Martin was born in 1981 in a town called Nitra in the southern part of Slovakia. Shortly after his birth, his family decided to move to the smaller town of Liptovský Mikuláš, where Martin studied at the local hotel management school.
In the first year of his studies, he fell in love with the Barkeeper profession when he saw one of the Barkeeper throwing up a bottle behind his back. This image was imprinted in Martin's memory and he immediately started flair bartending.
After a month of constant practice - or rather, after tearing and scratching the walls of his room with empty bottles - he was noticed by his hotel management teacher.
That was the moment it all began for him. For the next five years, Martin was chosen to represent his hotel school at every classic or flair bartending competition.
In 1999, he got a job in the first cocktail bar in Slovakia. Later, he managed to open a bar catering company together with some colleagues, and that went too far: a young Barkeeper, who had always worked extremely hard before, suddenly became too self-confident.
The next years of his life could best be described as a "rock star lifestyle". Fortunately, Martin realised that this life didn't really suit his character and before it was too late, he started looking for another challenge. He moved to Ireland, although he was actually a big fan of the London Barkeeper scene.
Maybe he underestimated himself and thought he wasn't good enough to make it in London, or maybe it was his "building something from nothing" nature that brought him to Ireland.
In 2005, there weren't many cocktail bars in Ireland, so it was easier for Martin to get his foot in the door. Not too easy, though, as he didn't speak English when he arrived.
So he started working in a nightclub, cleaning the bar in the morning and occasionally working behind the counter. This situation quickly changed when he demonstrated his strong work ethic and the skills he had learned in Slovakia as Barkeeper .
A few years later, Martin and a good friend opened a small restaurant and cocktail bar called Pedal Pushing Monkey in Dublin. In the course of their planning, they encountered many obstacles.
If you pay more attention to your life, you will soon have enough new ideas for your life.
It was very difficult and expensive to get a liquor licence, set up a kitchen and make sure the fire police were satisfied enough to let them open their doors to the public.
Running a bar in Dublin operates on a very different level to anywhere else in the world and is only possible if you have very deep pockets and very strong nerves.
For better or worse, their gig was over within a year and they both returned to employee status with massive smiles on their faces. "It was brilliant to be a stress-free person again," he adds.
Later, the chance to be his own boss again came up when Martin was offered the opportunity to manage the upstairs bar at the Delahunt restaurant.
Delahunt
The history of the Delahunt building is fascinating, dating back to 1906 when it operated as an upmarket grocery shop in Dublin, famous for its geese, turkey, tea, wines and whiskies.
James Joyce even mentioned it in his novel Ulysses. The entire building is a listed building, which underlines its great historical value. On the ground floor of the restaurant is one of the longest and oldest bar counters ever made from a single tree.
The bar called Sitting Room at Delahunt is located directly above the restaurant on the first floor. It is a small and cosy bar with only forty seats, which creates a relaxed atmosphere for the guests. Martin's team is unusually small, consisting only of himself and one staff member.
The cocktail menu is small and seasonal, its design very simple, which allows Martin to change it as often as he likes. Some of the drinks are changed weekly, while the bestsellers stay on the menu for a longer period.
He loves to support local producers, but also uses excellent international products that he believes in. His goal is to introduce lesser-known ingredients to his guests, and he is very grateful to the owner of the Delahunt for allowing him to run the bar as he sees fit.
Inspiration
Martin finds inspiration in everyday life. Being outside and moving his body brings out his creative strengths. There are many books, articles or even restaurants in the Delahunt area that he can draw inspiration from.
If you pay more attention to your life in general, you will soon have enough new ideas for your whole life, Martin is convinced of that.
Favourite bar
He's a big fan of Tony Conigliaro's or one of Ryan Chetiyawardana's bars in London.
This article appeared in
Issue 5-2020
BAR NEWS magazine as single issue
