In this guide
💡 The Short Version: For craft beer go to Ulica Nowogrodzka in Śródmieście: Kufle i Kapsle (16 taps), Drugie Dno (14 taps, with a gastropub kitchen) and Jabeerwocky (17 taps). For a late-night bar crawl, try the courtyard of Pawilony behind Nowy Świat, with 30 small bars. For cocktails, Weles on Nowogrodzka has an unmarked door. Drinking in public streets is prohibited, except on the Vistula boulevards, and shops may not sell takeaway alcohol between 22:00 and 06:00. Or book a tour: Warsaw Foodie Tour: Food, Drinks and Two Vodka Tastingsad (from 270 PLN, 4.9 stars from 31 reviews) is a 3-hour tasting tour with twelve tastings of local food and Polish drinks, including two vodka tastings.
⚠️ No takeaway alcohol from 22:00 to 06:00. Grocery stores, supermarkets and petrol stations in central Warsaw cannot sell beer, wine or spirits in that window. Drink in a licensed pub garden or on the Vistula promenade, not in the street.
Craft beer multi-tap bars in Warsaw
Polish microbreweries such as Browar Pinta, Trzech Kumpli, AleBrowar, Artezan and Funky Fluid brew hop-forward New England IPAs, pastry sours and historical styles like Piwo Grodziskie (a 100% oak-smoked wheat beer nicknamed “Polish Champagne”):
| Bar / Taproom | Address & District | Taps & Selection | Atmosphere & Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kufle i Kapsle | Nowogrodzka 25, Śródmieście | 16 rotating craft taps + 1 cask engine + bottle cellar | Opened 2013; exposed brick, staff who can talk you through the list |
| Drugie Dno Craft Beer & Gastropub | Nowogrodzka 4, Śródmieście | 14 rotating taps; gastropub kitchen | Industrial two-storey loft; burgers, pizzas, outdoor patio |
| Jabeerwocky Craft Beer Pub | Nowogrodzka 12, Śródmieście | 17 taps (domestic and international guest brews) | Casual pub; British cask ales, Belgian sours, board games |
| Same Krafty & Same Krafty Vis-à-Vis | Nowomiejska 10 & 11/13, Old Town | 20 taps across twin bars facing each other | Craft beer and stone-baked pizza by the Barbican |
| Cuda na Kiju | Nowy Świat 6/12 (former Communist Party HQ) | 16 taps in a glass pavilion | Glass building in the former party courtyard; thin-crust pizza |
| Kufle i Kapsle Żoliborz | Popiełuszki 19/21, Żoliborz | 12 rotating taps + garden | Neighbourhood taproom in a residential quarter, away from the centre |
Pawilony Nowy Świat. Photo: Adrian Grycuk, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl.
Piwna Street, Old Town. Photo: Simon Burchell, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Tours and nightlife tasting experiences
Guided tastings of Polish vodka and food:
Warsaw Foodie Tour: Food, Drinks and Two Vodka Tastings
From 270 PLN · 4.9 stars from 31 reviews · 3 hours · food, drinks and two vodka tastings
Warsaw Foodie Tour: Food, Drinks and Two Vodka Tastingsad: a three-hour tour with twelve tastings of local food, paired with Polish drinks and two vodka tastings.
Warsaw: Polish Vodka Museum Tour with Tasting
From 80 PLN · 4.6 stars from 1,145 reviews · 1.5 hours · tasting at the Vodka Museum
Warsaw: Polish Vodka Museum Tour with Tastingad: a guided tour of the Polish Vodka Museum in Praga, with four interactive galleries and a tasting.
Warsaw: 2-Hour Praga Walking Tour
From 259 PLN · 4.6 stars from 22 reviews · 2 hours · communist-era blocks and post-industrial zones
Warsaw: 2-Hour Praga Walking Tourad: a walk through the Praga district, covering communist-era apartment blocks and post-industrial zones.
