This Weekend: Downstairs Bar At KMU

Downstairs feels like the bar in your friend’s basement–but not in a sad, moldy way. Let’s imagine that your friend has great taste and is also a skilled carpenter who handsomely remodeled the entire space with dark woods and installed the closest thing to a fireplace you’re going to find in Korea. Let’s also imagine that your friend has more than Hite and stale bar snacks to offer you. This friend is sounding more like a friend I want to have.

On any given night Downstairs could be packed with foreign teachers and Keimyoung University students, or a respite from the work week for a couple of regulars posted at the bar, chatting with the bartender, and inviting you to have a seat. The mood is relaxed and the place feels homier than any other bar I’ve been to in Daegu. NFL flags hang from the ceiling, but Downstairs is only a sports bar if there is a crowd large enough who want it to be. It’s the place that will play the song you want to hear. It’s the bar that mixes you that one cocktail that you like and cannot for the life of you get any other bartender in Daegu to make because it’s not on the menu.

This weekend, take a break from downtown and head to Keimyung on Deagu’s west side. Follow the blue light down the stairs from the street and a stack of [b]racket magazines will greet you at the door. Pick one up, order a drink, and feel good about supporting an awesome business that supports the [b]racket mag you love.

Downstairs is open Tuesday thru Sunday from whenever you get off work until whenever things get quiet. That tends to usually be 7PM-3AM.

Directions:
If you are walking from Keimyung University’s East Gate, cross the street and head west (away from campus). Walk half a block and take a right at the NH bank on the corner. Take your first left, and Downstairs will be the second stairway on your left.

– Lisa Highfill