7 of the Best Craft Beer Bars in Warsaw For T-Pain to Buy U a Drank

If you had told me that Poland just so happened to be home to over 300 breweries before I embarked on my 3-month stint in the country, I’m not sure I would have believed you. 

As a country geographically and inwardly between Eastern Europe and Central Europe (the latter if you ask a Pole), the stereotype of vodka flowing freely and cheap, canned lagers comparable to the water we’ve come to expect in the U.S. was unfortunately what I anticipated.

I’m sorry Poland–mea culpa. 

Consider this my letter of contrition and a celebration of the 300-plus formidable breweries that make up the country’s robust ethanol ecosystem. It truly is one of the best countries in the world for everything beer (I’m even a fan of ice-cold Żywiec). 

And, no better place represents the strength and variation of this burgeoning booze landscape than the capital – Warsaw. 

Here are 7 of the best craft beer bars in Warsaw that solidified in my rapidly aging mind and body that Warsaw is a true craft beer lover’s paradise. 

Pale Ale Travel Tip: Several beers that remained constant and always on rotation for me during my time in Warsaw were those by Warsaw-based (and surrounding) breweries like (a) Funky Fluid, (b) Magic Road, and (c) Browar Monsters, the former being potentially my most consumed beer while there. So, if you see a beer by either brewery on tap, I implore you to order it!

Before I begin, I filmed two videos (Part 1, Part 2) which cover 6 of the 7 Warsaw craft beer bars on this list – so give these a watch if you’re more of a visual person!

Gorączka Złota

Website, Address, & Details: https://www.facebook.com/GoraczkaZlotaWarsaw/ 

• Location: Wilcza 29, 00-544 Warszawa, Poland 

Polish for ‘gold rush’, Gorączka Złota is exactly that when it comes to everything food and drink. 

What exactly do I mean by that? 

As soon as you stumble into this cozy, local watering hole, with walls plastered with beer caps, dented American license plates, and LED Christmas lights, you know that you’re in for a treat. 

It’s unpretentious, it’s gritty, it’s tradition, and it’s absolutely electric. 

There’s something intriguing about a craft beer bar whose interior looks like it would only serve up Meade and whiskey. 

It’s where locals go to get their craft beer fix. I’d go so far as to say that time stands still when you’re in this revered ‘tavern’, one that traces its roots back nearly 30 years (making it one of the oldest bars in Warsaw).

Boasting a five-tap selection of craft beers that highlight Poland’s nouveau brewers and up-and-comers, Gorączka Złota is where locals and tourists alike both sip unique, bolder flavors – like the nearly 10% Double Milkshake IPA that I threw back in the thick of summer. 

The burger of my dreams.

On top of a mammoth burger (The 7th Heaven Burger) which I wrote about below, you’ll find staples like the classic Ruskie pierogi (my personal favorite), grilled pork tenderloin, a traditional Polish sour soup, halloumi, and even a Reuben sandwich, meaning you’ll be well equipped to throw back some high alcohol percentage brewskies.  

What I especially loved about Gorączka Złota is that it’s a spot that prioritizes relationships and intimacy rather than getting people in and out. I have no doubt they could probably make far more each night if they kept “turning over” tables. But then, it wouldn’t have the reputation it does if you were prohibited from posting up for hours on end with your ride-or-die’s. 

I also may or not have been bestowed with one of their ‘top fan’ badges on Facebook due to the sheer number of posts I like of theirs while trying to relive my glory days of summer. 

Pale Ale Travel Tip: For my full write-up on this gem of a craft beer bar (and underrated burger joint), make sure to check out my post ‘A Warsaw Craft Beer Bar Behind a Burger Thicker Than a Bowl of Oatmeal’. Seriously, this thing is massive and one of the best thick-cut burgers I’ve ever eaten. 

Hopito

Hopito Chmielna branch.

Website, Address, & Details: https://www.instagram.com/hopito_chmielna/ 

• Location: (1) Żurawia 32/34, 00-503 Warszawa, Poland, (2) Chmielna 24, 00-020 Warszawa, Poland

Easily recognizable by its irreverent tongue-out hops mascot, multi-color handwritten tap offerings, Basquiat-esque street art and scribbles, and sectioned-off outdoor seating (Chmielna location), Hopito walks the craft beer walk and talks the craft beer talk in a city where taste rules everything around me.  

With two locations, its Żurawia branch just south of the Centrum, and Chmielna branch smack-dab on one of Warsaw’s most popular tourist streets, both sport noticeably different vibes. 

For example, the Żurawia location is (a) significantly larger, and (b) boasts a more youthful vibe, while the Chmielna location is (a) more relaxed, and (b) where you stop for a beer after slogging out a long day in the office. 

