Monday Blues, one of several signature cocktails on offer during Neon Nights at WorkPlay
Retro pleasures get a fresh take at Neon Nights, a new monthly event at WorkPlay in Kaka‘ako, where nu-disco, indie dance and deep house music make for a dance party as fun as it is sophisticated. Drawing a trendy crowd of Honolulu scene-makers, the event is anchored by the music and stylized by WorkPlay’s aesthetic, which is reminiscent of a stylish Brooklyn loft—if Don Draper lived in it. The beverage program is just as polished: Classic cocktails get craft upgrades from artisanal riffs, as in the Monday Blues, a dreamy cocktail with blue curacao, egg whites, pineapple juice and St. George Terroir Gin.
At this exclusive party, your hosts are also your DJs. But Joe DiCondina, Alex Placek and Andrea Zannoni hadn’t set out to start an event. They were just having a Friday night drink once at WorkPlay’s chic bar and began chatting about music with the space’s owner, and by the time they left, they had committed to DJing the very next night. The trio was a huge crowd-pleaser, and they are now in monthly residence at WorkPlay, which originally opened as a premier après-work gathering spot and has now found its groove as a cozy coffee bar by day and cool cocktail lounge by night. Four luxe private rooms are available for reservation (we love the Peacock Room)—but the real destination is the dance floor, as close to the DJ booth as possible. Saturdays monthly, 9pm-12:30am, 814 Ilaniwai St., Kaka‘ako, O‘ahu
Photography by: workplay
