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Miejsce Bar (Krakow, Poland)
by loulou22
Miejsce Bar, Krakow, Poland.
Miejsce Bar is a small bar I visited a few weeks ago after seeing a poster advertising an art exhibition at the bar. I figured it would be nice to go somewhere new and so one rainy Thursday evening off we went...
== Location ==
Miejsce Bar is located in Kazimierz, close ... to the centre of Krakow.
The bar is located on the corner of ul. Estery street and can be accessed by the city's many trams and buses from almost all directions, the nearest tram stop is about a 5 minute walk away. We did get a little bit lost trying to find the bar as we got off at the wrong stop and had to walk a bit. The area the bar is in is full of little side streets so you might want to check on a map first before you head out!
== Bar Area ==
As you enter Miejsce Bar you will walk into a small room with the bar area to the right of you. At the back of the room there is an area sectioned off by some large glass windows. This area is the smoking area and is completely sealed off from the rest of the pub so that no stray smoke can escape!
There are plenty of places to sit in Miejsce Bar and many tables to sit around. There is a selection of table heights to choose from too as some of them are at a low level with some very comfy looking low chairs. Unfortunately it was a bit busy when we went there so we didn't get chance to sit in these comfy looking chairs.
The bar is a medium size with a few stools in front of it. On the occasion we visited the bar there was only one member of staff serving. We didn't have to wait long to be served and the lady behind the bar seemed reasonably friendly.
On the occasion that we visited the bar there was a mix of Polish, English and American people in there. Everyone kept themselves to themselves and didn't really interact with others sat around different tables. This was nice though as it meant we felt like we could enjoy a quiet drink without being interrupted.
== Menu ==
The drinks menu offers most drinks from the usual beers and wines. They also offer a wide variety of Polish beers and different styles like wheat beer and dark beer. We had a wheat beer while we were here and my personal opinion is that it tastes really good and I found it really pleasant and easy to drink!
== Prices ==
The prices in Miejsce Bar are pretty reasonable. For a drink here you can expect to pay around 7 or 8zl (zloty) depending on which drink you have. This is around £1.50ish depending on the current exchange rate.
== The Decor ==
The decor of Miejsce Bar is minimal, the chairs and tables are nice and some of the chairs are coloured which does add a bit of brightness to an almost plain looking pub. The walls are a combination of plaster and brick, they have been made to look as if they are old and the plaster is falling off to reveal the brickwork. The plaster parts of the walls are painted in a creamy yellow colour.
The lighting in the pub is just right. It is well lit so you can sit and enjoy having a drink without feeling like you are sitting in the dark, yet it isn't so overpowering to spoil the mood of the bar.
The supposed art exhibition that was happening in the bar wasn't as good as we expected and took place in the form of around 10 medium sized prints hanging from the walls. In all honesty they just looked like normal pictures that were there to add a bit of colour to the almost bare walls!
My overall personal opinion of the look of the bar isn't too good. I think there could be a lot more done with the room and I would take out the large windows separating the smoking room as I think they make the pub look really cheap and tacky. I would replace them with a proper wall or divider which fits with the rest of the decor.
== Toilets ==
The toilets in Miejsce Bar are well looked after with no unusual smells and they well stocked with toilet paper. The sink area is also clean and there was soap in the soap dispensers. I noticed while we were there a member of staff regularly popped in to check them and make sure everything was ok.
== Overall ==
Overall, I did enjoy my experience of a nice quiet and relaxing drink on a Thursday evening in Miejsce Bar. The atmosphere in the bar was good and very relaxed. There was some chilled out background music being played at the right level as not to be too intrusive and when we left the bar we were feeling nice and relaxed... until the cold air outside hit us on the walk to the tram home!
Thanks for reading :)
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Studnia Zyczen (Krakow, Poland)
by loulou22
Studnia Zyczen & Club, Krakow, Poland.
Studnia Zyczen & Club, translated to English as The Wishing Well, is a medium sized bar, restaurant and club in the heart of Kazimierz in Krakow, Poland. I visited this pub around 5 weeks ago on a Friday evening for a quiet drink with some friends.
Location
The ... Studnia Zyczen & Club is located in the centre of Krakow in the main square of Kazimierz. It is about a 20 minute walk from the central train station and shopping galleries.
The bar is located on Plac Nowy 6 / Meiselsa 24 and can be accessed by the city's many trams and buses from most directions. We found it was easy to find Studnia as it is near the corner of the street and the entrance is quite clear to make out.
