21. Where’s the Booze? │Part II

Perhaps it’s not worth going to Arcadia in winter. It’s better to stay in the city center. Start with a Drunken Cherry (П’яна Вишня) at a kiosk on Derybasivska, have a beer or two at the Irish pub, and then walk a little further, around the corner a block away, to the Youth. Молодість, like many eating and drinking places in Ukraine, belongs to a chain. It’s a restaurant, bar, club, and dance venue all in one. The interior, look, and style are an ironic throwback to the Soviet era, specifically the 50s and 60s.The menu is emphatically eatery-style, while the plates are thick clay, adorned with two blue stripes and the word “Молодість” in red.

One can eat everything from buckwheat porridge to meatballs, and there’s also a selection of Odesan dishes such as forshmak, shrimp, or pancakes with chicken and mushrooms. The dishes have cute names: “Home Alone” is boiled potatoes with sausages, and “Dad’s Fries” come with fried pieces of beef, mushrooms, and cream sauce. Beer is served in half-liter jars with lids, accompanied by an old-school tin opener. The jars are adorned with thematic witticisms such as “My dark past” or “My bright youth,” making it quite an experience on the first visit.

But yes, we must not forget that Молодість is a club and a dance venue! I myself actually do not realize this at first, entering the slightly hipsterish high ceilinged room, one half of which is taken up by the bar and a kind of balcony built on top of it for seating, while the other half of the lower room is taken up by a long table. One really needs to know the location of the party hall – or ask the waitress. To find the disco venue, one has to climb several narrow stairs to enter a small(ish) hall, which, even in the daytime, is dark, with the only lights on at the bar in the middle of the hall, not taking in account the colored lamps illuminating the dance floor and mirroring of the disco ball rotating in the ceiling.

I don’t know what time the party starts here, but it’s certainly on at 2 o’clock afternoon on a Saturday in early March 2023. The bartender is tirelessly pouring cocktails, the girls have placed their handbags on the floor to dance in a circle around them, some of the gentlemen are chatting amongst themselves, others are buying drinks for the ladies. The prices... Well, the prices don’t matter, because it’s a party, and we have already had a few before. Nothing unreasonable, however, as the Youth is certainly not some elitist nightclub of Arkadia, but a rather cozy and friendly place where all are welcome, as the place tries to maintain the image, in its name and aesthetic, of something for both the young as well as for those longing for their lost youth. Maybe that’s why it’s so dark here…

Anyway, it’s already dark outside once we leave the Youth. But it’s not really late yet. After the loud party music and drinks, the late-winter silence of the street is just a bit disorienting. Since it’s still far from time to go home, someone suggests visiting another party place. The choice falls on a place called Shizza Party Bar, known for being quite raucous. This means only one thing – it is an absolute must!

At the entrance to the basement bar, which lies on the train station side of the city center, customers are searched more thoroughly than at some airport security gates, and security also checks the documents – minors are barred from entering Shizza. One wonders whether it’s the (semi-)pornographic installations consisting of vaginas and pink putos covering the walls of the bar, or whether in some places the law is simply taken seriously.

Shizza consists of a series of interconnected vaulted rooms that are packed in the evening. Some of the customers order cocktails with exotic names and ingredients, artfully mixed by bartenders, others prefer shots, beer, wine or sparkling wine. There’s plenty of everything. Even food is served – which should come as no surprise in Odesa.

Yet as fun as it is, yelling over the loud music gets tiring enough pretty soon, and closing time is just around the corner. In front of the bar, a security guard the size of a large closet is twisting the arm of a disgruntled teenager behind his back, while a crowd of young people are still smoking while waiting for a taxi. “Shall we continue tomorrow?” a friend of mine asks expectantly, but I admit that somehow I’m already in the mood, so I ask back: “Why not today?”

A glance at the clock shows that, indeed, there is still time. No, not time for the next bar, but time to buy something to drink from the restaurant to go. Because that is not a problem in Odesa, and bars or restaurants, for example, generously have it covered as they provide their own plastic bottles to sell beer to go.

