We’re sitting over coffee right here in Vydrica, in the very place you’ve been asking us about more and more lately. At the table are Maxim Blahovec, founder of Gatto Matto, and Juraj Ťahún, Commercial Director at Lucron, the company behind the Vydrica development. We’re here to talk about what the two of them have been quietly working on — and why, one day, Gatto Matto on Panská will be moving here.
Panská 17 has been Gatto Matto’s home for more than twenty years. We’re not leaving because we’ve stopped loving it. Quite the opposite. We’ve simply grown beyond it. The realisation that we needed more space didn’t happen overnight. Maxim describes it as a series of small moments that gradually came together to form a bigger picture. Today, the space is starting to fall short of what we need from a practical point of view. Parking is limited, and the historic city centre comes with restrictions that seemed far less important just a few years ago.
“The new place can’t simply be bigger or technically better. It needs to have a soul. That’s the most important thing for me,” says Maxim. And so the search began. Not just anywhere, though. Several possibilities gradually emerged within roughly a one-kilometre radius of Panská. Vydrica was one of them.
Two years of crossing paths
Listening to Maxim and Juraj talk over coffee today, you might think they’ve known each other forever. Their first encounters, however, were much more formal. “We spent about two years circling around each other,” Maxim recalls. Eventually, a mutual acquaintance brought them together, and in February 2024 they sat down at the same table for the first time. Back then, it was strictly business. Today, they both laugh about it.
When Maxim first came to see the place that could one day become the new home of Gatto Matto, one word immediately came to mind: holiday. “There’s an atmosphere here, a sense of history in a new setting, greenery, beautiful views and a real community. I like the idea of parents sitting on a terrace while their children can play safely nearby,” he says, before adding one slightly less strategic argument: “And I like bricks, haha.”
Old Bratislava, reimagined
Those bricks are no coincidence. The entire Vydrica project is bringing back to life a part of Bratislava that disappeared decades ago. For Juraj, it’s important that the neighbourhood feels like a natural extension of the Old Town — while still bringing something new to the city: “We want lively streets, thoughtful design, plenty of greenery and, above all, a place where people simply feel good. Somewhere you arrive and get that feeling Maxim talks about — as if you were on holiday. That’s also why the architecture uses materials we know from the Old Town. Brick, stone and refined plaster finishes. Over time, restored landmarks will become part of the neighbourhood too, including the historic Water tower complex and the Ice Pits.” But Vydrica isn’t only about how it looks. What happens here matters even more.
A neighbourhood needs a reason to visit
Juraj explains that from the very beginning, the team has been looking for variety when choosing the businesses that will become part of Vydrica. Places that give people a reason not only to come, but to stay. Food and hospitality play a particularly important role in that. “Gastronomy is a destination in itself. It brings people here, and once they’re here, they naturally spend time in the neighbourhood, use its services and visit its shops. In my view, its role is essential,” he says.
So how does Gatto Matto fit into that vision? Juraj has a clear answer. “It’s a concept we genuinely believe in. Twenty years on the market is a mark of quality. But I also really appreciate the human approach, the company culture and the way Gatto Matto takes care of its people. It’s a completely different approach to hospitality.” And perhaps that’s exactly where Vydrica and Gatto Matto meet. Both keep coming back to the same thing: people.
So, when?
That’s the question we hear from you most often. Vydrica is taking shape gradually. The original plan of three phases was expanded to four due to construction and structural requirements. A key milestone will be connecting Vydrica directly with the Old Town as part of the third phase. According to the current plan, this should happen in 2030. And that’s when Gatto Matto is expected to become part of Vydrica too.
Until then, Panská remains our home. We’ll keep cooking, baking, welcoming you at our tables and carrying on just as we always have. Because Panská hasn’t said its final word yet. This isn’t a story about leaving it behind. It’s a story about where we can grow next.
One ordinary evening
To finish, we put timelines and construction phases aside and asked them both a much simpler question: What does an ordinary evening in Vydrica look like ten years from now?
Juraj has the scene pictured almost down to the last detail. He’s sitting on the terrace at Gatto Matto, looking towards UFO, with a glass of good Riesling in front of him. But what matters most is the view down into the streets. “I want to see happy, content people there. That’s what fulfils me — creating a place for life.”
Maxim’s vision isn’t far from that. He sees family and friends. A community that has gradually grown around the neighbourhood. People stopping by for good bread, coming for dinner and a glass of wine, then wandering through the streets afterwards.
Nothing spectacular, really. Just a place where people feel good. Nothing spectacular, really. Just a place where people feel good.