Oakland’s newest speakeasy is devoted to electronic music and accessed via a golden doorbell in a Pakistani party restaurant. If that sounds like a whole bunch of random phrases — hey, that’s just part of the fun.
Moonglow opened on Dec. 4 at 1900 Telegraph Ave. inside the Gold Palm restaurant, a late-night spot serving Middle Eastern snacks that itself just opened in space formerly occupied by Flora. The owners of both spots are Shirin Raza and Daniel Gahr, who run Bar Shiru down the street, a Japanese-themed whiskey bar that plays LPs on a hi-fi audio system.
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Like Bar Shiru, Moonglow has a heavy music component. There’s a high-end sound system and acoustic treatments to ensure the proper listening environment for, almost exclusively, contemporary electronic music. Why that in particular? Gahr and Raza explain in a press statement: “Not only do we love this music and think it adds to the fun, upbeat atmosphere we’re trying to create, it also gives us a lot of flexibility in what we can program in terms of genres, sounds and tempos.”
In terms of design, the intimate space features a mahogany bar occupying an entire wall and Art Deco-inspired lighting. To enter, guests must first ring a gold doorbell at the back of Gold Palm, and once inside there are rules — specifically, no taking photos or videos. (In that way it’s kind of similar to Bar Shiru, which has rules against using laptops and talking louder than the music.)
The beverage menu was developed by Gahr and bar manager Sammy Demecillo and features what they call “Martinis and Friends.” There are elevated cocktails, like a tequila-based espresso martini and a “nuanced” lychee martini, and classics with a twist, like an Old Fashioned with chanterelle mushroom-infused scotch and a crystal-clear House Negroni. And if somebody wants something else, they can simply walk next door to Gold Palm and order a beer.
The cocktail menu for Oakland’s new speakeasy Moonglow, which opened in Dec. 2024 inside the Pakistani party restaurant Gold Palm. (Moonglow)
Details: Open 7 p.m.- midnight Wednesday- Saturday inside Gold Palm at 1900 Telegraph Ave., Oakland; goldpalmoakland.com and instagram.com/moonglowoakland.
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