The Buzz

moves into cocktail territory with sophisticated drinks crafted from premium components.

Insider Classic Night

Pardon To Tu

Al. Armii Ludowej 14

Despite the upgrade in surrounds, they’ve retained the leftfield spirit of their old haunt thanks to flexi hours, a commitment to obscure sounds, and a well-spaced interior that references their former venue through its decadent colour scheme and wall of favoured musicians. The air of friendly, unforced cool is unmatched!

For The Music

Chmury / Hydrozagadka

11 Listopada 22

Set in a fleapit courtyard, it’s hard to tell where one begins and the other ends, but both are spiritually cojoined by a devotion to eclectic live music. Tight and crowded, it’s a place where audience and band become one, feeding off each other to generate an electrifying atmosphere.

The Atmosphere

Beirut & Kraken

Poznańska 12

Somewhere, amid all the junk relating to the Lebanese conflict (sandbags, ammo boxes…), you’ll find the spirit of Poznańska contained within this long, skinny bar. As fashionable now as it was when it opened, finish the evening in their connecting venture, the Pirates of the Caribbean-style Kraken. Evenings dissolve into a wild, happy whirl of international voices.

NEW & NOTABLE

Gemba

Chmielna 21

Adopting a loose-fitting PRL style, interiors include wood-paneled walls decorated with pics of Pope JPII, sporting pennants and framed artworks from the heyday of the

Polish School of Poster. Tricked out with retro wallpaper, this inclusive space draws a crowd that’s late 20s upwards. There’s a hell of a lot to enjoy here: craft beers, strange cocktails, Polish tapas, DJ sets, jazz jams and ‘drag bingo’ serve to only reinforce that impression.

Student Carnage

Nowy Świat ‘Pavilions’

Nowy Świat 26

For the highest condensation of bars in the capital head to ‘the pavilions’, a collection of ramshackle drinking cabins, shot bars and sheesha lairs inside a tight grid of shadowy back alleys. Adding to the gentle sense of confusion comes the realisation that so many bars look the same –accessed through clattery, barred doors, visitors walk into murk and chaos.

Irish Mayhem

The Shamrock

Zgoda 5

Little more than a shabby bare room lit by a greenish Carlsberg sign, the atmosphere compensates for the aesthetic shortcomings. Find a melting pot of nationalities slopping beers over each other while shouting their orders to Curtis behind the bar –high on noise and bellowed banter, the atmosphere cranks yet further whenever Curtis grabs his guitar to lead his audience in song.

ALT. ENTERTAINMENT

Worek Kości

Bagatela 10

There is nothing ordinary about Worek Kości and that’s underlined by its collection of 400 replica skulls. Known for its burlesque nights, this passionate celebration of the beautiful and bizarre also has a busy roster of lectures dedicated to criminal profiling, forensics and serial killers. Oh, and the cocktails are great.

For The Music

Młodsza Siostra

Dobra 14/16

Smuggled inside a scruffy courtyard fringed by lock-up garages, this alt. space has shades of Berlin and Budapest with its unforced cool. Within, it’s a creaky spot filled with wobbly furnishing and maverick sounds. At times claustrophobic, the dimensions lend themselves well to intimate gigs that see everything from improvised instrumentals to concerts from the likes of the Death Addict Society.

Northern Nights

Havana

Słowackiego 16/18

Set on the first floor of a PRL era tower, the super cool interior offers up a coherent display of retro posters, luscious plants and light wood trimmings that are respectful of this space’s former life as a 1960s cafe. Perched among hip freelancers and theater types learning their lines, sip away on trendy bio wines, adventurous lemonades, craft swigs or specialty coffee sourced from local roasters. In summer, the terrace is the place to be.

SHOW TIME!

Chaton

Foksal 19

Chaton is where the celebs and top-earners gather to enjoy world class stage performers prance about whilst revelling in the bosom of refined luxury. Full review coming soon.

