Bucharest’s nightlife has found a new rhythm. BAR TON is more than just a new name on the city map – it’s a bold statement on how brutalist heritage can be reimagined as a contemporary state of mind. Conceived in collaboration between Muromuro Studio and Anda Zota, the space speaks in a language of minimalist elegance, yet is rich with emotion – redefining what a club can be beyond music and drinks. While not a classic listening bar, music here is no mere backdrop. It's the very fabric of the space: an acoustic world composed between 40 cubic metres of sound-absorbing materials, textiles, and raw concrete. It feels as intimate as a living room and as expansive as a dancefloor. BAR TON offers a new face to the Bucharest underground – one that is passionate, carefully curated, and consciously designed as a cultural space in its own right.
You collaborated with Anda Zota and Muromuro Studio on the interior design. How did your creative dialogue unfold, and what were the shared ideas or values that guided the process?
We've known each other for a long time—and danced together even longer—so we already had a strong alignment in values. We shared a similar vision of how a space should look and function, which made it easy to agree on guiding principles. One of the most important was that function should take precedence over form, and design should evolve from that. So we deliberately avoided decorative excess and allowed the space to be defined by its purpose. If you like the way BAR TON turned out, we highly recommend checking out AE02 and Muromuro Studio, too.
There’s a clear tension—and harmony—between preserving the building’s socialist-modernist heritage and designing a space for high-quality music experiences. How did you balance historical integrity with functional innovation?
BAR TON is rooted in a passion for music and sound quality—that was always our main focus. We kept as much of the original building intact as possible, but to achieve acoustic excellence, we built a room within the room using a wooden frame. Hidden between the visible space and its outer walls are nearly 40 cubic meters of sound treatment material, layered for precision. That’s why most walls are covered with curtains, and the ceiling is made from textile mesh—both materials are sound-transparent, concealing what lies behind while letting it work.
From the outside, the building may seem unremarkable, but it's actually a well-preserved example of early Romanian socialist modernism. Inside, we kept the Venetian-tiled floors and exposed concrete pillars not just visible, but central to the design. The other material choices—like veneered plywood and stainless steel—wouldn’t feel out of place in the 1960s. But thanks to bold design gestures, such as the central lighting fixture and the emphasis on the columns, the space also feels unapologetically contemporary.
Bar Ton is often referred to as a listening bar, yet you've consciously avoided this label. Why? And how do you see your place in Bucharest’s current nightlife scene—what kind of experience are you aiming to offer, and what example do you want to set?
We feel that the term “listening bar” can create a narrow, almost stereotypical expectation. We wanted a space where people could interact with music in a more relaxed, intuitive way. The artist booth is placed right in the center, naturally drawing attention, while the surrounding bench seating invites people to either focus or drift off. Music is undoubtedly the main attraction—but you’re always free to ignore it, too.
BAR TON is part of Bucharest’s nightlife for sure—it’s both a warm-up venue and a destination in itself. We have artists performing six nights a week, and on weekends we often host both daytime and evening sets—so it’s a bit of a daytime club, too. When there’s no live act, we play playlists curated by the artists we collaborate with—over 30 of them so far. We try to stay medium-agnostic: many artists bring vinyl, but we’ve also had collectors play from cassette tapes.
How would you describe the sonic identity of Bar Ton? What kind of music do you gravitate toward when curating the atmosphere, and what role does vinyl culture play in this?
We avoid being boxed into a specific genre, but we definitely have a strong sonic identity. The music you’ll hear in the bar—or find in our record shop—ranges from classical to jazz to contemporary electronica. What unites it all is the mood: solar, uplifting, and almost always unfamiliar in the best way.
Since opening, who has formed your core audience? And how do you imagine the experience of someone walking in for the first time—what should they feel, hear, or discover?
We’ve built a diverse and devoted community of music lovers. What makes BAR TON special is its ability to communicate an abstract yet inclusive idea: love for music. You never quite know what you’ll hear, but it’s always something that piques your curiosity.
Your drinks menu is just as curated as your music. How do you think about beverages as part of the overall rhythm of the night—and what connections do you draw between taste and sound?
Our drink menu is intentionally minimal—just a handful of signature mixed drinks, all created in-house. We curate a rotating selection of wines, both local and international, and even brew our own craft beers. The experience is designed to evolve: if you return after a few months, chances are you won’t recognize the menu. We treat it like our sound—fluid, experimental, and in constant motion.
Photo: Andrei Vintilă