Ugryumochnaya

"The Bar for the Sad" features a wall where patrons can cry, a menu with appropriately themed drinks served in syringes and pistols (a playful jab at "your life isn't so bad"), and even a psychological support hotline. St. Petersburg, Rubinstein Street, 4 / Liteyny Avenue, 53 Website Concept by: Georgy Farbes, Oksana Vasilyenko, and Robert Malazoni "SOBAKA" magazine article about the project. On Rubinstein Street, Georgy Farbes, Oksana Vasilyenko, and Robert Malazoni have opened a cozy bar for the melancholic, called "Ugryumochaya." This is the first place in the world where a bad mood, sadness, and tears are encouraged: if a guest cries, they are entitled to a complimentary drink from the establishment. "Alcohol encourages heartfelt conversations, and it's quite difficult to find a place in St. Petersburg that would be suitable for such an atmosphere. Either it's a club, or a noisy bar, and if it's a decent bar, it's usually crowded. The name for this concept has been around for a long time; it appeared long before the project was realized: 5 years ago, my friend Ivan Chemelev joked that if he had the money, he would open a bar called 'Ugryumochaya.' Time passed, and the bar opened. Now, there's a cocktail named after Ivan, as a tribute to the creator of the bar's name," says Georgy Farbes. The atmosphere of sadness is created right from the entrance: guests are greeted with a memorial shot of bread and salt. The main goal, as the owners of the establishment put it, is to leave the "Ugryumochaya" with a less cheerful mood. The interior of the bar was designed by the emerging designer Ksenia Baisheva: dark walls, dim, yellowish lighting – a complete sense of oppression, in other words. Dozens of suspended glasses hang from the ceiling, a prominent vest hangs on the wall, and there's a fixed-line telephone for support, where you can choose a problem from the voice menu, such as a conflict with your boss, and receive advice on how to resolve it. The bartenders at the bar have undergone psychological consultations on how to interact with guests of varying degrees of depression and intoxication. In addition, each employee of "Ugryumochaya" has a special instruction manual that helps them determine when to comfort a guest and when to let them wallow in their sadness. The menu features homemade infusions for 150 rubles, or a set of shots for two called "Mortal Kombat" with snacks like pistachios, cucumbers, and olives, served in a black ashtray. There are also 8 original cocktail recipes, the most popular of which are "Profursetka" with cookies and yogurt, "Black Cat" with black vodka, the "Mayakovsky" cocktail, which is served in a pistol, and "Joplin" in a syringe.