The Thirsty Barber

From Tas - Sliema it's just a few minutes by bus to reach San Giljan (St. Julian's) or You can walk on the coast (from the bus stop of Tas - Sliema) and it will take You about 1 hour. That 1 hour of walk is totally worth it. That north - east coast is very beautiful. And by the way, You are there on Your holidays, so You should see things. Going by bus is easier but boring, besides : You are on holidays, You should relax and chill. You are not in hurry. So, as I wasn't in hurry, it took me maybe even longer to reach San Giljan, but that's because I was enjoying the walk so much, that I didn't care, how long it will take me to reach that city. This time, I wasn't walking, to get from one place to another. This time, I was walking to walk. And it was great.

San Giljan is a city with unbelievable amount of night life. It seriously looks, like there aren't any other buildings except of bars. And all of those bars were completely packed with people and the whole city is pulsing with the energy of the night life and noise. And I don't like that so much. All bars on those main streets are the same. There is loud music everywhere, drunk people everywhere and every single bar has their people on the main streets, trying to catch You on some ''good promotion or deal.'' After passing the main street only once, I had enough of people, giving me some leaflets and trying to send me to some bar, left or right - everywhere. If You want, some nice and cold cheap beer and some fun, this may be enough for You. But, that was not my mission. My mission was to find The Thirsty Barber, so I went a bit outside of the main stream of tourists, found Balls street and then even the bar itself.

The Thirsty Barber

Do You consider speakeasies boring?

You don't need too much of a special knowledge to know, that this was a speakeasy project. You are entering this bar through the red phone booth into a very beautiful bar itself, with antique furniture and american bar design of the main bar itself on the left and a gigantic clock on the right. Here it goes even a bit further. American bars, in the good ol' dayz, didn't have bar stools, they had just a guard rail at the very bottom of the bar as a foot rest, however the main bar desk, was high enough, so you could stand and rest your arms by the elbow. The Thirsty Barber is made in the same way and I love it. Especially, because here it perfectly connects good ol' dayz together with the modern style. The lack of the bar stools creates a lot of room for people to dance. And what music could possibly be played in the prohibitional-style bar? Only the most stylish one! Electro - Swing. Things like Parov Stelar. 

Just imagine the conjunction in all of its beauty : Old school looking cocktail bar, that is offering high end and very modern cocktails and to that You have old school music with modern twists represented in electro version, that begs You to dance. If this project would really become a proper speakeasy bar, it would not be as good. If it would be speakeasy, it would be just another ''boring'' speakeasy bar. (Speakeasies may be considered boring, from a certain point of view, because of their calm character) However, this is not a speakeasy.
THANK GOD! That's why its called '' first ever prohibitional bar on Malta.'' That's the official information. However I am not worried a single bit, to also call it : ,,BY FAR THE MOST STYLISH BAR ON MALTA.'' The cocktails are made in a great style, using free pouring, home made infusions and syrups, and fresh herbs, that are stored directly on top of the bar, which creates amazing aroma almost throughout the whole main room. Then the style of bartenders. In one word : Perfection. Multitasking, 100% focus and great customer service. I remember, that I've seen a head bartender shaking two cocktails at the same time, pouring them to the glasses and then shaking another one, while stirring another cocktail with the other hand in a mixing glass. Result : All coctkails left the bar at the same time, as it was meant to be, because it was an order made by one table of 4 poeple, while non of the cocktails was waiting too long for the others to be prepared. And all of them were made in a proper and perfect way. I wasn't served by the same bartender, and thanks to that, I can assure You, that the other 2 bartenders were just as good. My Bartender was named Marco Utomo. He was representing the whole Malta on a world championship of bartenders. Even if I am a bit against the competitions in bartending, I still admit, that it is still a mark of quality by itself. Do I need to say more? 

About this bar itself I don't think, that I have to. However, there is still one thing left to say about the guests. Malta is a holiday destination and unfortunatelly, many people don't know, how to behave in such a place like this. 

Let me do one more comparison here - Once I found a quote on facebook saying ,,We should leave better planet for our children.'' But I think, that we should also leave better children for our planet....

While I was inside The Thirsty Barber, there were people going there, just to get a bottle of beer, buy cigarettes or at one point, there was even a guy, who entered this amazing cocktail bar, just to change the money. Yes so bartenders are here to serve people, but its not ''just to serve people.'' Of course, they will serve your needs, even if You will just want to change the money, but You should not be doing it, because that is not nice from You in the other way. And just as our planet deserves better children, The Thirsty Barber deserves better guests. 

Ah, so if You think, that speakeasies are boring, go here. You will be blown away. And at the end of the day, If I wouldn't meet with my friend, most likely I would miss it too. And now I cannot stress enough, how lucky I was to have a drink here, in the best bar on Malta(?)