Everything is Hunky Dory – Everything is fine
I love the nighttime, the reduced light and the focus on other things. My bar adventures are about spending a good and carefree time, enjoying life and being enchanted by one or another cocktail. My dream bar is definitely a mixture of intimacy, energy and good conversation: a dimly lit place holding around forty people with an elegant interior and a relaxed atmosphere. A friendly welcome and a comfortable bar chair would round off the bar experience. Something like Hunky Dory Bar, a bar where you can dream and spend hours. It is located, a little hidden, on the ground floor of a commercial building.
Come closer – walk right in: welcome to the wonderfully, happy and varied world of Hunky Dory. Behind the lush curtain you will find a perfectly balanced mixture of circus and flea market with the flair of the Golden Twenties.
There is a great world to discover, the interior is a delightful collection of unique but also peculiar elements of bygone times. Oriental rugs and dark wood underline the style and create a warm and cosy living room atmosphere. A little bit of flea market and a little bit of circus paired with some gimmicks like the one-armed bandit. Beware, if you win, there’s a shot. Opposite the bar, which can comfortably host around twenty people, there are small niches along the wall, lovingly decorated with vintage rotary telephones. They are not only decorative, but have a direct line to the bar. “Call the bar to order” says a small plaque. By the way, the phones are also interconnected. There is a covered courtyard for smoking, and during the summer the roof terrace entices you with its fantastic view of Frankfurt’s skyline.
Hunky Dory means “everything is fine” and the name says it all.
The brain behind the concept is Armin Azadpour, who I met as a co-founder of The Kinly Bar in the summer of 2015. He immediately enthused me with his hospitality, charisma and drinks. Armin Azadpour’s background as a designer is characterised by the elegant composition of the treasures he has found during his travels and excursions in flea markets. Large Punchbowls, innumerable metal goblets and polished shakers shine in the discreet lighting. The barstools are comfortable and have exactly the right height. Eating a piece of warm pita bread with humus or another delicious titbit from the menu and enjoying one drink after another, this is my perfect place to be. A night in a bar is always a little adventure for me. A bar becomes one of my preferred, when it touches me and stays lastingly in my memory. A bar with passion and enthusiasm. Hunky Dory is such a place: exciting, enchanting, and relaxing, with its own charisma, charm and humour.
Let’s have a closer look at the new menu. Finally, the eyes drink first.
Various spirits, such as rum, whisky, gin, aquavit, tequila, mezcal and vermouth, line up and form the basis of classical or modern interpreted cocktails. The beverage concept is characterised in particular by the “cocktails on tap”, which come chilled out of the premix dispenser gun and change weekly. The tonic is homemade as well as other ingredients. The previous collaboration with René Soffner (The Kinly Bar) has clearly left its mark here. The special selection of wine and champagne comes directly from nearby Alsace.
The menu does not only list drinks and their ingredients. The guest’s pleasure starts when perusing the menu. There is a professional picture showing the artfulness of the beautifully executed cocktails before they even run across your palate. Unusual and sophisticated vessels are used, fitting the whole design concept of the bar perfectly. The drink Sherlock Holmes, for example, is a glass pipe filled with smoky whisky, ginger, coffee and Falernum. After my last trip to Russia, my first drink of choice was the little Matryoshka doll. Lucky Charm is based on Polugar Dry Cherry. I like the dry fruitness of the sour cherries. Together with apricot brandy, lemon, some sugar and chili, it becomes a spicy mixture. The gherkins served with it complete the composition perfectly. The water service is right there when you find your spot in the bar. A little detail one should find in every nice cocktail bar.
Not only the menu is new, but also the bar team. A bar is as successful as its team. The mix at Hunky Dory is international with an extra dash of Greek hospitality.
Armin Azadpour has taken on none other than Alexander Sourbatis from Greece. Alexander has established new bar concepts and has worked in well-known bars as bar manager in Thessaloniki and Athens. He has greatly influenced the Greek bar scene. Others had already tried to win over the German-speaking Greek to their bars. The German bar scene knows Alexander Sourbatis from the Cologne based Shepheard bar where he worked together with Ricardo Albrecht (Immertreu Bar in Berlin). Both make the best Seelbach, a boozy champagne cocktail with delicate notes. Here at Hunky Dory, Azadpour has created a place, where you feel welcome and comfortable, can relax and break away from the treadmill of everyday life. A place to return, like I have. My next visit is already planned. Everything is hunky dory – Frankfurt is hunky dory. Wholeheartedly recommended.
Visit Hunky Dory // Pictures of the drinks were provided by © Hunky Dory, Armin Azadpour