Personally, as a man in his mid-thirties (I think 34 is mid-thirties, right?) I prefer the more relaxed spot – especially since I was solo for all my trips to Hopito. It’s also a bit more intimately spaced than the Żurawia so I didn’t feel so out of place sitting at the bar or a table. 

But there is one commonality that binds the two, over 12+ taps (20 at the Chmielna branch) serving up absolutely scintillating, quirky craft beers, with Hopito’s own creations making up roughly half of its offerings – the Hopito Remix Double IPA and Jazzy Sour (kiwi, apricot, and passionfruit) being my two favorites. 

Funky Fluid’s Ice Cream Sour can also play for me any day of the week.

This was the first craft beer bar I hit up solo after my brother departed Poland, and became a somewhat regular staple in my weekly nightly beer consumption thanks to it nailing every single sour I tried. Further, they had several West Coast and East Coast IPAs on tap (domestically produced) that could (and can) hang with the best of them back home.

Don’t worry, you’ll also find classic lagers and weizen from Czechia (ex. Primator), so it ain’t all salted caramel stouts and 10% triple IPAs. 

Pale Ale Travel Note: For goodness sake, the Żurawia location includes a beer slushy machine, which I think speaks to its youthful vibe/sums up this unrelenting joie de vivre better than I ever could. It’s also home to some of the best Neapolitan pizzas in the city, hand-tossed and cooked in their wood-fired oven. Low-key, craft beer bars serve up some of the most slept-on food. 

JABEERWOCKY Craft Beer Pub

Website, Address, & Details: https://www.jabeerwocky.com/ 

• Location: Nowogrodzka 12, 00-511 Warszawa, Poland

It’s hard not to love the name of this next craft beer pub in Warsaw, as I walk like a jabberwocky scalpin’ a pair of one-way tickets to shadowboxing. I don’t know why but I just had to hit you all with one of my favorite quotes from a top-five rapper for me, Aesop Rock. 

I digress. 

Jabeerwocky is a 17-tap hodgepodge of both international and local craft beers, with what some consider to be the most eclectic (and experimental) yet traditional batch of beers in the city. 

That’s right, you won’t just find a healthy catalog of classic refreshing German pilsners (and hefeweizens), bitter West Coast-style IPAs, and sweet caramel coffee stouts, but more regional offerings as well – like Grodziskie, a low alcohol, high carbonation oak-smoked malt originating from Grodzisk (Central Poland). 

Grodziskie is an acquired taste but as someone who grew up slugging beers every other weekend over a campfire, you could say that I was built for a beer like this. On top of the intense smoke flavor, there’s a bitter bite to it, which makes it possibly the most unique beer I’ve consumed in my beer-drinking tenure. 

Jabeerwocky Brewery, situated roughly 1.5 hours to the southwest of Warsaw’s city center, is the anchor of the beer list, with 4 to 5 of the taps pouring the eponymous brewery’s own – my go-to being their Munich Dunkel, a chocolatey, nutty, deep caramel dark lager which clocks in at a modest 5%. 

Some of my best memories of my one month in Warsaw (and 3 in Poland) are from when I’d post up in their rustic, exposed brick wall taproom (with warm lighting) with a small glass of Grodziskie while watching the Euros. That truly was a time when it felt like all of Europe was on the same page and you could almost walk into any bar across the country (or continent) and make friends with someone (or enemies) while watching a match. 

Finally, I’d be remiss not to mention that the staff at Jabeerwocky were some of the most accessible and knowledgeable who I encountered during my trip, which added to its charm and coziness. 

Pale Ale Travel Tip: If you’re unable to make it to Jabeerwocky’s taproom in Warsaw, or just simply want to double down with this fantastic brewery, don’t worry, they also have a taproom in Łódź! 

PiwPaw Beer Heaven

Website, Address, & Details: https://www.facebook.com/piwpawfoksal/ 

• Location: Foksal 16, 00-372 Warszawa, Poland

If I had to declare any one spot on this list to be the ‘Wonka Factory’ of all craft beer bars in Warsaw, it would be PiwPaw Beer Heaven. It emphatically earns such a title with a sprawling and never-ending bar of roughly 80 taps, pouring an expansive selection of beers from Poland and beyond, including brews from Czechia, Belgium, and Germany. 

Part of the fun at PiwPaw is doing the adult equivalent of ‘gelato’ sampling but with beer, where you sheepishly ask the bartender if you can try a beer. Followed by another. Followed by one more. Eventually, you do have to pony up and buy one. 

Like Gorączka Złota, technicolor bottle cap mosaics make up the bulk of PiwPaw’s interior decoration, which is further accentuated by the Skittles rainbow of barstool covers, along with metallic taps with black handles that gloriously protrude from what looks like the siding of a barn. Oh, and there’s a pinball machine. 

