Little Gliwice is yet another stunning Polish city with a pretty square, a popular football team and some of the best up-and-coming bars and cafés in the Śląsk province of Poland. From retro-style communist bars to cheap shot bars to travel-themed pubs, the town offers an eclectic range of drinking options to all visitors and this list brings together the cream of the crop.
Put simply, Pewex Extra PRL Pub is a really quirky bar housed in a basement right in the town centre of Gliwice. It owes its interior décor to the communist days in Poland, one of the country’s newest PRL bars and has cheap beer and bar snacks. Another thing that stands out about Pewex Extra PRL Pub is it is kind of hidden and looks closed. Yet when you walk down the steps prepare to be amazed at such a throwback to the old times—knick nacks on the walls, a dirt cheap menu, and some cool art. The fact the bar has no windows also gives it that retro feel.
Dom Alchemika is one of the most creative bars in the town. Before you even enter its doors, you are aware that there might be something cool about this venue because the window at the front shows glasses normally vacated by chemicals in some chemistry or biology lab. But here, those glasses are reserved for the best cocktails in town. As well as good cocktails, there are three superb local beers on tap including the popular Piwo Jagodowe (Blueberry Beer). Friendly staff greet you with a smile.
Nowy Gwarek is the clubbing and late night option for those who want to drink, dance, and let their hair down. For these reasons, the club gets packed on Friday and Saturday nights, when top local D.J. pump out good tunes. It’s a stylish venue which also has good lighting and sound systems and a menu which has slightly higher prices than the rest of the bars in town.
With its travel-themed title, this bar takes a leaf from the book of travel writer Ernest Hemingway, and is a favorite of both locals and tourists. The interior design is great, and there is a chance to try the oldest beer in Polish literature (Cieszyńskie Mastne). The walls are adorned with quotes, travel photos, and tributes to Hemingway himself. Its location in Gliwice’s town square also makes Club Hemingway an easy meeting point.
Momo is a swanky and luxury café-come-bar which is actually part of the town square’s famous Ratusz (City Hall). Here at Momo you can enjoy a good coffee, and beer served directly from tanks. The food menu is pricey but worth it for some hearty Polish and Italian options, including tasty pasta dishes, local soups, and traditional Tatar (raw beef appetizer).
Ministerstwo Śledzia i Wódki (The Ministry of Herring and Vodka) is part of a cozy chain of top notch Polish pubs which feature in some of the more unusually visited cities, such as Bydgoszcz and Opole. The best thing about these bars is that they are very cheap—selling beers from four złotych and bar snacks from eight złotych. Aside from the cheap menu, expect a busy bar, where it might be hard to find a seat on weekends, and some classic old-school newspaper cuttings on the walls offering yet more gimmicks and reminders of communist times. It is also open 24 hours, closing only on public holidays.
