WROCŁAW - In Your Pocket

54 NIGHTLIFE
Breweries
Bierhalle A-3, Rynek Ratusz 24-27, tel. (+48) 601 67
74 52, www.bierhalle.pl. In a battle with Spiż for best local
microbrewery, do your drinking under the parasols of their
prime Rynek real estate during the sunny season, retreating
into the restaurant during those six months of the year when
wilful impairment is forced indoors. Continuing Wrocław’s
long brewing tradition, this outfit does it all on-site and a
lot better than the neighbours with wheat, pilsner and dark
beers among those on draft. Prices are aimed at German
tourists, and lager lovers that they are you’ll find plenty
of them happy to pay for the privilege of a good ale. If it’s
game day, you’ll find Bierhalle’s plethora of teles to be your
best bet for catching the match. Q Open 11:00 - 24:00, Fri
11:00 - 01:00, Sat 10:00 - 01:00, Sun 10:00 - 24:00. From
November open 11:00 - 24:00. PAGBW
Spiż Brewery A-3, Rynek Ratusz 2, tel. (+48) 71
344 72 25, www.spiz.pl. After losing some ground in
the Breslau best beer debate to Bierhalle, Spiż seems
to have picked up the slack by unveiling a few new brews
which combined with their caramel and honey beers,
should be enough to convince your ladyfriend to give
it a go. With seven unpasteurised, unfiltered brews in
total, you should find something to your taste, though
beer enthusiasts are a bit split about the quality. Though
the staff are often engaged in open hostilities with the
patrons, a free table in the summer beer garden is still
a rarity, while an Oktoberfest atmosphere prevails in
the dark cellars of the Town Hall. Spiż is still considered
a must-visit by locals and remains perhaps Wrocław’s
most recognisable bar. QOpen 10:00 - 02:00, Mon, Sun
10:00 - 24:00, Fri, Sat 10:00 - 03:00. PJABXW
Jazz Clubs
Collosseum Jazz Caffe B-4, ul. Piotra Skargi
18a, tel. (+48) 781 55 92 22, www.jazzcaffe.com.
pl. Located underground beneath the haunting (and we
had thought abandoned) arcades of Partisan Hill, this
long, narrow, crescent-shaped bar is as unique a venue
as you’ll find anywhere. Suitably classy for the historical
space it occupies, the brick interior comprises several
booths, a long bar and a small stage at the far end where
local jazzsmiths perform on Fridays and Saturdays (and
sometimes Wednesdays). While often packed during
performances, you’ll have your run of the place when the
stage is empty and with daily food specials, Czech Primator
on draught, microbrews in the fridge and an absolute
peach running the place, we wouldn’t mind. A great venue
waiting to be discovered. QOpen 14:00 - 24:00, Fri, Sat
14:00 - 04:00. PAUEGBW
Ragtime A-3, Pl. Solny 17, tel. (+48) 71 343 37 01,
www.ragtimecafe.pl. In the years we’ve been visiting
Ragtime not much has changed, only a few more grey
hairs on the patrons. This is an engaging endeavour that
refuses to follow fashions and as such has a charismatic
personality of its own. Vermillion walls are home to all
manner of visual diversions, from framed pics of jazz
gods to a collection of musical instruments. A wrought
iron mezzanine level allows the opportunity to admire
all the clutter and the regular Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday live jazz nights are not to be missed and are free
to enter. QOpen 11:00 - 24:00, Fri, Sat 11:00 - 01:00,
Sun 12:00 - 24:00. PJAEBXW
Mleczarnia E-4, ul. Włodkowica 5, tel. (+48) 71 788
24 48, www.mle.pl. We’ve been mainstays at this dusky,
back-street, candlelit pub since our first days in town. Hidden
in an enchanting courtyard with the White Stork Synagogue
and a glorious oak tree, the summer beer garden is fantastic,
while the sepia interior of wobbly furnishings and framed
sketches captures an ethereal, nostalgic atmosphere better
than anywhere else in Wroc’s former Jewish district. A
bohemian mix of local academics, hipsters and hostelers
drink through the debate topics of the day while an excellent
mix of ethnic and indy music (always played at just the
right level) drifts through the air. Honestly, Mleczarnia is the
kind of place we could live in, and some regulars appear to
actually do so. With a hostel upstairs, you can too. QOpen
08:00 - 04:00. JAEBXW
Niebo E-4, ul. Ruska 51 (Pasaż Niepolda), tel. (+48) 71
342 98 67, www.niebocafe.pl. As long as you keep drinking,
Niebo will stay open, and this has become an after-hours
cult classic packed with students obliterating scholarships
well after dawn; when one drops off there’s three more to
replace them. A long, dog-eared, scarlet and blue bar full of
random art photos and oddities, Niebo is the start and finish
