The Groom Room is one of my favourite barbershops, and is located in the upstairs loft above iconic menswear store Barkers. This Auckland fixture is an institution for the savvy businessman looking for new styling or great male retail therapy. Barkers has barbershops in house in Auckland and Wellington, with plans for more barbershops in their future stores.
Business manager Vea and master barber Gary kindly invited me for a trim and a cutthroat shave, which I happily accepted without any hesitation as I was in the need of some new style and inspiration. Barkers Groom Room has been stylishly fitted out with most of the space occupied by the stretch of a long bar, which forms the perfect lace to perch while waiting for your turn in the chair. This bar somehow gives the guest an ideal height to sip the complimentary top shelf spirit – again, very tempting on that relaxed afternoon and like so many other New Zealand gentlemen I indulged just to get into the groove.
This shop gets very busy with all the barbers consistently engaged which added to the theatre and the ambience of a space defined by quality marble and wood fixtures. Embracing old school quality so completely creates warmth in the barbershop, putting the your head in the right space instantly by warming you for the anticipated pampering.
I was very happy when got my turn in the chair and Vea expertly transformed my travelling mop into an impressive, presentable format that I was proud to sport around on Auckland and Waikato that week. Following the trim I was steered into the shaving parlor section of the shop, where I was steamed and lathered up ready for the cutthroat. English barber Gary took amazing pride in his blade skills and talked me into some moustache styling that looked pretty, pretty cool.
All modern men visiting Auckland should make an advance booking for the experience of a styling session at Barkers Groom Room, finished off with some retail styling downstairs at Barkers. Plus you can grab a great espresso at Barkers Burrs and Gring, supplied by Ponsonby’s Eighthirty Coffee Roasters. At long last, all the good things in a man’s life are finally in the one space.
1 High St, Auckland CBD, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
+64 9-379 9296
www.barkersgroomroom.co.nz
