It started with a “mafia-style party” conspiracy.

his is the story of how a desire for a proper party gave birth to the Bratislava bar scene you now know as Bukowski and Baudelaire. But before the neon lights lit up on SNP Square, there was nearly a decade of wandering, period costumes, and one legend known as Véčko.
It was 2010, and Bratislava felt a little sleepy. We were missing a place where people wouldn’t just “get drunk,” but would become part of a story. That’s how the first Capo di tutti Party was born. Michal Kružlík (the business brain), Milan Čupka (dramaturge and history lover), and Braňo Bezručka (visual magician) decided that from time to time, they would transport the city back to the era of Prohibition, swing, and elegance.
It didn’t take long, and in 2012 Martin Kružlík joined the crew, completing the circle of the family clan. Together, we began carving a path that wasn’t about business plans, but about emotion.
2010 – 2014: Nomads in the Bratislava Jungle
For the first four years, we were bar nomads. We had no address of our own, so we claimed Bratislava piece by piece. We searched for places with soul and transformed them completely for a single night:
Luna Bar at Hotel Kyjev: A place where time had stopped in 1970. Burgundy carpets and “space-age” counters became the perfect backdrop for our retro escapades.
Design Factory: Here we brought the psychedelic ’60s back to life, revived Beatlemania, and built little streets filled with antiques.
Cvernovka: We moved through dozens of spaces, each with a different theme – from Parisian decadence to rock’n’roll to the wild ’90s.
The logistics were insane. We dragged around turntables, period decorations, posters of 1970s adult films, and even Lenin’s collected works. But that very “instability” taught us how to build a bar atmosphere from scratch.
The Golden Era at Véčko (2014 – 2018)
The turning point came in 2014. For four years, our home became the legendary V-klub, known as Véčko. If there is one place in Bratislava that defines freedom, it is this space on SNP Square.
Why Véčko?
Véčko was founded in 1965, and history has been flowing through it ever since. It was the only club where everyone was equal – stars and students alike. On its stage began the careers of Miro Žbirka, Marián Varga, Pavol Hammel, and Elán. Even figure skater Ondrej Nepela claimed he felt better here than at the famous New York club Studio 54, where he partied with Mick Jagger.
We had the honor of being part of its renewed glory. Alongside our classic Capo di tutti themed nights, we also organized and ran the bar for legendary collaborations such as:
MALALATA: Balkan Bashavel – Nights filled with untamed Balkan energy.
MALALATA: Electro Swing Fever – Where the elegance of the 1930s met a modern beat.
The peak came with Véčko’s 50th anniversary celebration in 2015, where we handled the bar for legends like Jožo Ráž, Pavol Hammel, and Jožo Barina. Standing there, mixing drinks for people who shaped Slovak culture, and realizing that the “spirit of freedom” from ’65 was still alive – that was the moment we understood we were ready for a bar of our own.
From Parties to Bukowski
By 2016, we knew exactly what Bratislava was missing. We wanted to bring that pulsing, juicy, electric feeling from Véčko into our own permanent space. We wanted a bar where you wouldn’t sit alone, but end up talking to a stranger next to you while live music played behind your back.
Bukowski Bar (and later Baudelaire) are not just venues. They are the result of eight years of throwing parties, searching for spaces, and realizing that a good night is not about the price of a drink, but about who you’re drinking it with and what kind of world you find yourself in at that moment.
Our roots lie in costumes, in the dust of old halls, and in the student IDs of those who once raced into Véčko. And that same approach – authentic, human, and slightly decadent – is still alive with us today.
Do you remember any of our events at Véčko or Luna Bar? Let us know in the comments which theme you let loose at the most.
Would you like to see a full list of all our historical events since 2010? You can find them on our Facebook page.