Drink! listings after work classics THE ALCHEMIST
Poland’s still getting used to the idea of ‘a pint after work’, but in The Alchemist the idea of a post-office drink just seems so right. From the off, it’s a place that screams, “off with the tie, there’s drinks to be had!” Back under new ownership, the terrace remains the place to be seen. Pl. Piłsudskiego 3
CENTRAL BAR
The natural focal point of Hala Koszyki is the Central Bar, a long, long space serving microbrews and classic cocktails such as Pimm’s under a spectacular wrought iron ceiling. Not many places feel as international, and three years after opening it remains one of Warsaw’s top check-ins. Talent spotting doesn’t get any better. ul. Koszykowa
63 (Hala Koszyki)
DZIEŃ I NOC
Looking insta friendly with its interior of brickwork, succulents and marble-topped tables, Dzień I Noc have earned a cult following since opening at the height of the pandemic. Offering authors cocktails and mainstream beers, it offers the promise of a solid night out in these paranoid times. Pl. Mirowski 1
ELEKTROWNIA POWISŁE
The indoor food hall indoors opens out into a sea of neon signs and a sleek, manicured crowd posing for selfies over cocktails. And yes, drinks are every bit as important here as the food. Having first filed past security that are there to enforce pandemic hygiene rules, guests then choose between a craft beer vending station or the
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Warsaw Insider | JUNE 2021
two principle bars that bookend the complex: Centrala Bar at one end or the more cocktail-driven Kandela at the other. ul. Dobra 42
LEGENDS
Run by Graham, an ex-embassy bod and devout Everton fan (well, someone has to be), this Brit pub has become the de facto choice when the football is on. Or the rugby. Or the cricket. Or just about any other sport that expats care to watch. Whether it’s the Champions League or Bristol City on a wet, Tuesday night, there’s just no better space for boozy banter while the match unfolds. ul. Emilii Plater 25
WOZOWNIA
Set in a 200-year-old carriage house within a secretive courtyard, Wozownia started life looking raw and ramshackle – in parts, it still does, but that’s not to say improvements haven’t been made, not least to a Lynch-esque winter garden that feels brilliantly dream-like. Drinkswise, kick-ass cocktails sell just as well as the Prosecco, which remains arguably the cheapest glass of sparkly you’ll find in the city. Pair that with a sceney crowd of off-duty DJs, camp dudes with manbags and slender nightlife creatures and you have a place that feels on the front end of hip. Being here, so are you.
Pl. Trzech Krzyży 16
clubbing LUZTRO
Dark and generally grubby, Warsaw’s most (in)famous club only gets going around about three. As the hours click towards daybreak, the scenes of depravity are like something from Sodom and Gomorrah. Enjoyed by zombies
that quite definitely don’t have to be up for work anytime in the next 48 hrs, it’s not just the full-on techno that will leave the brain rattling – it’s the craziest night in Poland! Al. Jerozolimskie 6
SEN
Entering this top-floor joint, visitors are hit by a tidal wave of gorgeousness: wall-to-wall with George Clooney lookalikes, off-duty celebrities and catwalk glamor pusses, the carefree hedonism is like something from a film – only tonight, you’re one of the stars. Sod the bank account, you think, bring me champagne: enjoy just that on a terrace deck slung with Edison bulbs, or indoors in an area festooned with deluxe sofas and floor-to-ceiling windows that stare out onto the National Stadium opposite. ul. Wioślarska 6
SYRENI ŚPIEW KONESER
Best of Warsaw 2020 “Hot List” Almost insane in the scale of its ambition, the multi-floor set up is a big, sexy mash of steel stairs, velvet sofas and industrial add-ons. As for the weekend parties, these are an exercise in excess with all kinds of lunacy breaking out: trapeze artists, sword swallowers, burlesque dancers and more. Leaving, it’s with the senses spinning in a swirl of disbelief. The very definition of debauched decadence, the brilliance is underlined by flawless cocktails and the best-looking crowd in the country. Pl. Konesera 4
SPATIF
Just a smashing night all round: from jazzy singers to funk and soul via a dose of Britpop, the ever likeable Spatif is what Warsaw needs – a place that’s not up its own arse! A labyrinth of pre-war chambers add atmosphere, as does the kind