So, we take a taxi to the restaurant Oblaka. A short lift ride later, we break through the crowd of people donning coats, chatting absent-mindedly with each other, paying the bill, tipping the waiters, and slowly making their way to the lift we just exited. To my surprise, the waitress we approach does not even raise an eyebrow at our request to buy a few liters of beer to go; she simply takes our order and asks us to wait. A few minutes later, she returns with two plastic bottles filled to the brim. We pay and arrive just in time before the curfew starts, reaching the street still known as Bunina, where my friend and I live in adjoining apartments (mine is basically a hotel room).

In the meantime, there is a blackout, but that doesn’t matter. My friend, his wife, and I are sitting in the tiny torch-lit kitchen, sipping beer and chatting about life and the world. As we’re on the ground floor of a three-story, thick-walled 19th-century courtyard house, we cannot hear any air-raid sirens howling, drone engines whirring, or anti-aircraft guns barking. We just sip our beers in blissful silence, take turns petting the couple’s bald cat, and chuckle at the absurdity of our daily lives until the beer is finished and it’s time for everyone to crawl into bed and go to sleep.

If all this sounds extreme and perhaps even brutal, it is actually possible to spend leisurely time in Odesa also in a civilized manner and in civilized places. Italia & More has already been mentioned, but it is still first and foremost a restaurant. Yet if you are looking for something more authentic, yet stylish, head for Pivnoy. Pivnoy is located on the same Koblevska street as the aforementioned Tyulka, but these places might as well be on separate planets. This also in terms of address. Namely, Koblevska is bisected in the middle by the New Market – the street cuts off in the middle and continues on the other side of the market. Anyone who doesn’t know this might not have a clear idea of where to go and how to get around. So Pivnoy is at the far end of Koblevska, kind of hiding away, because there’s not much else nearby apart from the shabby 19th-century dwellings. The area already resembles a slum rather than a city center, which it nominally is.

But it might actually not be a good idea to go to Pivnoy just like that. Especially on Friday and Saturday evenings, when there is also live music, there are never any free tables. So it’s wiser to book a table in advance. Preferably even a day or two in advance.

When you finally enter the venue, you will immediately see why. After descending the basement staircase and stepping over the doorway, you’re greeted by a modern and stylish basement, with warmth radiating from the polished sandstone walls and the tasteful interior betraying the hand of a trend-conscious designer. Behind the glass wall, the gleaming steel beer vats catch the eye and set the tone – this is a place where beer is made and drunk.

Pivnoy offers four or five types of house beer, and half a liter costs 85 hryvnia (about 2 euros) being absolutely worth the price. One should also not overlook the food – Pivnoy’s cuisine is undoubtedly among the best in Odesa. As the brewery & bar places a strong emphasis on promoting the city’s drink and food culture, one won’t find pizza and sushi on the menu. However, there are baked beans to be had, a variety of dumplings, prawns, as well as garlic bread, good old schnitzel, ribs, beef Stroganoff and more. The wine selection is small, but there is a wide choice of differently flavored horilka on the menu.

Ordering a whole horilka-set along with beer may not be the smartest move, but it sure is pleasant. It should also be noted that Pivnoy advertises itself as a safe place to have fun during an air raid. The thick sandstone walls of the deep basement, chosen as the location, only add to this impression...

But for those who are more into wine, Old Oak is the place to be. Right in the city center, on the same street corner as the Hotel Bristol and the Philharmonic Theatre, is one of Odesa’s largest wine cellars. Seating is available both on the veranda, which faces the street on three sides, and inside the restaurant itself, which is a medium-sized space with floor-to-ceiling wine racks lining the walls. The selection offers wines from all over the world, including, of course, Ukrainian wines, which are well worth a try – the better ones from Bessarabia, Transcarpathia or the Mykolaiv region are equal to those from anywhere else in the world. Of course, it is also possible to eat well in Old Oak. Its cozy interiors, softly burning candles, and wine shimmering merrily in the glasses make it a perfect place to shoo away the dampness, darkness and melancholy of Odesa’s winter nights.

