Barka in Kraków is the riverside-barge bar moored on the Vistula at the Kazimierz-Podgórze footbridge. Polish craft beer, summer DJs, the city's best sunset table.
Food program: Burgers and grilled snacks
Tip: Open summer only, roughly May to September. Cash and card; queues form at sunset.
Address: ul. Podgórska 16, 31-068 Kraków
Movida on Kraków's Mikołajska in the Old Town runs a refined cocktail and plate room: Polish Mules with Wyborowa, Polish and Mediterranean food, regular live music.
Signature drink: Polish Mule with Wyborowa
Food: Polish, burgers, Italian and Mexican plates
Tip: Walk-in; open daily 16:00 to 03:00. Cocktails and plate menu through the night.
Absynt on Kraków's Miodowa in Kazimierz pours 20 absinthes the traditional drip-and-sugar-cube way in a Belle Epoque room. Live music on Thursdays.
Signature drink: Absinthe drip
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: The traditional absinthe drip with sugar cube is the order; open daily from 10:00 to past 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.
Signature drink: Whiskey old fashioned
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Live jazz nightly from 21:30; weekend slots fill by 22:00. Reservation by phone.
Piwnica pod Baranami on Kraków's Rynek Główny is the cabaret cellar that ran the city's literary-cabaret scene since 1956. Saturday cabaret, Polish vodka and the original room run weekly.
Signature drink: Polish vodka
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Saturday cabaret nights need booking ahead. The cellar room is also open as a regular bar most weeknights.
Mercy Brown in Kraków is the city's most editorial speakeasy: unmarked door on Straszewskiego, candlelit cellar, classic cocktails and Polish whiskey on the back bar.
Signature drink: Old Fashioned with Polish whiskey
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Walk-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. Polish vodka, local beer, live jazz in the back room most nights.
Signature drink: Polish vodka shots
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Five rooms across two floors; the back-room piano is the better seat after 22:00.
