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Buenos Aires, Argentina > Buenos Aires nightlife > Ocho 7 Ocho Ocho 7 OchoThames 878 (@ Loyola) ; Tel. + (011.54.11) 4773-1098
For those who have ever wondered what the term private actually means when it comes to bars, allow me to ruin the secret. If Ocho 7 Ocho is your model, a private bar is exactly like any other except that customers have to ring a doorbell and be inspected like cattle before they are let inside – though generally everyone is let inside. Strange, no? Well, that is how they roll at this months old Palermo watering hole. Visitors arrive at two large, wooden, definitively closed doors – with a bell. Upon ringing the bell the doorman makes you wait until you are about to give up at which point the door cracks open and you are looked up and down from footwear to hair accessories. With the strict screening process, one must be headed into some Mecca of Palermo nightlife, right? Not exactly. Inside, to its credit, the place is buzzing. Those who manage to wander in off the street will not find a seat inside. Those looking to sit, eat, and relax must make a reservation. This is where the well-to-do young professionals go to sip martinis and check each other out. The crowd is heavily porteño with a smattering of gringos who, presumably, want to feel like they are back in Hollywood. Weeknights present a slightly mellower experience. The canned music is a little slower and seats more readily free. But while the idea of a private bar remains intriguing, when it turns out to be little more than a sparsely furnished room with drink prices around double what they are anywhere else, you have to wonder what all the hype is about. —Ocho 7 Ocho review by Clare Nisbet
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