update: writing this in 2026 – looks like the bar is temporarily closed 😦 since June 2026

Looks like the 13:20 team have been forced out of the premises after a dispute with the landlord – June 16th the close was sudden

The courtyard itself is still being used

A MUST SEE!!!!

13:20 Bar is really cool! This is not only a quirky bar, there is a cool story behind it and its a part of the Old Yerevan that has actually still survived (for how long?) while a new city was built around it

Its a small “RUIN STYLE” bar with an authentic atmosphere offers a good selection of local Armenian alcohol (50+ distillates and cocktails based on them)

It is located opposite the Ramada Hotel in 200-year-old apartments that once housed liquor factory workers, featuring an amazing patio with miss-matched chairs overlooking the complex with interesting views

Its in an interesting area, its found behind a ruin of a building, and it actually adds to the charm of this place!

You will see what I mean when you go and explore it yourself!

Opened in late July 2023 by 3 founders who did a lot of the DIY renovation to the bar themselves and making sure not to get rid of the history of the place – they made sure to build the history and past into their bar, and I love that!

The entrance to the bar area… at night it looks worse than this lol

Where did the name come from? Found this in an interview online

You’ll sometimes read that it’s named after the clock above the entrance being stuck at 13:20. But the founder’s own 2023 explanation is different.

The three founders were playing around with numbers. One of them liked using 13 and 6 to poke fun at superstition; they thought “13:13” was boring and mixed 13 with the familiar 4:20 reference, arriving somewhat chaotically at 13:20

As you look back where you came from, out of the gloom of the corridor, you can see a building which was once a home of a local Armenian factory worker!

Going up the rickety stairs is a must and checking out the random bar inside

I love how they have kept it as is as much as possible and I really hope they dont knock this whole place down

As you pass under the ruined tunnel, you come to a courtyard with some low old half ruined buildings which are 19th c. built structures

The rooms that are now the bar were once residential buildings and here dwelled the workers of the SHUSTOV COGNAC operation

So basially, the story behind this is that Nikolay Shustov acquired the famous Yerevan Brandy operation at the end of 19th c. and his name became an important development in Armenian brandy

As you enter, you can actually imagine this was once someones home as it still has its old school feel to it, with the doors and rooms leading into small offshoot rooms… its so interesting!

This room is one of the tasting rooms

This bar was created by 3 partners, co-founder Vitalique, Bes and Shlang (nick names for sure! lol)

Vitalique is a designer, he had some projects in Georgia producing some wine, he mostly handed the design and marketing – he moved to Armenia and wanted to get involved in the traditional fruit and botanical distallates

He began traveling around Armenia finding producers and collecting distillates, like apricot, mulberry, plum, pear, cornelian cherry and other flavours local to Armenia – the collection has grown to over 100 varieties!

This was the front room as you enter into the bar – they have given it a bit of a feel of the old world, the wooden floors, irregular masonry and even the “old nene” chair lol, I loved it!!

I explored a bit and found this other random room at the back, seems to still have its original wooden floor, and some old school furniture adds to its randomness

We were served by a funky

We bought a bottle of wine for 10,000amd

There were some other funky wines id never seen before

I liked this guys style and demeanour, he was cool and chatted to us for a while about the wines and about the place and working there, he was really interesting

We really enjoyed this wine and decided to take the bottle outside with us and experience the outside area

There is a rickety balcony area at the back which you can take your bottle of wine and climb up to

There are all manners of random and unmatched couches and chairs which add to the feel of the area

The roof of the old quarters and where the bar is has been covered due to the rain

This whole area is really striking because most of the surrounding buildings have been knocked down and modern developments have popped up slowly slowly so it sticks out so much more

Apprarently, the founders of this bar has been told that these buildings have been intended to

What I loved about this story of this place is that the owners brought into yerevan the old traditional methods and flavours of Armenian distillates which would have remained in the villages if they hadnt gone and done this fieldwork themselves and brought it back to share

There is so much controversy around this area and its really interesting:

Old residential Yerevan
→ courtyard survives massive redevelopment around it
→ owner refuses to sell
→ three creatives establish 13:20 there in 2023
→ deliberately preserve the ruined interior
→ build a collection of Armenian village distillates
→ bar becomes a cult Yerevan venue
→ relationship between owner and operators collapses in 2026
→ original team leaves
→ property remains caught in a multimillion-dollar acquisition dispute
→ Old Yerevan development remains unfinished around it.

APR25