“Hi Honey” a mirror at the entry of Honey Lou welcomes guests. This warmth and familiarity is reflected inside: orange light, friendly bar staff and soulful music. Owners Paul Rieck and Orhan Olgar tell us the name was for two reasons – “Lou” to pay homage to the street (Anzengruberstr., named after Ludwig “Lu” Anzengruber) and “Honey” because they wanted it to be a sweet place for sweet people. The two best friends met at a party six years ago. Within a few weeks Orhan had moved into the same building, where a group of friends all lived in separate flats. A kind of community utopia, they would often meet at a bar on the ground floor that Paul worked. When the bar closed and they moved out of the building, the two missed a reliable place to meet their friends. With Paul’s experience in bar management and Orhan’s experience as a DJ and organizing parties, they came together and opened Honey Lou in December 2023.
On offer are classic drinks – tap beer, wines, and cocktails such as whisky sour or espresso martini – as well as special house creations. Try their Honeycelin which is gin-based with fresh ginger, sage and honey, or It with fresh estragon, tequila and red wine. For those not drinking, we recommend their hibiscus sour or Amama Mind Juice that uses vital mushrooms from Amama around the corner. What sets Honey Lou further apart is their music offerings. Every Thursday (and often other days as well) the place fills with a crowd gathered to see soulful music. From Brazilian Acid Jazz and Bossa Nova to Cuban Latin Jazz, there’s plenty to enjoy. Drawing from subcultures across the globe, the selecion, as Orhan says, comes down to this: “there’s nothing soulless.” After a couple of nights returning to this spot, we see this to be true about the bar itself, too.
Text & Photos: Savannah van der Niet
Honey Lou, Anzengruberstr.3, 12043 Berlin–Neukölln; map
@honeylou.bar