Picture what a Brooklyn hipster’s idea of Nirvana might look like and you’ve found it – sans the insufferable Brooklyn hipsters and regurgitated Neo-Marxist rhetoric that is entirely lost on them and their pursuit of establishing a profitable used-unicycle and jorts empire. 

All taps are clearly labeled so it really just boils down to how long you’re okay scanning the various titles and styles until you just decide you’re going to work your way through as many as you can, so it’s best to just order and get the first one down the gullet. 

The only major thing to note is that the bar itself is a tad difficult to locate as there is no clear signage, so simply look for PiwPaw’s signature ‘peacock’ mascot and logo plastered on the windows of Foksal 16. 

Pale Ale Travel Tip: If you’re planning a trip to Poland, you can find all the content that I’ve published on this incredible country over in my archives here. It also includes a 9-day, 8-night, 3-city itinerary which you can pick up for free when subscribing to my newsletter. 

Hoppiness Beer & Food

Website, Address, & Details: https://www.facebook.com/HoppinessMultitap/ 

• Location: Chmielna 27/31, lok. 76, 00-932 Warszawa, Poland

Next to Kufle i Kapsle (below), Hoppiness Beer & Food was my most patronized craft beer bar in Warsaw. It’s also one of the OGs and most well-known in this cutthroat craft beer game. 

Hoppiness Beer & Food was a regular beer haunt for this Big Body not only because of its 12-tap spread of craft beers but because it ‘ain’t’ lyin’ when it includes the ‘Food’ part in its name – it was the perfect one-stop-shop for everything I wanted and needed after a long day of volunteering for myself (that’s what I called not getting paid while working on my personal projects). 

Think nostalgic and funky Belgian and Czech beers (like Lindemans and Primator), along with a handful of Pracownia Browar staples (the popular parent brewery that powers this multi-tap refuge) and countless Polish breweries (ex. TankBusters, Palatum, Birbant, etc…), coupled with a small but familiar menu of quesadillas, burgers (the Texas Smokehouse being the play), cheese fries, and…wait for it…assorted stuffed bao. 

I was definitely caught by surprise, especially since I live in Asia, after stumbling on pork belly, shrimp, and short rib bao. I like to support anything that also has a belly like myself, so I could be regularly found devouring the crispy pork belly, hoisin sauce, and coleslaw bao (drizzled with wasabi mayo). Yes, you read that right. I ate something with mayonnaise. 

I didn’t even care these had mayo – they were that good (pork belly bao).

If you’ve followed the blog long enough then you know it’s my kryptonite. However, the pungent hit of the wasabi really counteracted the typical fattiness and sweetness of mayonnaise which typically repels me. Also, I didn’t realize it was mayonnaise until my third or fourth time having them. And by then, it was already too late to backpedal. 

The food at Hoppiness is its selling point, as there are a ton of other fantastic craft beer bars in the city as well but very few serve up a comparable food menu to boot. 

The bar and restaurant itself are compact but in a good way. It means that you’ll inevitably strike up a conversation with your neighbor and let the rest be history. It’s a spot where I met several buddies I went out drinking with for subsequent booze sessions and still keep in touch with. 

If the weather’s nice, I definitely recommend posting up in their ‘summer garden’ adjacent to a large flatscreen which is almost certainly showing whatever sporting match is all the rage at the moment. 

Pale Ale Travel Tip: Make sure to check out my post (on my subdomain) breaking down 3 of the best upscale Polish restaurants in Warsaw – including a contender for my favorite restaurant in all of Poland, Soul Kitchen. 

PIĘTRO NIŻEJ 

Website, Address, & Details: https://www.instagram.com/pietro.nizej/ 

• Location: Zielna 39, 00-108 Warszawa, Poland

Nestled in the ‘basement’ of the Warsaw Ghetto Museum, and several minutes’ walk from the Świętokrzyska metro (what I consider to be the “true center” of Warsaw), PIĘTRO NIŻEJ is one-part taproom, one part bottle shop, and one part pizzeria.

I definitely put PIĘTRO NIŻEJ and its selection of beers to work as my second apartment in Warsaw was less than a 3-minute walk from here. 

Like PiwPaw, it isn’t the easiest spot to find and requires you to take that leap of faith and enter a building that appears vacant once it hits 6 PM, but once you make your way down the stairs, the three large glowing beer fridges immediately put you at ease. 

While PIĘTRO NIŻEJ does have anywhere from four to five beers on tap (I think it’s just four), I consider it to be far more of a snug underground bottle shop. Seriously, it’s like one of those Harry Potter assorted jelly bean bags on malt and hops steroids. It also primarily serves up Polish beers, with two of the four taps usually being captained by the esteemed Funky Fluid. 

