Florentin

You’ve arrived in bar heaven, with a twist. You won’t find here any fancy establishments, gorgeous people dressed flawlessly in the latest and best fashion, with three layers of makeup and hairdos that take two hours to get done. This isn’t Rothschild by any means. It’s Florentin, and it plays to its own little tune, and no one else’s.

The neighborhood’s residents stay loyal to their street bar, and unlike more chic areas, they don’t wait for midnight or the weekend to enjoy a cold brew. The streets start to come alive by 7PM every weekday, and everything pours onto the pavement for just another regular fun night in the neighborhood. And forget about your boring bottled beer, here you drink your European beer straight from the tap.

The main nightlife artery is Vital Street, near Florentin Street,  with its row of bars, and further down, towards Abarbanel,  quite a few clubs can be found, most of them of the mainstream kind, with popular music and partygoers who love to party.

Since all the action takes place on the street anyway, this is the best spot in town for street parties. Party central is Florentin corner of Vital. Officially, there are three street parties a year in Florentin – New Year’s Eve, Purim and the Israeli Independence Day. It sometimes seems as though the whole country is here for these loud, fun and crowded parties, which is perhaps the reason why the Tel Aviv municipality is not really fond of them. In fact, in recent years City Hall didn’t pull any punches when it attempted to curb the street drinking, dancing, music and fun, so keep your ears open to be sure that you are not the only one present at a non-existent street party that’s been cancelled.

Being an industrial zone-turned-residential-area, Florentin has done a fabulous job in keeping the industrial charm in everything it does, if there is such a thing as industrial charm. There are no clubs, but you’ll find bars on virtually every corner, and they are all small, cozy, with a neighborhood feel to them. The local residents do not subscribe to mainstream Israeli/Tel Aviv culture, and their bars say that as much as anything else.

A prime example is the Hoodna Bar (13 Abarbanel),  owned by three former Jerusalemites who brought to Tel Aviv a piece of the holy city nightlife feel, with a mellow vibe, a friendly staff and just as friendly drinkers. It’s extremely popular with the locals and with a growing number of tourists as well. Like in a lot of other bars in the neighborhood, everyone wants to go where everybody knows your name.

This bar is made up of three parts – indoor, outdoor, and half-indoor-half-outdoor. So much of the activity goes on right on the street and in between those parts, in a true Florentin fashion. Whenever there’s a big football match, people come here (and to other spots as well) to watch the game on the big screen, and if it’s during an international tournament, it’s jam- packed indoors and out, and the atmosphere is remarkable. In true Florentin style, the Hoodna Bar throws a monthly street event with young yet-unknown performers (including video art) and local bands, called Eclectica Kala (a Hebrew word play with Eclectic and Athletics).

Another long-standing spot is the bar-restaurant Bugsy (26 Florentin), which offers coffee and food during the day and hosts the neighborhood’s drinkers at night. While the Hoodna Bar’s drinking menu consists mostly of beers, Bugsy holds a wider variety, including cocktails.