Your Perfect Venue and Trip · Result
The Whisky Bar
Twenty seats, a serious back bar, and someone who will talk to you.
Designed rarity: about 5% of takers
You are drawn to a room of twenty seats, most of them at the counter, with a back bar that took somebody a decade to build and a record player at the end. You like a host who will talk about the bottle and the record with the same seriousness, then leave you alone the moment you want quiet. Nothing in your room is louder than a conversation, and you would argue, rightly, that nightlife at conversation volume is still nightlife.
Your trip is a short list of bars in one district and a hotel within a short walk. Hannam, Cheongdam and the alleys of Euljiro all have rooms like this now, and Toronto and Montreal have had them longer. You tend to arrive early, take a seat at the counter, ask for a record as readily as a recommendation, and move on to the next room before it gets loud.
Your strength
You can hold a room's attention at conversation volume.
Your blind spot
Knowledge is a pleasure in rooms like yours, and it can quietly replace the night it was meant to describe.
Key takeaways
- Your room is twenty seats, quiet, and run by someone who will talk to you.
- Your trip is a few bars in one district and a hotel within walking distance.
- Leave one evening unbooked, because surprises rarely find a reserved seat.
Rooms to try in Seoul
- Charles H. at the Four Seasons, Gwanghwamun: A serious back bar, a bartender who will talk you through it, and a volume that lets you finish a sentence.
- Whisky and cocktail bars, Hannam and Cheongdam: Twenty seat rooms with a record player behind the counter and a door that closes around two, the format exactly.
- Old building whisky bars, Euljiro: Up a stairwell in a print shop building, with a back bar built over years and someone happy to play you a record.
Rooms to try around the world
- The Dead Rabbit, New York: A room that treats the bar as the stage and rewards guests who sit, listen and pay attention.
- Bar Raval, Toronto: Small, busy at the counter, serious about its craft, and a walk home at a sensible hour.
- Bar High Five, Tokyo: The reference point for a counter where the person behind it chooses for you, and chooses well.
Your nearest types
Read next: Going Out in Seoul, neighbourhood by neighbourhood