Arcana Bar and Lounge

I went to this bar. It’s in a basement.
True story guys, my parents had a wet bar in the basement of the split level 1970s house I grew up in. Brown vinyl bumper on the front. Diagonal wood siding. Totally legit setup. But the weird thing is I don’t remember them drinking. Funny how memory is. Maybe they drank and I don’t remember. Maybe they had this amazing bar setup but didn’t drink.
Anyway, the point is… I like to drink. So I went to arcana to drink.
Pros
— location. It’s in Durham. Always a plus.
— service. Very friendly and attentive. The ladies are working their asses off to serve patrons.
— crowd. People seemed friendly.
— prices. Midrange. Which is saying a lot downtown. Right?
Cons
— décor/​ambiance. It feels odd here. The floor and colors and «living room» feel isn’t working for me. The whole setup seems unfinished and maybe ran-​out-​of-​moneyish. I got a weird psychological mojo.
— drinks. Guys, all my drinks were mediocre. (sad emoji)
— beer. No kegs. A deal killer for me.
I left and my takeaway was — this seems redundant. There is probably a niche that this bar serves, but I didn’t fit into that puzzle. It wasn’t terrible, but it didn’t knock my socks off.
For example if I want to go slightly upper scale I can go to 21C, Bar Virgile, or Alley 26. All will serve me 5x better drinks for a few more bucks. All have amazing décor and service and food! I might leave $ 20 bucks lighter, but the drinks will blow me away.
If I want lower end, I can hit Bull McCabes for beer or whiskey, or 106 Main for the hard licks, couches and flat screen TV.
And for a similar market, I’ve got Criterion and Atomic Fern, both of which have great bars and beers and bartenders and booths. On top of that… I have 10ish restaurants within 3 blocks that will serve me a drink.
So… bottom line — drinks were ok for the price, décor didn’t mesh with my aura, and I don’t see what this place brings to the table for me *personally*… all that said — this may be exactly the place you’re looking for.
I wonder what happened to that old bar in the house I grew up in. Maybe the new owners are pouring moscow mules for their hip friends and listening to vinyl like I did.

Once you find this place, it’s well worth it. The entrance is next to the back door of Beyu Café (though I understand that is moving soon, so it may not be a landmark long). You descend a long staircase to a room that would be a dive if it weren’t so distinctively decorated. It’s dark and cool, with a bartop made of laminated gold and black ceiling tiles. The walls are painted an antique green and there are various vintage pieces all around; it has sort of a feel of a gracefully aging Havana. (I’ve never been to Havana, but this is what I imagine a bar there might look like, anyway.) They have a short list of specialty cocktails; I enjoyed the Flor de la Fortuna (rum-​based) and the Isabella’s Card (gin-​based). They were carefully made and balanced. They also have wine and beer of the upscale variety, though the prices are reasonable. There seems to be a tarot-​card reading theme as well. This is a fun place to hang out and certainly feels different from downtown Durham’s other cocktail lounges, so it’s a great addition to the scene.

What a beautiful little bar. I love that it is in a dim lit basement and that they play good music! The drinks are really good and the bartenders are super nice. Seems they have tarot cards on the tables so you can read cards for yourself or someone else. This is a happy addition to downtown durham and I am glad to be able to go to this bar.

Arcana is the newest bar in Durham and so far I love it. I went to the grand opening event yesterday and it is such a cool space. You enter from Ramseur street, the downtown loop street behind main. It is a downstairs bar so it is cut off from light. It is a fairly smallish space that sports a good number of chairs and couches and various art on the walls. They describe themselves as a «a cozy, comfortable, intimate bar space» and that is exactly the vibe it has. The drink menu offers a lot of house cocktails priced at $ 10 and a good number of beers priced fairly. I tried the Calling IPA while I was there which was potent (8.5%) and tasty.
It is a nice lounge, a good spot to have a drink and catch up with a friend or take a date to. It has a more hipstery, chill vibe than some of the similar establishments Overall, I think it adds something new to the Durham bar scene and I wish them the best.
(Btw, there was also someone reading tarot cards there. It was a grand opening event so I don’t know how often that will happen, not quite my scene but I am sure a lot of people will find that fun. There was a long line to have your turn)