Introduction
	Index Lublin Pubs Kraków (Krakau) Pubs Warsaw Pubs Polish Beer Polish Breweries
Having had a slightly more fortunate war than many other cities, Lublin has the second largest old town, after Kraków, in Poland. In the years since the war it has been rather neglected, but happily it is now being thoroughly, if somewhat slowly, restored. The loss of Poland's more eastern territories, particularly the city of Lwow, caused Lublin to greatly increase in size after the war. This has left the relatively small old town and pre-20th Century parts of town encircled by the type of horrible low- and highrise flats which were thrown up everywhere in Europe in the 50's and 60's Lublin Breweries There used to be two breweries in Lublin, rather romantically called Brewery No. 1 and Brewery No. 2. Both were owned by the same company so - what a surprise - the decision was yaken to close one. Brewery No. 2 stopped brewing in 2001, though it is still home to the company's head office. The Bernadynskie brand, which was used for the beers from Brewery No. 2 has been dropped. The Perla ('Pearl') name, formerly used by Brewery No. 1 is now used for all the beers. Oddly, the Perla beers are difficult to find on draught in Lublin. I only found two outlets with them and one of those was the brewery tap. It seems that most pubs prefer to take their draught beers from the better-known or more aggressively commercial breweries. A shame, as there is nothing at all wrong with the local beers. Lublin Pubs Before 1990 there weren't really any pubs at all to speak of in Lublin. Draught beer was non-existent and there was only the odd hotel bar where you could even drink bottled beer. Thankfully, in the last few years a good number have sprung up and new ones are continuing to appear. Often strange outbuildings or cellars are used, which presumably have little use for anything else. All very efficient use of space, I'm sure, but it does mean that a pub with an entrance on the street or natural daylight inside is a bit of a rarity.

Lopez
Ul. Chopina 18, Lublin. Tel. 282 94
Opening hours: Mon - Sun: 12:00-24:00
Number of draught beers: 4
Number of bottled beers: 15
Regular draught beers: Hevelius Heineken pils (5%) Grolsch pils (5%) Murphy's Stout
Food: None.
This pub has a slightly odd interior: the bar and all the furniture being mat black. Darkness is a very popular theme in Polish pub design, so I shouldn't really be surprised by this. It's a pretty small place, consisting of a single room, but with a decent range of beer for its size. The only problem is that the list contains only one Polish beer. I'm not quite sure what all the umbrellas hanging from the ceiling are supposed to mean and the abundance of old Guinness posters is even more confusing given that the stout they have is Murphy's. Overall, a little bland, but bearable.
Rating: **	Public transport:

Zloty Osiol
Ul. Grodzka 5A, 20-112 Lublin. Tel. 081 - 532 9042
Opening hours: Mon - Sun: 12:00-23:00
Number of draught beers: 3
Number of bottled beers: 25
Regular draught beers: Hevelius Zywiec Zywiec Porter
Food: Snacks, meals.
Hidden at the back of a building in the old town, this place can be difficult to find but is well worth the trouble. All that is to be seen on the street is a sign above a doorway. Go through it and you have a fair walk before you come to the entrance to the pub itself, in a galleried inner courtyard. Once inside, it may take a while to get your bearings as it's lit exclusively by candlelight. Very atmospheric, but a shock when it's bright sunlight outside. Eventually you will see two rooms, one with a vaulted ceiling and bizarre murals, the other with a beamed ceiling. A beautiful interior with Polish food of the same standard. Add a good beer list and you have a real winner. If you're wondering, the name means "Golden Donkey".
Rating: *****	Public transport:

Pod Papugami
Krakowskie Przedmiescie Lublin Tel.
Opening hours: Mon - Sun: 11:00-01:00
Number of draught beers: 1
Number of bottled beers: 17
Regular draught beers: Zywiec
Food: Snacks, meals.
Another fairly well-hidden pub, tucked down an alleyway off one of the main streets. It's a tiny place, with just room to cram in 2 or 3 tables as well as the bar. It's been kitted out in a modern style, but done reasonbly tastefully so it's not too hard on the eye. The odd location, stuck in some outbuildings at the back of a larger building leave it with a single window, so it's a bit gloomy inside (though most Polish pubs seem to be built this way - maybe they don't want anyone to be able to look in and see them drinking). The staff are very helpful and friendly. There is only a single beer on draught but the bottled selection is fairly varied, with beers from several different breweries. The name, if you're interested, means 'Under the Parrots'. Doesn't really make you that much the wiser, does it?
Rating: ***	Public transport:

Rock Club Koyot
Plac Volnosci Lublin Tel.
Opening hours: Mon - Fri: 15:00-22:00 Sat - Sun: 17:00-22:00
Number of draught beers: 3
Number of bottled beers: 10
Regular draught beers: EB Specjal Pils Zywiec Zywiec Porter
Food: Snacks, meals.
Another pub hidden from daylight, this time in the cellar of a former shoe shop. The post-modernist interior - metal-topped tables, industrial ducting and ultraviolet light - is striking but probably not to everyone's taste. Still, the rock music playing at deafening volune should distract you from it. Done in a slightly amateurish style, it manages to avoid being mindlessly trendy and has a pleasant anarchic feel. Hence the graffiti scratched into the painted walls. The clientčle ranges from young to very young. It sometimes gets worrying being the oldest person by 20 years everywhere you go. That's Poland for you. It's worth noting that the ultraviolet light makes the porter look opaque blue, so don't panic if your pint is a funny colour. Closing time isn't fixed.
Rating: ***	Public transport:

