Anyone who passes by number 62 Rua Alexandre Braga, in Porto, during the day, does not know that at night this space is transformed. The lights go out, the scissors and combs that occupied our hands all day give way to the shakers and the music begins to play, giving voice to the vinyl records that live here. This is the Bigorna Social Club, the new bar in the Bolhão Market area that opened its doors behind the barbershop of the same name.
The idea was already on the streets of Invicta when they opened Barbearia Bigorna in 2020. From the beginning they wanted to make the small and exclusive bar for clients – which lived at the end of the hall – something bigger and in 2022 it was close to happening, but “it didn’t happen.” “It was the right time,” co-founder Nuno Silva reveals to Observador. That moment has already arrived and it appears in the format of a speakeasy, but “it is not 100%.”
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Inspired by the 20s and 30s, Bigorna Social Club comes to recreate the times we lived during prohibition, “when people had drinks behind businesses”through a vintage atmosphere that combines the industrial decor of the barbershop with recently added elements: there is a backlit counter, with an exposed wine cellar, a custom pool table and a DJ booth, occupied on Fridays and Saturdays. Hidden away, anyone passing by would hardly notice it, if it weren’t for the night lights and the music directed towards the street, which mixes with the sound of pool shots. “The barbershop will have very low lights at night. And the bar is at the back. Then there is a hallway with very dim lighting, where all the chairs pass, and then there is the bar,” describes Nuno Silva.
The lights go out at 8 p.m. but it is from 4 p.m., from Tuesday to Saturday, when the cocktails will be prepared under the advice of Lia Igreja. Inspired by the classics, but with a twist, they make up an author’s sheet of seven and they range from the freshest and boldest to the boldest, which could almost be a negroni. Among them are the Black Spin (€10), a tribute to billiards, with a touch of coffee, chai and whiskey, the Pompadour (€10), a tribute to the classic barbershop, with notes of wood, apricot and wax bee, i No smoking inside (€10), served in a palo santo haze Negroni style.
In the center, the pool table promises to compete for attention. Personalized, hand-painted and with golden leaves on the sides, it arises as a response to the search of Nuno and his friends. a “place to play good pool”. Thus, “for those who like a good cocktail, records and like to play good pool, I can guarantee that it is probably the best place to play in Porto,” he says.
Bigorna Social Club has been soft opening since November 12 and the official opening is scheduled for Saturday the 16th at 6 p.m. with a DJ set by Bruma. It is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 4:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. while the barbershop is open from Monday to Friday, from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
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Source: Observadora
