Our Munich home is officially open.

On September 17th, we threw the doors open on The Dean Munich. And what a night it was, from ceremonial smashing of sake barrels to live music, performance art, tarot readings and karaoke in a hotel room. Music was endless, from Irish imports like Mango to Jessica Louise Gladstone, who built the room and the vibe.

At Ibasho, the tuna show was on. Chefs carved a whole tuna and served it course by course: akami nigiri, chutoro sashimi, tuna tataki. The bar poured highballs in the front and cocktail flights in the back. Servus Heidi came through later with late-night trays of Bavarian specialities from spätzle to pork belly skewers.  

Our speakeasy nook is the hidden crown jewel of the hotel. Inside: AIK, then Chelo had everyone dancing, singing along and sweating (a lot) late into the night. Thanks to the Friendly Pressure sound system, the music not only sounded good but looked good too. 

Upstairs was a loose affair. Der Greif turned Room 608 into an editorial photo booth, catching guests mid-story rather than mid-pose. Room 628 paired Sofar Sounds' secret live sets with a bathtub of Noam beers. Down the hall, Munich’s funnest, Uh-Seok, hosted the best karaoke sessions we’ve ever seen. Whoever did the rendition of Journey should win a Grammy. Olga Hohmann and Felix Leon Westner, conceptual performance artists, each took over a room and left it as evidence.

Down the hall Gin71 poured the perfect martinis, and had Munich jewellery designer and model Saskia Diez doing one-to-one tarot readings for whoever wandered in. All we’ll say is, scenes. 

The biggest hero of the evening was the person who ordered 20 boxes of pizza at the end of the night.  

Photos shot by Manuel Neiberle and Farouk are here. Thanks to everyone who came through, it was one for the books. Munich has always drawn people who wanted a place to simply be themselves. We're glad to add one more address on that list.