"With the festive décor putting us in a tropical winter vacation kind of mood, we decided to start with cocktails – a mojito for Liz and a concoction created by bartender Asaf (consisting of vodka, peach schnapps, and white wine) for me…" Rachel Wagner heads out for a night on the town and finds the city's hippest party venue at Banks in Tel Aviv.
It was time for ladies night out. High time, in fact! I actually couldn't remember the last time I left the house after 10pm, and fellow expatriate Torontonian and newcomer Liz had been endlessly trolling Tel Aviv's nightlife in search of a replacement for her abandoned 'scene'.
We met at the bottom of Ben Tzion Boulevard, allowing our night of debauchery to begin with a heart healthy bike ride up the steep hill. Arriving at Lincoln Street 'glowing' from exertion, we gave ourselves a minute or two of cool down time before heading into Banks, a sometime bar, sometime concert hall. (Sundays and Mondays are for concerts, while Thursday and Friday are dance bar night.)
On the schedule for this particular evening was a Succot party. Unsure of what we were getting into, Liz and I were relieved to discover that 'Succot party' just meant twenty and thirty somethings sitting around the large square bar under a glow of Christmas cum luau decorations.
With the festive décor putting us in a tropical winter vacation kind of mood, we started with a couple of cocktails – a mojito for Liz and a concoction created by Asaf the bartender (consisting of vodka, peach schnapps, and white wine) for me.
Cheers!
Long gone cocktails and a couple shots of feigling later (you got to love the sickeningly sweet punch that stuff packs), the place was filling up and I had talked myself into a tour of Banks' misleadingly named loft space – Lincoln's Loft.
The 'loft' is actually located downstairs, but boasts everything that a hipster party boy would ever dream of in a bachelor pad. Plasma screen TV, fully stocked bar, piano, pool table, DJ station, private entrance, long wooden dining table and wrap around black leather couches. One of the coolest event spaces in the city, you can host anything from a cocktail party to a corporate event to a 4 course Bar Mitzva for anywhere from 30 to 200 guests. Catering can also be booked with a number of the country's top caterers including Food Art and Sergos.
And back to us ladies at the bar – another cocktail (this time taking it easy with a couple of girly Kir Royal's) and we decided that it was time to call it a night. Oh, the frustration of no longer being students and having to get up for work in the morning.
Staggering out into the night, we opted to walk a few blocks, lest we put ourselves in danger by drinking and biking (up there on the stupid scale with major no no drinking and driving), because after all, this midweek outing had been quite enough dangerous living for one night.
Banks
13 Lincoln, Tel Aviv
Phone: 03-5625544
