautiful graphic pictograms of each of them, in which the ingredients are drawn in an old-fashioned way that dates back to the times before the colorful print when they used various patterns to identify the cocktail’s components. How fascinating! Our favourite one is Kiki, containing the fragrant violet liqueur and fresh Adina with grapefruit juice and Becherovka – a traditional Czech liqueur.

The concept of alcoholic shots inspired by famous writers is shared with the Bukowski bar but some of the shots in Baudelaire are not in Bukowski and vice versa. Try their Pushkin shot named after the Russian writer who even wrote a short story called “Shot” (what a coincidence?!) or the Bukowski shot (Bukowski bar has the Baudelaire shot on the menu).