FOR EVENING GLAM Question

Grzybowska 60

Billing itself as one of Poland’s clutch of truly elite gathering spots, Question presents a varied diet of electronica, a chic design and a menu involving top-class cocktails and exquisite snacks. Full review coming soon.

FUR SOMETHING PAW-SOME!

Purr Purr

Pokorna 2

Purr Purr divides itself into two distinct segments – for openers, you’ve got a standard café-eatery area complete with a counter and a long forest-coloured banquette running down the wall – but then, you’ve got a gated area in which you’ll find half a dozen cats snoozing, stretching and prowling about. Asian cocktails, specialty coffee, craft beers and Korean-Japanese bites round-out the experience. Expect queues at the weekend.

For Coffee In The Garden

Roślina Schroegera 80

Set in the heart of Stare Bielany, there’s something about Roślina that everyone loves. Using their shoestring budget to maximum effect, the plant-filled, concrete interior feels social and creative, though it’s the magical garden that everyone talks about.

COFFEE & CAKE

Tonka

Karmelicka 16

Looking onto the glorious glass cube that is the POLIN museum, Tonka’s crystal white minimalism rules with the monotone palette given punch by subtle zaps of greenery. The coffee – sourced from the likes of HAYB – is excellent, but tastes even better when tested alongside Tonka’s ever-changing line-up of mind-blowing cakes.

Coffee Of Legend

Stor

Tamka 33 / Bracka 18

For many there is no better café

Jazz Po Polsku

anywhere in Poland than Stor’s original on Tamka. When the sunlight slopes in through the window, there are few finer feelings than idling away in this plant festooned refuge. Famed for their glorious coffee and detail-driven approach, recognition should also be handed to their devotion to local causes and zero waste philosophy.

For Vinyl Chillout

Hałas ul. Elsterska 10

Divide Hałas into two sections: first, a small chamber selling collectors classic vinyl and coffee sourced from some of Europe’s top roasters. Then, smuggled in the back, discover a Nordic-style living room arrangement that encourages afternoons spent sipping coffee whilst catching up on email.

2023 jazzpopolsku.pl

JASSMINE CLUB

WILCZA 73

THE HOLY TRINITY!

Three essential experiences that say Warsaw in summer…

The Tourist Tram

Running until September, those wishing to see the most Warsaw has to offer have a choice of transport options that will take them past the city’s key attractions. Of these, best-known is the No. 36 tram vintage-style tram that rattles each Saturday and Sunday from Pl. Narutowicza to Metro Marymont. Saved from the Communist era, Jelcz and Ikarus buses are being used to cover Route 100 – running weekends from noon till 6 p.m., stops include Łazienki, the Old Town and the zoo over in Praga. Lastly, three ferries will also operate daily to take people over the river. Costing nothing, departure points include Saska beach, the beach in front of the National Stadium and the area around the fountain park.

Multimedia Fountains

Enjoying its twelfth summer, Warsaw’s multimedia fountain has asserted its claim as one of the city’s biggest summer pulls by announcing a new show to replace ‘the legends of Warsaw’ on which its repertoire has been based these past four years. Instead, this year takes on a Disney theme with shows incorporating Frozen, The Lion King and Moana. Capable of displaying 16 million colours and firing 30,000 litres of water per minute, the 2,850 sq/m fountain complex sees spectacular audio-visual shows take place every Friday and Saturday at 9.30 p.m. Pulling in a million people per year, get there early to stake your place on the grassy embankment that leads down towards the fountains from the New Town.

Chopin Recitals

Since 1959 – the year after the Chopin statue was replaced following its wartime smelting by the Germans – it’s been a Warsaw rite of passage to gather on the lawns around the monument for free Sunday piano recitals. Drawing some of the biggest piano talents in the world, performances take place each Sunday at noon and 4 p.m. Often attracting thousands of viewers to the pretty, rose-fringed gardens of Łazienki Park, it’s vital you add ‘piano in the park’ to any summer bucket list.