point for many Ruska pub crawls, so you’ll have to step over
a few casualties on your way to the dancefloor, pumping your
fist to the classic rock and 90s anthems. With Guinness on
tap for 16zł, you don’t really need to do much better than
this. QOpen 13:00 - 05:00, Mon 17:00 - 05:00, Fri, Sat
13:00 - 08:00. PJAUEBXW
Niskie Łąki E-4, ul. Ruska 46c, tel. (+48) 515 61 99
40. Work your way deeper and deeper into a certain Ruska
rabbithole/courtyard and you may notice the door to this
windowless underground counter-culture centre in the midst
of all the graffiti art. An anchor of Wrocław’s alternative scene
following the mantra “Love Music, Hate Racism,” Niskie Łąki
is full of colourful stockings and DIY haircuts with randomly
painted tables and walls, avant-garde art exercises including
roses pinned to the ceiling and an enormous glowing Mickey
Mouse behind the bar. The actual barman, meanwhile, can be
found carousing with his friends, so let someone know if you
need a drink. Here it’s all about music as much as attitude,
with new wave, punk, alternative and indy rock getting airtime,
as well as occassional live concerts, film screenings and
other happenings. Recommended. QOpen 18:00 - 02:00,
Fri, Sat 18:00 - 05:00. AEGBW
Paparazzi F-4, ul. Rzeźnicza 32/33, tel. (+48) 71 341
04 85, www.paparazzi.com.pl. Find a hyper cool crowd
of platinum airheads and local hotshots dressed in collars
and cufflinks in one of the best bars in the city. A rectangular
bar is the centerpiece from which black clad hipsters mix
cocktails with fatal precision, though any headache the
next day is just as likely to be the doing of the steel column
positioned right outside the gents; you have been warned.
Grand colonnades support the ceiling, black and white prints
of film icons cling to the walls and sexy music pipes in the
distance; this is designer drinking exactly the way it should be.
QOpen 12:00 - 01:00, Fri 12:00 - 02:00, Sat 16:00 - 02:00,
Sun 16:00 - 01:00. PJAUBXW
Pociąg A-5, ul. Bogusławskiego 77, tel. (+48) 500
18 81 60. This Bogusławskiego veteran isn’t dissimilar
from the area’s other winners, following (or inaugurating,
perhaps) the general formula of candlelight, unplayable
instruments, rickety repossessed furnishings and a divey
saloon atmosphere aided by the card table on the ceiling and
a few revolvers about in case you feel the urge to challenge
someone’s honour. Named ‘Pociąg’ (Train) after the carriages
rumbling overhead, the excellent, eclectic soundtrack jumps
Wrocław In Your Pocket wroclaw.inyourpocket.com
from Tom Petty to the Coasters to Triplets of Belleville without
missing a beat as the crowd of bohemian savants sip Czech
Litovel and Holba beers on draught. Catch that train. QOpen
12:00 - 01:00. AGB
Pod Papugami A-3, ul. Sukiennice 9a, tel. (+48) 71
343 92 75, www.podpapugami.com.pl. Packed with
wasp-waisted blondes Pod Papugami still manages to rate
as one of the top drinkeries in town. Squeeze among the local
stars to knock down complicated cocktails amid film reels,
projectors and vintage movie memorabilia. Live music most
nights, and the performances are usually very good indeed.
QOpen 11:00 - 24:00, Mon, Sun 12:00 - 24:00, Fri 11:00 -
01:00, Sat 12:00 - 01:00. JAEGBW
Pub Pod Zielonym Kogutem A-4, Pl. Teatralny 8, tel.
(+48) 71 342 01 87, www.zielonykogut.pl. A bit difficult
to describe, this one, but highly likable and easily the best
bar in the vicinity of the Opera House. A large, high-ceilinged
room, Under the Green Rooster is designed to look like it’s
outside with faux-windows set high in the walls as diners
and drinkers enjoy draught Murphy’s, cheap pizzas and
grilled ribs under unnecessary parasols and streetlamps.
Cluttered with a vast collection of antique knick-knacks (and
that conspicuous cock over the bar), an easy pub atmosphere
is effected; so easy it would seem, that the service excuses
itself for disappearing routinely. QOpen 15:00 - 24:00, Fri
15:00 - 02:00, Sat 15:00 - 03:00. PABXW
Salvador A-3, Pl. Solny 16 (entrance from ul. Szajnochy),
tel. (+48) 784 35 73 68, www.salvador.pl. Basement bar
just off Pl. Solny featuring dark scarlet corners, low level seating
and wild parties that only conclude after several students
have attempted to pull drunken dance moves on the tables.
Living up to its title there’s plenty of Dali associated weirdness
on the walls, with sometimes profane photography and other
random acts of art. QOpen 12:00 - 04:00, Fri 12:00 - 05:00,
Sat 17:00 - 05:00, Sun 17:00 - 03:00. PABXW
Schody Donikąd (Stairs to Nowhere) A-3, Pl. Solny
13, tel. (+48) 71 341 84 55, www.schodydonikad.pl.