Old Pub
ul.Grodzka 8, 20-112 Lublin. Tel. 081 - 743 71 27
Opening hours: Mon - Sun: 11:00-open end
Number of draught beers: 4
Number of bottled beers: 10
Regular draught beers: EB Specjal Pils Hevelius Guinness Bitburger pils
Food: Snacks, meals.
The name Old Pub is strangely popular in Poland (there's one in Cracow, too). It's what my wife calls the distinctive fragrance that you acquire after several sitting hours in a smoke-filled boozer. I come home and she says to me "You smell like Old Pub". I'll back to the pub I'm supposed to be describing. This Old Pub is in Lublin's old town, in a very attractive building whose age I wouldn't like to guess. It has a couple of things going for it: it's above ground and it has windows that let through light. After a while drinking in Poland you begin to treasure these two features. It's the most pub-like of any of Lublin's bars (though that isn't at all difficult - my living room would come a close second).
Rating: ***	Public transport:

Rejs
Krakowskie Przedmiescie 55, 20-076 Lublin. Tel. 73 61 49
Opening hours: Mon - Sat: 11:30-22:00 Sun: 15:00-22:00
Number of draught beers: 4
Number of bottled beers: 10
Regular draught beers: EB Specjal Pils Hevelius Grolsch Pils (5%)
Food: Snacks, meals.
Formerly known as Jazz Pizza, this pub has recently been refurbished and renamed. The new name comes from a famous Polish film which also forms the basis of the new theming. The changes invalidate just about everything I had written about the place. As I haven't seen it since the transformation, I don't really have anything else to tell you. Maybe someone out there could help me with a description or a few photos? Email me (Ron Pattinson) if you can help. It attracts a very young crowd.
Rating: ***	Public transport:

Apollo
Ul. Pedwiakow 10, 20-007 Lublin. Tel. 081 - 532 06 12
Opening hours: Sun - Thu: 12:00-24:00 Fri - Sat: 12:00-03:00
Number of draught beers: 13
Number of bottled beers: 50
Regular draught beers: Dojlidy Magnat Dojlidy Herbowe EB Specjal Pils Hevelius Zywiec Zywiec Porter Perla Chmielowa Okocim Pils Wist Lezajsk Lech Grolsch Pils (5%)
Food: Snacks.
While many pubs in Poland try for a mock British pub style, the designers of this roomy cellar bar seem to have looked to the Czech Republic for their inspiration. It has the general look of a Czech beerhall - tiled floor, long wooden tables and benches - which is totally appropriate for an establishment so obviously dedicated to beer. They have one of the most impressive ranges of beers you can hope to come across and almost all of it is Polish. The bar itself is almost completely filled by the taps for all the draught beers and the selection of bottled beers is also very wide. The walls contain a bizarre array of paintings, presumably by amateur artists, in a bewildering range of styles from the surreal to kitsch. It's full of teenagers and their accompanying loud rock music, but for the choice of beer that's well worth enduring.
Rating: ****	Public transport:

Cafe Bar Fenix
ul. Kosciuszki 8, 20-006 Lublin Tel. 081 - 743 79 24
Opening hours: Mon - Sun: 10:00-23:00
Number of draught beers: 2
Number of bottled beers: 10
Regular draught beers: Zywiec Lech 10.5
Food: None.
A dark cellar bar under a shop in the town centre. The dark effect is augmented by having black furniture and dark-painted walls. It usd to be called NATO, which was odd as there is nothing even slightly military about the place: quite the opposite, as it's full of students/schoolchildren. Does anyone over 25 go drinking in this town ? Ok if you're into cradle-snatching and who of us old degenerates isn't? The bar is conveniently situated right at the rear, through a maze of tightly packed furniture and teenagers.
Rating: **	Public transport:

Piwowarnia Piwowary
Bernadyńska 15, 20-950 Lublin. Tel.
Opening hours: Mon - Sat: 10:00-21:00 Sun: closed
Number of draught beers: 3
Number of bottled beers: 3
Regular draught beers: Perla Light 11% Perla Chmielowa 12.5% Perla Mocna 15%
Food: Snacks.
A simple, small boozer which is the brewery tap of the quaintly named 'Brewery number 2', which now just houses the Perla brewery's offices. Before its closure in 2001, it had been one of the oldest breweries in Poland It resembles a typical 70's rennovated Czech pub, with lots of chunky pine everywhere. Again, in Czech style, it has long, rough wooden benches and chairs, forcing customers into a certain degree of sociability. At one end is a simple wooden bar counter. Getting three of the local beers on draught is much more unusual than you would expect. It's also about the only Polish pub I've been in that was well lit enough to take a photograph. Overall, very simple, functional and not unpleasing on the eye. Very appropriate for a brewery tap. The free lard butties which come with the beer are also a nice touch. The building itself is an elegant 19th century edifice. Various bits of memorabilia, such as beer mugs and T-shirts, are on sale. Though be warned: the printing on my T-shirt flaked off the first time it was washed.
Rating: ****	Public transport:

© Ron Pattinson 2000 - 2010