30 editor picks across Poland.
30 bars worth the trip across Poland, editor-ranked by TableJourney. All Poland guides.
Mercy Brown in Kraków is the city's most editorial speakeasy: unmarked door on Straszewskiego, candlelit cellar, classic cocktails and Polish whiskey.
TipWalk-up policy: ring the bell and ask for the table. Closed Monday and Tuesday; opens Wednesday through Saturday from 19:00.
Alchemia on Kraków's Plac Nowy in Kazimierz has run candle-lit, antique-furniture rooms since 1999. Order the polish vodka shots. At ul. Estery 5.
TipFive rooms across two floors; the back-room piano is the better seat after 22:00.
Piwnica pod Baranami on Kraków's Rynek Główny is the cabaret cellar that ran the city's literary-cabaret scene since 1956. Order the polish vodka.
TipSaturday cabaret nights need booking ahead. The cellar room is also open as a regular bar most weeknights.
Flisak '76 in Gdańsk has run on Chlebnicka since 1976, a Tri-City cocktail-bar institution now under the third generation of the same family.
TipCloses 02:00 Friday and Saturday; reservations recommended after 22:00.
Weźże Krafta in Kraków's Kazimierz on Dajwór pours 25 Polish craft taps and serves wood-fired Neapolitan pizza. Order the polish craft ipa. At ul. Dajwór 16.
TipWood-fired pizzas to share; the outdoor seating in the Tytano courtyard runs in summer.
El Koktel in Warsaw is the basement cocktail bar with emerald walls and filament bulbs, established 2014. Order the house-made gin dobry tonic.
Józef K. in Gdańsk is the Kafka-named Piwna Street cult bar, retro lamps and mismatched books on the walls. Order the strong spirits and herbal infusions.
TipQuieter on weeknights; arrive after 18:00 for the candlelit version.
Gatsby Gdańsk works a 1920s Art Deco room near Mariacka, the only Tri-City bar with 30-year Macallan on the back wall. Reservations advised.
TipBook the booth tables at the back; the bar runs through the centre.
Craft Cocktails Piwna in Gdańsk hides behind an almost-anonymous door on Piwna, a dark speakeasy room 1920s in look and bartending. At ul. Piwna 56.
TipDoor has no signage; look for the small Piwna 56 plaque between two Old Town townhouses.
Singer on Kraków's Plac Nowy in Kazimierz, named for the sewing-machine tables that double as bar tops, runs the late-night Kazimierz drinking room.
TipCash only. The mulled wine is the autumn order; absinthe shots after midnight.
Harris Piano Jazz Bar in Kraków's Rynek Główny cellar has run live jazz nightly since 1996. Whiskey-heavy bar, candle-lit cellar, free entry on weeknights.
TipLive jazz nightly from 21:30; weekend slots fill by 22:00. Reservation by phone.
Dram on Stary Rynek 92 in Poznań is a cocktail bar, kitchen and live-music room with a Wroniecka-street entrance, run by bar manager Damian Dylewski.
TipLive music starts around 20:00; book a side table over a bar seat if you want the kitchen menu to land in proper order.
Zamieszanie on Nowy Swiat in Warsaw runs a backstage-prep cocktail programme served from freezing taps and bottles. Booking recommended. Reservations advised.
Mała Sztuka in Gdańsk runs a basement-cocktail room near the Green Gate, with the biggest rum collection in town. At ul. Powroźnicza 13. Booking recommended.
TipAbout fifteen seats and a no-standing policy; arrive before 21:00 or expect to wait for a table to open.
Pub Browar Spółdzielczy in Gdańsk Wrzeszcz is the Tri-City flagship of the Co-operative Brewery from Puck on the Baltic coast. Twenty rotating taps.
TipCellar pub, hidden behind the Garnizon development; follow Grunwaldzka and look for the door behind the offices.
Wódka Cafe Bar in Kraków keeps 100+ Polish vodkas behind the bar and pours flights of four for 30 zl. Counter seating, small Polish snack carte.
TipThe four-shot tasting flight at 30 zl is the order; the apple-cinnamon flavoured pour is the easy entry.
Piwna Stopa on Szewska 7 in Poznań pours 16 rotating taps and over 200 bottled beers, with a Czech-tavern interior, a beer-garden in summer and pulled-pork.
TipThe summer garden takes barbecue events; check the tap list online before the visit to time a small-brewery showcase.
Vandal Cafe on Strusia 9 in Łazarz, Poznań pours speciality coffee by day and craft beer plus wine by night, with vintage-meets-houseplant interiors.
TipThe freshpresso, espresso with fresh grapefruit juice, is the house signature; ask for it before defaulting to the bar list.
Cosmo Bar in Warsaw lives in the Cosmopolitan tower on Twarda, a sustainable cocktail room from the Bar Wieczorny team. Local-foraged ingredients.
PiwPaw on Foksal in Warsaw runs roughly 80 taps of Polish, Czech, Belgian and German craft. Bottle-cap walls, the peacock mascot in the window.
Vertigo on Oławska is Wrocław's biggest jazz club, 200 seats and 300 standing, professional stage and sound. At ul. Oławska 13. Booking recommended.
OrderAn Old Fashioned during a Friday set, kitchen plates in the early gigs.
TipTickets via the club's own website are cheaper than ebilet; book the cocktail seats stage-side.
Vrest in Gdańsk Wrzeszcz brews inside Stary Maneż, the restored 19th-century military riding hall now a concert venue. At ul. Słowackiego 23.
TipHappy hour every day 12:00-15:00 halves the price of every house beer.
Multi Qlti Tap Bar on Kraków's Szewska pours 18 rotating Polish craft taps and runs a pizza counter through the night. Open until 02:00 weekends.
TipHalf-pints to mix-and-match; the pizza window runs the cheap-and-cheerful food backup.
House of Beer on Kraków's Świętego Tomasza pours 25 rotating Polish craft taps. Order the polish ipa flight. At ul. Świętego Tomasza 35. Booking recommended.
TipA four-glass flight at 25 zl is the way to taste through; the back-cellar room is quieter.
Same Krafty on Nowomiejska in Warsaw is the Old Town craft tap, eight rotating beers a day in a whitewashed arched room a block from Rynek Starego Miasta.
Mleczarnia on Włodkowica in Wrocław's former Jewish quarter has anchored the Four Temples scene since 1998. Bohemian by day, candlelit jazz bar by night.
OrderHot chocolate in winter, Polish wine on the courtyard tables in summer.
TipFriday-Saturday open until 03:00; live music or stand-up most evenings.
Browar PG4 in Gdańsk works the brewery-restaurant beside the central station, named for its Podwale Grodzkie address. At ul. Podwale Grodzkie 4.
TipTasting flights of five 100ml pours cover the whole house list for around 30 $.
Viva la Pinta on Kraków's Floriańska is the dedicated taproom of Browar Pinta, the Polish craft brewery that started the country's IPA wave in 2011. 14.
TipThe seasonal Pinta cards rotate weekly; the IPA is the brewery's defining beer.
Just Friends on Stary Rynek 80/82 in Poznań is a cocktail bar with full kitchen on the Old Market Square, with a long signature-cocktail list.
TipThe pavement tables on Stary Rynek face the town hall; book one in summer for the view of the Koziołki at noon.
Święty Jan on Wrocław's Rynek runs the city's largest rotating tap selection: 34 lines pouring Polish and international craft, the move on a slow Tuesday.
OrderA flight of four Browar Stu Mostów taps to compare the brewery's range.
TipThe cellar room downstairs gets the better acoustics on weekend nights.
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