Yes, the venue is Garden of Eden. No, it’s not an exaggeration.

 

We have never visited this venue during daylight hours, so I’m unsure if it even has daylight hours. I visited here the first time back in 2016, and found the concept remarkable then. It has only improved in the 2 years since my last visit.

 

Gradina Eden has no signage at the street, and if it has avenues of ingress and egress rather than the path through the great wrought-iron gates at the front of the derelict palace, I don’t knowAuf of them. Yes, I said derelict palace. Somehow, this chateau and its gardens escaped the madness of communist reconstruction that rendered most sectors of Bucharest into uniform, high-rise apartment blocks. Great fences surround the lush and semi-wild growth, making the approach to the dark windows and locked doors of the palace feel like the beginning of every horror movie ever made about a haunted house. Just inside the gates, we make a sharp right-turn down an unlit path of crumbling cobbles. All is dark silence for over a minute of walking along the crumbling path through tall and slightly overgrown hedges. The dark and empty windows of the palace brood down upon the intrepid adventurer. The dark and silent trip around the palace takes me back to feeling like a teen again, sneaking out at night to a secret party in the hills outside town.

 

Just when I am convinced we have been sneaking through the wrong set of overgrown gardens, the path takes a sudden turn and the oasis of tables, chairs, hammocks, and even giant bean bags bathed in the glow of hundreds of small lights strung through the thick canopy of leaves above. These are good shade trees with tall trunks and wide branches, perfect to hide the light of the multitude of food trucks and mobile bars, as well as the great lighted seating area from any prying eye. Finding a table when we arrive at 10 pm is difficult. Per the local member of our group, finding a table is always difficult, as this is an incredibly popular place.

 

Absent is the loud and throbbing music of most night-clubs I have been to the world over. Instead, there is the delightful murmur of a thousand conversations broken by occasionally audible peals of mirth. We pass a table occupied by a young couple and their two toddlers, and overtake a table with a hammock just as a group of 4 elderly ladies and gentlemen make their departure. A glance through the crowds reveals individuals of every age out enjoying the night. Most have beers or cocktails on their tables, and there are lines at each food truck. We, however, have come for the Refresh Juice Bar. The juicers, blenders, and crates of fresh fruit are reminiscent of every other juice-bar we have been in. The special thing about this one, though, is that sugar is absolutely never added before the juice is handed to you. This includes the lemonade. The first time we came, my better-half ordered while I was busy marveling at the trees and hammocks, then had a great laugh as my face contorted and I had to run back to the bar to beg some sugar. This time I was prepared and ordered a concoction heavy on the peach and ginger and smartly avoided the need to add my own sugar. My better-half got his unsweetened lemonade, and we all enjoyed the warm night and relaxed in the glorious night time garden. After a long, hot day of touring this magnificent city, there is no more perfect way to end it than to relax in this secret garden with a glass full of fresh picked and squeezed fruit.