An enormous bohemian hangout in what must have once
been quite an immaculate private residence, Schody Donikąd
has restored it to a sort of absinthe-infused grandeur with
frilly bell-shaped lampshades laying down the lowlight, mismatching
antique furnishings you wouldn’t want to spill a drink
on, oriental rugs, ornate chandeliers, a couple of columns and
the glorious woodwork of the original staircase and balustrades;
if you like Graciarnia, you may have a new fave here.
With live music nights, a regular playlist of sophisticated,
seldom heard 70s R&B and jazzy 80s hip-hop, unpasteurised
Tyskie on draught and an admirable cocktail list, this one’s
a winner out of the gates and highly recommended. QOpen
14:00 - 02:00, Fri, Sat 14:00 - 05:00. PAEGBW
Speakeasy A-3, Rynek Główny 8, tel. (+48) 510 22
23 33, www.speakeasy.com.pl. An unusual venue, and
less like a swinging Prohibition-era nightclub than a discreet
back-door social club, this dim grey bar has an oddly industrial
interior decorated with Godfather quotes and Al Capone’s
death certificate, as well as a screen showing Eliot Ness-era
film reels. Doubling as a bookshop selling crime and mystery
novels (including used English language tomes for 10zł),
Speakeasy’s drink list is heavy on whiskey and bourbon and
wins points by starting off with the ‘Old Fashioned.’ The music,
however, is nothing more than smooth contemporary jazz.
Devoid of kitsch, but inconsistent in execution, as a theme bar
it fails, succeeding instead as a curious place for a quiet drink
with a date. Perfectly likable while being a letdown. QOpen
09:00 - 24:00, Fri, Sat 09:00 - 02:00. AEGBW
wroclaw.inyourpocket.com
Live Music
NIGHTLIFE
Wrocław boasts a great and growing music scene that
is probably the best in southern Poland. Well positioned
between Warsaw, Prague and Berlin, Wrocław has become
a favoured destination for touring international artists, with
Centennial Hall hosting large-scale music events for
almost a hundred years now. The city is home to dozens
of local artists who perform regularly in its bars and clubs,
and we’ve listed the surest bets for catching a live performance
below. In addition to the city’s jazz clubs (which
we’ve given a separate section to) and those listed here,
other great live music venues that are worthy of investigation
include Puzzle Klub, Kultowa, Pod Papugami and
Nietota. To find out what specific concerts are happening
when you’re in town, check our Events calendar.
Alive E-5, ul. Kolejowa 12, tel. (+48) 519 89 47
69, www.alive.wroclaw.pl. One of Wrocław’s primary
live venues, nightly acts range from punk and hardcore
to alternative rock, with roots reggae and regular jam
sessions in between. Full of bottles, beer ads, band
photos and the local leather brethren all crammed into
two vaulted rooms under the train tressle across from
Zieliński Market, Alive is as intimate and authentic as they
come, and with many of the gigs free, it’s worth a try on
an otherwise aimless night. QOpen 13:00 - 01:00, Thu
13:00 - 03:00, Fri 13:00 - 04:00, Sat 14:00 - 04:00, Sun
14:00 - 24:00. PAEGBW
Eter Club A-3, ul. Kazimierza Wielkiego 19, tel.
(+48) 797 33 96 68, www.eterclub.pl. If you’re sick
of brick cellars, head to this thoroughly modern marvel for
a lesson in grand dance-club design. One of the city’s top
venues, Eter (Ether in English) looks the part with dazzling
professional lighting and an incredible sound system - put
to good use while hosting some of Wrocław’s best concerts
and events. Spread over two underground levels
with five bars, chill out on the splendid upstairs mezzanine
overlooking the stage/dance-floor sofas before heading
down into dance-floor carnage with an unpretentious
crowd determined to take full advantage of the weekend.
Open on weekends and during special events, check their
website to see what’s on. QOpen 21:00 - 06:00. Closed
Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Sun. PAUEXW
Firlej E-5, ul. Grabiszyńska 56, tel. (+48) 71 795
66 67, www.firlej.wroc.pl. One of Wrocław’s best
kept secrets. In The Know art students and wannabe
playwrights fill this top-notch venue during legendary
live shows. The interiors won’t inspire flights of artistic
creativity - you’ll find many hotel bars with more daring
decorations - but the atmosphere is electric. If you get the
opportunity don’t hesitate to catch a show in Wrocław’s
best concert venue. Q Open only during concerts. Check
their website to see what’s on. PEGW
Od Zmierzchu Do Świtu A-3, ul. Krupnicza 15
(Hala Gwardii), tel. (+48) 71 796 30 76, www.
odzmierzchudoswitu.pl. A superb vaulted venue with
motorbikes standing behind the bar, and even a car
chassis bursting from one of the walls. This labyrinthine
complex has no problem with atmosphere, least not
when its brick rooms crowd out for their live music
concerts, which range from young local acts Weds) to
wild rock nights and blues bandstands lapped up by
beret-wearing music fans. QOpen 18:00 - 06:00, Tue,
Wed 18:00 - 02:00. Closed Mon, Sun. PEBXW
September - December 2012
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