However, let us return from winter to this warm summer day where we just had a glass or two of port in the Passage and must now choose where to go next. As has been said, Pub Tolstyak is by no means the only or obligatory choice. It is also possible to walk a few dozen meters along Derybasivska and then turn right. Yes, there is a staircase at the beginning of the Admiral Zhukov Lane that leads down to Gambrinus, but we won’t go here for now. Still, Gambrinus with its German-style beer and hearty food is worth a visit, although its atmosphere can sometimes be spoilt by Russian-language music (an issue, which has not gone unnoticed by the local nationalists who have loudly protested against it) or incomprehensible service policy, but otherwise the tavern is fine. However, this cellar is no place to spend a warm summer day or evening. On a day like this, one should visit the Friends!

Friends, Друзі in Ukrainian, which for some reasons calls itself a café, is located on Oleksandrivskyi Avenue. In the colder months of the year, it is a rather inconspicuous little Georgian eating place in a row of houses, where every entrance leads to a shop, a pie kiosk, a pharmacy or some kind of an office, but in the summer, the Friends opens an outdoor terrace in the long park that forms the central part of the avenue, which starts at the Police, former Bunin Street, and leads out almost to Starobazarnyi or Old Market Square. Also the book market with its shops and cafés lies on the very same street. So it’s a favorite leisure destination of Odesites. It is good to bear that in mind, as it can sometimes be a bit difficult to find a table at Friends. Yet once you’ve found one, however, the rest is worry-free – the menu is very Georgian in its richness, with all the khatchapuris and sulugunis, first, second and third courses represented, as well as pizza (sushi, however, is somehow not available) and whatnot. And I have yet to hear anyone complain about the price of beer. On a warm summer evening, Friends is definitely one of the nicest places in the city center to sit under the green trees, enjoy the delicious menu and one cold beer after another. If there is one thing that annoys a bit, then it’s the toilet situation – the only toilet at Friends is located just inside the café proper itself and can be reached by crossing the street. Not the safest solution, but a very Odesan one nonetheless.

At some point, however, it is inevitably time to go home. However, if you plan your activities wisely, you can still visit one other Odesa’s downtown attractions before midnight. In fact, you absolutely should do it. This particular place is located in the best part of the city, in the middle of Derybasivska, at the Odesa City Fair, or Одеський Ярмарок, which has all sorts of interesting booths, some of which are just food kiosks, one serves as a shooting gallery and one is a small alcohol store. But the most fascinating of these is a bar formerly known as Istanbul, now called Midpoint.

Perhaps, instead of calling it a bar, a more accurate description would be a watering hole. Officially, I think it’s trying to be a catering establishment, but unlike a couple of other stalls nearby, there’s no kebab spit in this Turkish-owned place. There is a kitchen, though, run by a round and friendly Kazakh guy who can be seen constantly exiting and entering the kitchen door late at night. In other words, you can eat, but I never feel the urge to. Most of the time, I find myself here late in the evening – mostly after 10 o’clock when many other bars are already thinking about closing. Not Istanbul or Midpoint. It’s only at this time of day that they really get going, taking advantage of the reduced competition.

Whether what they do is legal is the question. There is no satisfactory answer to that. In any case, I too have finished my beer or gin and tonic in a hurry under the watchful eye of a patrol of frowning policemen and soldiers who have come to close the bar. Sometimes, after 10 o’clock, the lights here are turned off, you can only enter after knocking on the door, and then you have to drink really quietly, without making any loud noises.

Clearly, then, the activities of and in Istanbul are, if not forbidden, then suspect and reprehensible in the eyes of the city and oblast authorities, who love order, quiet and decorum, and there have been repeated attempts to close the bar down for good. Hence probably the rebranding of the place as Midpoint – maybe the authorities no longer wanted to renew the license under the name of Istanbul or something.

Anyway, a couple of hours before midnight, all those fun-loving citizens in downtown Odesa who feel they’re not done yet, but find the bars closing their doors one after another, will find their way here. Whether it’s beer, gin and tonic, rum and coke, vodka and orange juice, whisky, cognac, or even the Estonian sweet spice liqueur Vana Tallinn, known and beloved since Soviet times, everything is readily available. The tattooed-headed bartender is quick on his feet, and there’s nothing to complain about.

Istanbul is also a place where it’s easy to talk to people. Whether it’s German diplomats visiting from Kyiv, American journalists living right here in Odesa, or young locals who, upon hearing a foreign tongue, are eager to make friends. Communication here is smooth and drunkenly cordial, making it a perfect place to end a boozy day.