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.
Food program: 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.
Address: ul. Straszewskiego 28, 31-110 Kraków
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.
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 with candles and absinthe.
Signature drink: Mulled wine
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Cash only. The mulled wine is the autumn order; absinthe shots after midnight.
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, late opening hours.
Signature drink: 100+ Polish vodka shots
Food: Tapas-sized Polish snacks
Tip: The four-shot tasting flight at 30 zl is the order; the apple-cinnamon flavoured pour is the easy entry.
Weźże Krafta in Kraków's Kazimierz on Dajwór pours 25 Polish craft taps and serves wood-fired Neapolitan pizza. Located in the Tytano old tobacco factory complex.
Signature drink: Polish craft IPA
Food: Snacks
Tip: Wood-fired pizzas to share; the outdoor seating in the Tytano courtyard runs in summer.
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.
Signature drink: Polish craft sour
Food: Pizza counter
Tip: Half-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. Tasting flights, an English-speaking team, a cellar room with a quieter back bar.
Signature drink: Polish IPA flight
Food: Snacks
Tip: A four-glass flight at 25 zl is the way to taste through; the back-cellar room is quieter.