You really can’t go wrong with whatever you choose, as the fridge is packed tighter than this plump little Big Body was into a turtle neck for his second-grade school photos. 

PIĘTRO NIŻEJ has several rooms, one that is frequently filled with boisterous patrons/locals shouting out answers during quiz nights, jamming along to one of the rotating bands, and/or singing their lungs out on karaoke night. 

I love it because it really reminds me of some of my favorite drinking institutions in Hong Kong – ones where you can let the hair (mullet?) down and belt out a few Mariah classics with your closest friends.

Pale Ale Travel Tip: I’d be remiss not to give a shoutout to Same Krafty and Same Krafty Vis-a-Vis (right across the street from Same Krafty) – two legendary taprooms reviving craft beer and socializing in Warsaw’s Old Town. I didn’t include it on the list, not because it wasn’t a fantastic time and formidable taproom (well…two) but because I only briefly stopped here for 3 beers with my brother after a Chopin concert. I wholeheartedly recommend both and would love to hear from you in the comments if you’ve been to either (or both). 

Kufle i Kapsle

Website, Address, & Details: https://kufleikapsle.pl/ 

• Location: (1) Nowogrodzka 25, 00-511 Warszawa, Poland (my recommended location), (2) Nowy Świat 27, 00-029 Warszawa, Poland, (3) Księdza Jerzego Popiełuszki 21/paw. 1, 01-595 Warszawa, Poland

When I think of the single best beer I drank during my 3 months in Poland, it was at Kufle i Kapsle. That was a Philly Pastry Sour by Browar Stu Mostów. Something I didn’t know Philadelphia was famous for. I asked around and no one else seemed to know that either. I think it might just be for show. 

Whatever the reason, I began singing Hall and Oates ‘Method of Modern Love’ the second I took my first sip. 

It was sweet. It was sour (obviously). It was balanced. And it was oh-so-drinkable (clocking in at just 4.5%). This set the tone of my relationship with Kufle i Kapsle, which quickly became my number one craft beer bar in Warsaw by the total flammable liquid volume consumed. 

There are over 10 years of craft beer history at this Warsaw landmark, whose exposed brick (and slightly dilapidated) interior reminds you of the city’s pre-war days. It also gives off Spanish wine bar and tapas bar vibes as well, which I think perfectly sums up Poland’s vehement entrenchment in ‘Central Europe’. 

It’s difficult to convey just how incredible this Philly Pastry Sour was – especially via a somewhat grainy photo.

On any given night, you’ll find a rowdy mix of both locals and tourists perched near the bar, pointing at what looks like the beer equivalent of a ‘picker wheel’ of 12 rotating taps (and 20 altogether) fixed just behind the bar. 

If you’re unable to land on one of the 12 draft offerings, you should be able to find something that jives with your taste buds from their selection of over 150 bottled beers (which isn’t to be overlooked!). And if you just can’t settle down with a single beer out of that encyclopedia of offerings, then maybe it’s not them, it’s you. 

And maybe this is a metaphor for why you are still single. 

Pale Ale Travel Note: Kufle i Kapsle, like all of the craft beer bars on this list, has a rotating tap list, so there is a high probability the Philly Pastry Sour by Browar Stu Mostów won’t be available if you go. However, you also have about 20 other incredible craft beers to choose from so you shouldn’t be too sad.

Warsaw: an Absolute Craft Beer Mecca

The “pour your own beers” at Fabryka Norblina was humbling, as I realized I really don’t like pouring my own beers nor am I good at it.

If you’re looking for a completely slept-on craft beer scene that is expanding faster than you can say ‘Shama Lama Ding Dong’ (I don’t know why I’m using this phrase), Poland is your place. 

I was blown away by the depth of the country’s beer and alcohol landscape. 

As a New Englander, who loves to remind everyone that a healthy percentage of the breweries behind their favorite craft beers come from my neck of the woods, there were moments in Poland when I was ready to renounce my ‘Live free or die’ card and make the permanent move to Polska. 

For better or worse, depending on if you ask my buddies or my doctor, I’ve tossed back a lot of beer in my days, seen a few places, eaten a lot of food, and drank some more beer. And, in that indulgent, drunken stupor of a journey, there have been few places that compare to Poland in terms of quality EVERYTHING – especially booze. 

If you have any questions about traveling to Poland (specifically Warsaw, Kraków, Gdańsk, or Poznań) such as where to eat or drink, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at info@palealetravel.com. 

Drink well everyone,

Big Body

Bonus: I didn’t include it as a standalone craft beer bar but the multi-purpose food court and event space ‘Fabryka Norblina’ in the heart of Warsaw had a set of DIY craft beer taps that you could pour yourself after topping up a ‘value-added card’. It wasn’t the most efficient way to drink as I am pretty terrible at pouring beers but it was a nice option to have.