The 10 Best Bars In Warsaw, Poland

An architectural relic repurposed for modern times, Warszawa Powiśle is a bar that occupies what was once a Soviet-era ticket office. Its modernist façade and free-flowing alcohol quickly gained it cult status in Warsaw, and it is known as a meeting-place for the city’s young and hip population. The bar’s clientele can be seen attending the regular artistic and cultural events that are held here. The terrace immediately in front of the building is often utilized for outdoor concerts.

Contrary to what its name suggests, Plan B is one of the most popular bars in the city and is many Warsaw residents’ first choice for a night out. The place is popular with students for its stripped-back décor and cheap methods of intoxication, the emphasis here is on having as good a time as possible. Customers congregate here for the frequent concerts and DJ nights, jovial atmosphere, and free WiFi. Plan B’s staff also often raise funds for humanitarian efforts through their events.

This award-winning venue was the first whiskey and cocktail bar with live music in Poland. Syreni Śpiew boasts an exquisitely sleek and elegant design that features mosaics throughout the building, which has one floor each evening dedicated to a live band and one to a DJ. It is situated in Warsaw’s Marszałka Edwarda Rydza-Śmigłego Park, an exquisite setting with views of foliage through its windows rather than cityscapes. Customers can enjoy more than 100 types of whiskies and over 40 classic cocktails while listening to dance, soul, electronica, R&B, and hip-hop. Warsaw cityscape | © Simon Winch/Flickr

The luxurious Panorama Bar & Lounge is located on the 40th floor of the 5-star Warsaw Marriott Hotel, making it the highest bar in Poland. In addition to the stunning views of the city that are granted from this vantage point, skilled bartenders show their expertise here in the creation of craft cocktails, while DJs supply the music and a range of delectable bar snacks are offered. A mezzanine holds a designer lounge filled with plush furnishings and sumptuous sofas.

Paparazzi is often used as a stopping-off point by Warsaw clubbers before they head off to their final destination of the evening, and as such the bar is set up more for drinking than dancing. They also have a fairly diverse food menu of pasta, pizzas, salads, sandwiches, burritos, bruschetta, and nachos, among other things. Cocktails are the specialty here though, there are so many they need to be put into categories. Try a Dark & Stormy from the ‘Latin Station’, an Orient Express from ‘Fruit Flavas’, or a Pornstar Martini from ‘Martini World’.

As the only bar in Poland to serve Kraken Black Spiced Rum, Kraken Rum Bar has an appropriately maritime aesthetic. Wooden cladding lines the walls and driftwood is used for tables. Surf rock is frequently heard coming out of the loudspeakers here and they also serve an array of seafood dishes, including shrimp, squid, octopus, cuttlefish, and mussels. As well as beers, spirits, and cocktails, there are plenty of other rum choices for those who don’t wish to be dragged down into the briny depths by the Kraken.

This vodka bar offers an extensive selection of top-shelf spirits. They distinguish themselves from other more run-of-the-mill bars by infusing their vodkas with fruit, spices, and other ingredients. The flavors range from coconut, raspberry, and honey to the more unusual dandelion and bison grass. Cocktails are also made to order by the bartenders here, who are happy to concoct a drink according to your own personal tastes. Those with a weaker stomach can sip a cup of coffee or a mug of tea, or sample one of Klar’s delicious toasted sandwiches, wraps, or quesadillas.

Housed in what was once the headquarters of Poland’s Communist Party and spread across three floors with another three outdoor seating areas, Cuda na Kiju is a multi-tap bar with 16 rotating beers on draft, plus an impressive bottled selection. The beers are sourced mostly from microbreweries in Poland, like Browar Artezan and Browar Pinta, but guest brews from across Europe also feature. With IPAs, stouts, bitters, American amber ales, lagers, wheat beers, and many more, this pub is a welcome addition to Warsaw’s craft beer scene.

The unique setting and atmosphere of W Oparach Absurdu is intended to evoke that of Krakow’s bohemian Kazimierz district, a place where the bar’s proprietor, an actress and sculptor by trade, spent time during her studies. Antique armchairs, carpets, and lampshades are dotted around, murals cover the walls, the lighting is dim, and obscure figurines stand atop the bar that serves a bevy of different spirits as well as beer from Poland, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic. The ambiance is such that you wouldn’t be surprised to find a disheveled fortune-teller huddled in the corner asking to read your palm.