World City Guide

Nightlife

Warsaw has hosted dingy to modest bars to outrageous clubs and pubs. Some have closed as quickly as fads change and others have built enough of a reputation to weather the fickle tastes of those on the scene. It’s comforting to know that no matter what your style, Warsaw does have a night spot to suit your needs. The ‘hipper’ places are either truly worth visiting or too full of bravado, velvet ropes and bouncers with no necks. Posing comes in high doses in many places, so be prepared to see lots of well (or barely) dressed women, and men in shirts and shoes. Trainers and jeans are often frowned at, but, once again, it all depends where you go. Big name DJs do make their way to Warsaw, and in the summer, many night spots offer outdoor drinking areas. Non-smokers should be aware that clubs can get particularly fumy.

There are no licensing hours and many bars and clubs stay open until the last guest leaves. The minimum age for purchasing alcohol is 18 years. A beer costs around ZL7-12, while spirits can be anything from ZL12 upwards. Admission to clubs tends to cost between ZL10-40. Door staff often insist that all coats and bags be left in club cloakrooms – for a fee of course.

A good source of information on cafés, pubs and clubs is Warsaw Insider, which has a monthly printed version as well as a website (www.warsawinsider.pl).

Bars: Warsaw offers everything from spit and sawdust drinking dens, right through to ultra hip lounge-style bars with a myriad of cocktails and live DJs. Foksal 19, ulica Foksal 19, is a bit full of itself, but it attracts an appreciative late-20 and 30-something crowd, keen to see and be seen on either of the two floors that it occupies. Dance music on the second floor, cocktails and posing on the first. You can enjoy cocktails in a cool but forgiving atmosphere at Paparazzi, ulica Mazowiecka 12, or focus on wine instead at Vinoteka ‘La Bodega’, ulica Mokotowska 64. For a little less perceived refinement and more of a focus on comraderie and beer, try Lolek, ulica Rokitnicka 20 @Pole Mokotowskie, which features an outdoor grill and live music, or the Cork Irish Pub, aleje Niepodleglosci 19, where the screen TV is almost as important as a pint of Guinness on a sports day.

Casinos: Warsaw’s casinos have a fairly strict dress code of jacket and tie and passports are required – over 18 years only. Many of the major hotels have some type of casino, including the Marriott, aleje Jerozolimskie 65/69, the Hyatt Regency, aleja Belwederska 23, and the Sofitel Victoria, ulica Krolewska 11.

Clubs: As varied as the bar scene, the late night Warsaw clubs cater to the commercial music lovers, kitsch 70s and 80s evenings as well as hard core electronica and trance. For a decent, no-frills retro boogie try Club 70, ulica Walicow 9 (website: www.club70.pl). Wear a pair of flares and don an afro and you’ll be the belle of the dance floor; young, boisterous crowd. ‘Mainstream’ aptly describes Ground Zero, ulica Wspolna 62 (website: www.groundzero.pl), a cavernous space that has hosted a variety of Warsaw club goers for years. The place to find DJs and an edge are at Piekarnia, ulica Mlocinska 11 (website: www.piekarnia.art.pl) and Luztro, aleje Jerozolimskie 6 (website: www.luztro.pl), which is best on weekends and is also gay-friendly. Finally for a mixture of absurd, hip and avant-garde music, performances and clientele, try Le Madame, ulica Kozla 12 (website: www.lemadame.info).

Live Music: When the big names in rock and pop hit town, they often perform at either Gwardia Stadium, ulica Raclawicka 13 or Tor Stegny, ulica Inspektowa 1. The big jazz names tend to be billed in the Sala Kongresowa (bottom of Palace of Culture and Science). For a taste of live music around town on any given night, you might get lucky at Dekada, ulica Grojecka 19/25 (website: www.dekada.pl). It hosts live rock/pop bands in a setting of 1960s and 50s Americana. Jazz, in a more upscale environment can be found at the new Bojangles Club inside the refurbished Polonia Palace Hotel, aleje Jerozolimskie 45. You might get lucky at Harenda, ulica Krakowskie Przedmiescie 4/6 (website: www.harenda.pl) with jazz in the basement. Tygmont, ulica Mazowiecka 6/8 (website: www.tygmont.com.pl) showcases new talent and experimental material and its slightly seedy, cellar bar ambience is the perfect venue for jazz. Fashionable venues for domestic rock and lesser-known foreign bands include nightclubs Stodola, ulica Batorego 10, and the vast Proxima, ulica Zwirki I Wigury 99A.