Bar types and when to go
| Type of bar | What they serve | Best time to arrive |
|---|---|---|
| Craft beer multi-tap | 500 ml draught IPAs, Baltic porters, Grodziskie, sours | 18:00 – 21:00, while the full tap list is on |
| Pawilony bars | Draught lagers, cider, flavoured vodka shots (hazelnut, quince) | 21:00 – 02:00, when it fills with students |
| Cocktail speakeasy | Cocktails, mezcal, smoked bourbon | 20:00 – 01:00 (book at weekends) |
| Shot bar (Pijalnia Wódki i Piwa) | Retro Communist-style bar; 40 ml vodka shots, marinated herring | Late night (open until 04:00 or 06:00) |
| Vodka tasting | Guided flights of potato and rye vodkas | Afternoon or early evening; book ahead |
Hala Mirowska at night. Photo: Panek, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Nightlife districts and hidden bar quarters
Beyond Nowogrodzka, the bars cluster in three places:
1. Pawilony Nowy Świat (Nowy Świat 22/28)
A two-storey enclave of roughly 30 micro-bars in former 19th-century artisans’ workshops behind the neoclassical facades of Nowy Świat. Passageways lead into an open courtyard. Each pavilion is just 15 to 20 square metres, with themes such as rock bars, cider taverns, retro board-game dens and shot bars.
2. Speakeasies and cocktail lounges
- Weles (Nowogrodzka 11): Behind an unmarked wooden door. The dim room has a domed ceiling built like the hull of a wooden boat, and antique brass chandeliers.
- The Roots Art & Cocktail Bar (Wierzbowa 11): Near the Grand Theatre; classic cocktail recipes alongside modern ones made with Polish herbs.
- Aura Bar (Hoża 27): Moroccan rugs, and a menu of bourbon, highballs and mezcal.
3. Plac Zbawiciela (“Hipster Square”)
In southern Śródmieście around the Church of the Holiest Saviour. The colonnaded arcades hold:
- Plan B: A counter-culture bar with a pavement terrace, busy with local creatives and students drinking craft beer and cider.
- Charlotte: A French-style bistro bar known for sourdough, wine carafes and people-watching late into the evening.
Polish beer styles to order
- Baltic porter: A bottom-fermented dark beer brewed with roasted malts, tasting of dark chocolate, espresso, dried prunes and caramel (typically 8.5% to 10% ABV). Try Pinta’s Imperator Bałtycki or Komes Porter.
- Piwo Grodziskie: A historical Polish style from Grodzisk Wielkopolski, dating to the 14th century. Brewed with 100% oak-smoked wheat malt, it is pale, fizzy and low in alcohol (around 3.1% ABV), with a faint campfire smoke.
- Polish hops (Polskie Chmiele): Look for craft IPAs brewed with new Polish hop varieties developed in Lublin, such as Lubelski, Marynka, Amora Preta and Zula, which taste of apricot, melon and floral resin.
What to see next
- Where to Eat in Warsaw: Milk bars, dumplings in jars, and modern food halls.
- Praga District and Polish Vodka Museum: Vodka museum tours and east-bank taverns.
- Is Warsaw Safe?: Emergency numbers, licensed taxis and nightclub promoter scams.
- Where to stay in Warsaw: Hotels within walking distance of Nowogrodzka.
- Warsaw in 1 or 2 days: Fitting an evening bar crawl into a weekend.
- Warsaw travel guide: Sights, transport, food and hotels.
Common questions
Where is the best street for craft beer in Warsaw?
Ulica Nowogrodzka in central Śródmieście has several multi-tap taprooms within about 200 metres: Kufle i Kapsle (16 rotating taps), Drugie Dno (14 taps over two industrial floors), and Jabeerwocky Craft Beer Pub (17 taps).
What is Pawilony Nowy Świat?
Pawilony is an enclosed courtyard of roughly 30 tiny independent bars behind Nowy Świat 22/28.
What are the rules regarding public drinking in Warsaw?
Legal exceptions apply only inside licensed outdoor restaurant gardens and along the designated public drinking corridor of the Vistula River Boulevards (Bulwary Wiślane).
Can I buy takeaway alcohol in shops late at night?
In many central Warsaw districts, municipal regulations ban the retail sale of alcohol for off-premise consumption (in grocery stores, Żabka shops, and petrol stations) between 22:00 and 06:00. This ban does not apply to bars, pubs, or restaurants serving drinks on site.
