By going downhill on the beautiful Tamka Street you’ll quickly reach Powiśle. If you’re just passing by and can’t afford to check out more than one place at Powiśle, Solec 44 is a must-see. It offers a perfectly relaxed atmosphere, experimental cuisine and unique beverages, as well as the broadest variety of board games – a perfect place for late-night talks.
If you have an hour or two to spare, stay a bit longer and visit the area enclosed within Sowia, Radna, Browarna and Lipowa streets.
This small area has some of the Powiśle's best spots. We strongly recommend SAM (fusion cuisine), Veg Deli (the best veggie restaurant in Warsaw?) and Dziurka od Klucza (great home-made pasta). If you want to rest on a lounger, you can pop in Kafka located a few steps away, a nice and spacious café on the steep Oboźna street. During the summer they deploy blankets, loungers and little tables on the neighbouring lawn, making it a perfect place to chill out and get some sun.
Another venue in Powiśle that is worth popping into is a whiskey and cocktail bar – Syreni Śpiew (Siren Song). The interior design is the best part of it. It is truly captivating, mixing aesthetics from the 1960s with sophisticated elegance. If you are craving a taste of Warsaw's high life you shouldn't miss it. If you want to spend time in a relaxed and casual atmosphere, it's probably not the place for you.
The right side of the river: Praga
Praga remains terra incognita for most people from the left part of the city. Even though the district is undergoing an intense process of revitalisation and is being willingly inhabited by artists and all kind of adventurers, its huge size and number of places to visit may seem quite overwhelming.
To start, go to Soho Factory. It is a resurrected post-industrial zone, now home to art galleries, boutique designers and stylists, restaurants, food and fashion markets, and lofts. The idea the founders of Soho Factory had was to create a space that would evoke the atmosphere of the New York SoHo and so far, it is working surprisingly well. There are a lot of things to explore, just like the one and only Neon Museum (an absolute must-see, Warsaw has been long famous for its outstanding neons and now you can see almost all of them in one place), Warsaw Cut– one of a very few barber shops in the town or Warsaw Adventure – a company that gives time-travelling tours around Warsaw, showing you relics of Communist Poland.
In Praga, places where interesting things happen are usually grouped together – like islands of culture in a sea of dreary apartment blocks and scruffy streets. One of these oases can be found at 11 Listopada Street where, behind gate no. 22, you will find no less than three decent music clubs: Hydrozagadka (A title of a popular Polish movie), Skład Butelek (Bottle's Store), and Chmury (Clouds).
Similarly, you can stroll along Ząbkowska and discover one of the following: Łysy Pingwin (Bald Penguin), W Oparach Absurdu (In the Fumes of Absurdity), Mucha Nie Siada (the name goes beyond translation, it literally means that ‘a fly wouldn’t sit on it’ and means that it is so good and elegant that a fly wouldn’t dare to sit on it) or the antique-furnished Caffee&Bistro Galeria Sztuki.
Famous courtyard no. 22, 11 listopada street.
Back on the bright side: downtown
Back on the bright side: Downtown
After coming back to the left side of Warsaw, you will probably end up on Charles de Gaulle roundabout (that one with a palm tree in the middle). Nearby, you will find Zamieszanie and Cuda na Kiju, two of the most interesting cocktail bars in this part of Europe, located in the refurbished stairway of the former headquarters of the (now vanished) communist party.
On the other side of the touristy Nowy Świat, you can (preferably late at night) lurk in Pawilony, where you will not find much culture but you can test some local beers and enjoy the darker side of the city. Whatever happens in Pawilony stays in Pawilony so if you wish to have an adventurous night full of unexpected events and acquaintances give it a chance, at your own risk.
Before you reach the final destination – the hipster Olympus (details are soon to be revealed) – seize the opportunity to fill up your stomach at Poznańska Street, which is in the very centre of city centre but still has a backstreet vibe. You’ll find a few great, affordably priced restaurants there. Our recommendations are: Leniviec, Tel Aviv (gluten-free Israeli dishes and more) and Kraken & Beirut. The latter comprises two separate restaurants, one offering delicious Middle Eastern food; the other is one of the best places for seafood and rum.
If you are in a hurry and are craving a takeaway, go straight to Krowarzywa – the best place to have a delicious eco-friendly vegan burger. Krowarzywa’s burgers are tasty, huge, healthy, and reasonably priced. Once you are full, look for Mokotowska Street to do some window-shopping on your way to…
Walk straight ahead to reach Plac Zbawiciela
Olympus!
So now, once you made a tour of Warsaw you are eligible for the honour of climbing the Hipster Mount Olympus – Plac Zbawiciela (Saviour Square). Here, on the edges of the roundabout where the famous and controversial rainbow stood until 2015, you will find the cornerstone of the hipster scene – Plan B. It is not clear why it all started here, and of course, many claim that it started elsewhere, but it is an undeniable fact that Plan B was a driving force behind big changes in Plac Zbawiciela, which was not a very attractive destination a few years ago. The New York Times confirmed the status of this place by shooting its reportage about Warsaw’s hipsters here.
Soon after Plan B’s success, several other venues sprung up here and Plac Zbawiciela got its nickname: Plac Hipstera (Hipster’s Square). What else do we have here? Next door to Plan B is a café/bakery, Bistro Charlotte, (with more of a posh ambiance). On the other side of the roundabout there are oriental restaurants – Que Huong and tuk tuk, along with the French Bastylia and many more places to discover.
Plac Zbawiciela / Plac Hipstera
So that is your hipster guide to Warsaw. Put on your vintage clothes, grab your iPhone, launch Instagram and explore the city. Or maybe listen to this song before you go…
Dr.Misio Lyrics: Krzysztof Varga. Music: Dr Misio
Na Placu Zbawiciela // On the Saviour Square
Zbawiciela w Warszawie // The Saviour’s, in Warsaw
Są takie fajne knajpy // The venues are so cool
I ja też strasznie chciałbym być fajny // And I’m trying to be as cool so hard
Kupuje wszystkie ciuchy // I buy all of my clothes
Tylko w second handzie// Exclusively in second hand shop
I oczywiście tylko w Berlinie // in Berlin obviously
Gdzie nabywam też stare vinyle //where I buy vintage vinyls
Jestem za gruby na hipstera // But I am too fat to be a hipster
A niech to jasna cholera! // Bloody hell!
I kocham Teatr Rozmaitości // And I love Teatr Rozmaitości
I wszystko co zrobił Krzysztof Warlikowski // And all the works of Krzysztof Warlikowski
Lubię offowe gallerie // I am keen on off - galleries
Sztukę, gender i queer // Art, gender and queer
Kilkam fotki na flikrze // I snap photos on Flickr
I książki wszystkie znam Żiżka // I know all the book by Żiżek
Jestem za gruby na hipstera// But I am too fat to be a hipster
A niech to jasna cholera // Bloody hell,
I kocham Teatr Rozmaitości // And I love Teatr Rozmaitości
I wszystko co zrobił Krzysztof Warlikowski // And all the works of Krzysztof Warlikowski