3rd Space events · Bucharest
Once a month, twenty-five people meet somewhere good in the centre of Bucharest. Cocktails, padel, portraits, founder nights. No elevator pitch — and you'll already know a handful of people before you walk in.
Next event
A cocktail evening for marketing people in Bucharest, with a team game to break the ice: How well do you know Bucharest? Come on your own — you'll get a few intros before the night.
How it works
Small enough that you'll actually finish a conversation. Every event sells out at twenty-five and stays there.
A few days ahead, Eric sends short personal intros about eight to ten of the guests. You walk in with something to say.
A game, padel, a professional headshot, a five-minute story. Nobody stands in a circle asking what you do for a living.
The part nobody else does
A few days before every event, you get an email introducing eight to ten of the people who'll be there. Not job titles — the actual interesting thing about them. The one who moved here from Lisbon and started a distillery. The one training for an ultramarathon. The one who'll happily argue with you about football.
So you don't walk into a room of strangers. You walk in with a few names, and a reason to say hello to each of them. That's the whole trick.
Play a few games, drink something cold, keep talking after.
Sport does the icebreaking so you don't have to.
People building something, in a room with other people building something.
Short talks, long conversations.
A professional photographer takes your headshot while you're two drinks into a good conversation.
You leave with a photo you'll actually use.
Plus the occasional wine tasting, game night and cocktail social. Once a month, somewhere good in central Bucharest. Tickets are usually €25.
From past events
“First sign you've lived in Bucharest too long: you don't get annoyed in traffic anymore.” Everyone laughed. Then I realised it was about me.
Read the recap →
“Greeks invented pizza.” “The light was in my eyes!” A few of the lines overheard at our August padel social — nobody remembers who won.
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Don't start with “what do you do?” That was the one rule at our Founders & Builders Night — and it changed every conversation in the room.
Read the recap →
“She has 32 relationship requirements.” Not a sentence I expected to overhear at a padel party — but here we are.
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One guest wrecked their car three times in one hour. Another drove theirs into a lake — with themselves still inside. All from one simple icebreaker.
Read the recap →
I've hosted a lot of cocktail parties. But this was the first time I tried this format at this scale — and I wasn't sure how it would land.
Read the recap →In their words
“The most relaxed and fun networking format I've seen. Finally, I actually felt good at a networking event. No pressure. No stiff jargon. No robotic, boring structure.”
Translated from Romanian · Founders & Builders Night, June 2026
“Completely unlike any other wine tasting I've attended. I made some lovely new connections, and the first collaboration is already on the way!”
Wine tasting social, June 2026
“The energy, the people, the host — just incredible. It's not often you feel that kind of connection right from the start.”
— Diana, health leader and keynote speaker
“Eric, your cocktail parties are awesome. This was the second time I joined and I had so much fun.”
— Daniel, The Simplifier Agency
“I had a great time. My type of crowd.”
— Andra, CEO of Beyond Business School
Who comes
Marketers, founders, designers, engineers, photographers, a few people between things. Romanians and expats from nine-plus countries. Some are new to Bucharest and building a life here. Some have been here fifteen years and want a wider circle. About a third of any given room has been to a 3rd Space event before.
Good questions
Most socials are €25, sold on Luma. A few special formats are priced a little differently — it's always shown on the ticket page.
Around twenty-five. That's the cap, on purpose. It's small enough that you'll actually finish a conversation.
No — that's the point. A few days before each event, Eric emails short intros to eight to ten of the guests, so you walk in with a few names and a reason to say hello.
Good restaurants, bars and courts in central Bucharest — A46 in Dorobanți, Padelmania, and others. The venue is on the Luma page or shared with guests before the night.
English. The room is a mix of Romanians and expats from nine-plus countries.
Not the kind you're thinking of. No pitches, no name-tag speed rounds. There's always something to do — a game, padel, a headshot, a five-minute story — so the conversation takes care of itself.
One email when a new event opens. Twenty-five seats, and they go fast.
No spam, no newsletter you didn't ask for. Unsubscribe whenever.
Twenty-five seats a month. One email a week. That's the whole arrangement.