Overview
There's a new bar in Auckland, but rather than make an orderly queue behind a velvet rope, you need to be invited and know the entry code. In fact, there are a few rules to follow before you sit down for a tipple — members of the exclusive bar should take note of the 'no whispers policy' and leave their phones at home.
Thursday is the brainchild of creative agency Crave Global. Found beneath its Symonds Street headquarters in the former home of Beer Jerk Bunker, the bar is open to only 200 members at any one time. Membership is free and by application via the Thursday website.
Each member can nominate one person to become a member on joining, although the strict engagement policy means that if a member fails to come to the bar for two months straight, their membership is revoked.
Thursday's nondescript front door.
Crave Global says the space has been completely revamped from the former craft beer basement into a modern underground drinking den with plush booths and moody lighting.
The bar is open to members and their guests every Thursday, and can then be booked out as a private venue on other nights of the week. Further membership privileges include requesting top-shelf beverages from across the globe and dedicated lock boxes to store bottles.
Those who do make the cut can expect a beer selection listing Panhead and Emerson's, wines from Barossa and Waiheke, and signature cocktails from a smoked chilli margarita to Ernest Hemingway's liquid invention combining absinthe and champagne.
It's true there's a no whispers policy, while further house rules state that members must be responsible for the people they bring, photos are outright banned, and standing on booths is frowned upon — unless you have your shoes off.
Crave Global managing director Daniel Hopkirk says "We want to create a central destination where our friends, clients and industry colleagues can let their hair down, mingle with like-minded creatives, and share ideas and inspiration. The bar offers us a unique incubator for trialling new things on-premise, which our clients are keen to explore with us."
Thursday is located at 224 Symonds Street, Newton, Auckland. Try your luck at a membership via thursdaybar.co.nz.