About the bar

Anker’t is a ruin pub and the only tank bar in Hungary.
Ruin pubs (‘romkocsma’ in Hungarian, literally ‘pub in a ruin’) are unique to Budapest, where the rents are practically nothing for entrepreneurs looking to set up a bar in one of the many derelict buildings that litter the capital’s centre. But these bars aren’t a long-term prospect – they pop up, and disappear, with alarming regularity, giving them a uniquely edgy and secretive underground vibe.
Owned by three life-long friends, Krisztián Vranik, Leó Menyhàrt and Gàbor Szabó, Anker’t is situated in the seventh district and can squeeze in 800 people on a busy Friday. It’s unusual to find a bar with three owners but they all have very defined roles: Gàbor looks after the finance and business side; Leó is in charge of image, concept and service; and Krisztián looks after the music and events.

Story

Leó: Gàbor and I first worked together when we started an underground arts centre for musicians, painters and bands. A non-profit space with a recording studio. We had a hang-out area so we put in a fridge and stocked it with beers. It was an honesty-box payment system – pay what you want, which helped us cover our expenses. The centre did pretty well, so we started looking for a bigger space.

Krisztián: It was destiny actually. I was running my own night club but had just lost my space and was looking for somewhere new. We got together and founded the original Anker, which was an immediate success. There was no logo on the outside, so it had a full-on underground vibe and for two years it
was the party venue.

Gàbor: After Anker we wanted to find a garden place for the summer. We found this abandoned space – which had been empty for the last 35 years. I think before that it was a factory of some sort. It took us one and a half years to get the right government permissions, as most of the apartments in the seventh district are privately owned so it was difficult.

Leó: One of the first things we did was sit down with some big beer brands. That’s when we tried tank beer, something a bit different we hadn’t heard about before. They were looking for bar owners that believed in the beer – not just to get it
in any and every bar they could.

Gàbor: After the tanks were opened in the first week, we were visited by an 85- year-old man in a suit. We thought he was lost. But he explained his grandsons had told him about our Pilsner Urquell tanks – and he decided he had to come as he had been to Plzeň in his youth and tried unpasteurised beer there. We ended up drinking with him for a few hours. It was inspiring and we suddenly knew we were onto something that was important to a lot of people.

Krisztián: Czech beers have a great reputation in Hungary. It’s really close to us and there’s no need to explain that it’s good beer. It’s like French wine – people just understand.

“we suddenly knew we were onto something that was important to a lot of people.”

Gàbor: Since we installed tank beer we’ve seen more than a 20 per cent increase in beer sales. People definitely come here for the beer, drinking nearly
all our tanks in a week.

Leó: Serving the beer well makes a huge difference. All our staff have visited the brewery in Plzeň – they totally get the seriousness of beer. They believe in it, push it and care about it – and our customers like watching their beer being poured. I can now really taste the difference whether it’s served well or badly.

Krisztián: Craft beer is fashionable. Tank beer is craft – it’s the original beer and it’s brewed in an authentic way. Tankovna is a simple concept to get.
I understood it first time. It has a good story which is easy to remember.

Leó: Ruin bars are eclectic but I think they have too many colours. Our concept was not to try and hide the location or building – to make the most of the wood and cement. And not to have any colour, to only use black and white. Essentially, we started minimalism in Hungary.

Gàbor: Being minimal was part conceptual, part financial – we had no money for furniture or fancy ornaments. On opening day we had no furniture or money so we went to IKEA and bought the cheapest simplest chairs on our credit card. But of course people didn’t notice – they weren’t coming for the furniture!

“Tank beer is craft – it’s the original beer and it’s brewed in an authentic way.”