A few days ago, I was walking through the old city centre with a good friend, wondering where we could go to talk about ex-boyfriends without people looking at us strangely. The truth is that we can do that anywhere. A venue is not going to throw us out just for that. The problem comes when I go on a date and become more affectionate with the other person: kissing or holding hands. In other articles, I have explained that Iași is quite open-minded, but much of the local LGBT community would like a venue to be fully LGBT-friendly, both in its management’s official position and in its clientele.
This article lists venues that Q Society members have visited with friends and partners. We also intend to compile an official list of LGBT-friendly venues in Iași. We have recently started it and will write more on the subject. At the time of writing, there is no exclusively LGBT venue, or “straight-friendly” venue, as we like to call it. We hope one will open after the 2020–2021 coronavirus pandemic, given the size of our LGBT community.
Why do LGBT-friendly venues matter in a city?
- If you are tired of dating apps and online interaction, LGBT bars can provide spaces where you meet people like yourself. Lesbian, gay, bi and trans people want somewhere to meet friends and partners. Venues are a key part of healthy social interaction.
- LGBT bars and cafés can help people take a next step: a first public outing as an LGBT person, a first date, or a moment of discovering something about themselves. Someone who identifies as heterosexual might, for example, discover attraction to people of the same sex and become curious about visiting an LGBT or LGBT-friendly bar.
- These spaces make other events possible: a themed party such as Iași Dance Party, a possible Pride, or social groups organising smaller gatherings such as film nights, city walks or pottery. They are essential to creating a local LGBT culture.
Iași has a varied bar and club scene, but few venues are considered LGBT-friendly. Unfortunately, none has a strong LGBT presence in the community: the city’s LGBT history is still being built, and venues once considered strictly “gay” disappeared long ago.
Before presenting Q Society’s list of LGBT-friendly bars and cafés in Iași, we can group local venues into several categories: venues in Palas, fashionable venues, traditional venues, branded venues, cosmopolitan venues, those still finding their identity, and hipster or niche venues. This article discusses a few bars and cafés in the last category.
A few further notes:
- On Google Maps, you can look up a venue and check whether its listing has an “LGBT Friendly” badge. Not all venues have one yet.
- With the exception of the special mentions, this list contains no clubs: they were closed because of the coronavirus pandemic when the article was written.
- The article was intended to be updated after responses to interviews with several bars and cafés.
ACAJU CAFE
RETRO CAFE
CUIB
BISTRO LA NOI
Bindu
FIKA
Special mentions
BEERHUB BERGENBIER
FABRIK
MERU
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