Bar and Seating Areas
As you enter Studnia you will walk into a darkened room with a bar directly in front of you. The pub is made up of 3 floors and I noticed there were a lot of little 'nooks and crannies' and cosy corners with tables hidden away there. When you enter the bar you will be on the middle floor, however we were meeting people on the lower floor so we first had the fun job of locating the stairway to go down. This wasn't too hard to do, but the stairs themselves were rather steep and made of stone so I was feeling a little wary about coming back up them after a couple of drinks! After making our way down the stairs we found ourselves in another darkened room with just the light from candles on tables and some very dull lighting from the ceiling. I know this all sounds really dark and not very inviting, but it actually created a really good atmosphere in the pub.
The area downstairs has its own smaller bar and the bar staff will occasionally come across to your table to see if you want anymore drinks. This was quite funny for me as they came and spoke to me in Polish, which I am at a level of understanding now, but I'm not confident enough to speak in Polish myself, so I answered her in English and she replied in Polish much to our amusement!
We found the bar staff to be friendly and polite and they were quick and efficient in serving us both at the bar and also at our tables later in the evening.
The area downstairs is also the part of the pub which turns into a club on certain nights, there is a large dance floor area with a few tables and chairs around the edge. The night that we visited was not a club night so this area was just quiet and relaxing.
Menu
Studnia also has a food menu from which we decided to order a pizza when we found ourselves with the munchies after a couple of drinks. When the pizza arrived it looked and smelt mouth-wateringly delicious. We had ordered a pizza topped with only salami as between us there were too many toppings that we couldn't agree on. The pizza was indeed as nice as it looked and tasted amazing! I could have probably eaten a whole one myself! The pizza cost us 21zl (zloty) which is around the £6 mark. It was definitely worth the price!
Other items on the menu included various soups, pasta, fish and chicken dishes. All of the prices were pretty reasonable and if they all taste as good as the pizza did then I would definitely recommend them.
Studnia also has a large wine list with a wide variety of wines from both Poland and around the world. I didn't order anything from the wine list as I was quite happy with my beer. Incidentally the price and quality of the beer is also good, a large beer will set you back just 8zl, which is less that £2.
For those of you who may not want an alcoholic drink Studnia also offers a large variety of flavoured teas, a selection of coffees and of course the usual soft drinks and juices.
Value for money?
While Studnia isn't the cheapest bar I have visited here in Krakow I would still say it is really good value for money. From my pizza experience I can say that the food quality is excellent and at less than £2 for a large beer I don't think I can really complain about the drinks prices either!
Toilets
The toilets in Studnia were reasonably clean when we visited. It was clear to see they were looked after and regularly cleaned and thankfully there were no dodgy smells in there like you sometimes find in pub toilets! The toilets were well stocked with toilet paper and soap and there is both a hand dryer or paper towels if you prefer. The sinks were clean and there were bins provided for paper towels!
Wheelchair Friendly?
Unfortunately, Studnia is a maze of steps and small areas which at times were difficult to squeeze between while standing up, so with this in mind I would simply say that no, Studnia is not suitable for wheelchair users simply due to the lack of space to manoeuvre and the amount of stairs inside.
Overall
Overall, I would recommend Studnia Zyczen & Club. My evening here was, as we had wanted, quiet and relaxing with a good atmosphere. The staff were friendly and after our initial first trip to the bar we didn't need to move again as they came to our table instead which was nice as it meant we could relax without interruptions of going to buy drinks. All in all we had a nice evening and I would go to Studnia Zyczen & Club again if a few quiet drinks is what I was looking for.
Thanks for reading :)
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Wipeout Bar and Grill (San Francisco, USA)
by dkm1981
Wipeout Bar and Grill is located at the entrance of Pier 39 in San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf area and it is certainly a very colourful place that offers good food in chilled out surroundings. We wanted something nice and relaxed for lunch after a busy morning's sightseeing and we had walked past the restaurant / bar a few times and ... it always looked pleasantly busy, so we decided to go in for a beer and a bite to eat.
Outside, the bar has been presented as a sort of beach side shack and this is an impression that carries on throughout the restaurant. On the outside there are wooden tables and chairs that are designed to look like beach picnic tables and the side of the restaurant is adorned with a huge three dimension Volkswagen camper van that presents a very chilled out style. There is also a little fire amongst the benches that looks like a kind of beach barbecue. Inside there are trinkets and souvenirs covering every possible space, from giant sharks hanging from the ceiling to beer mats on the walls. There are some huge TV screens as well where they play sports channels on loop. I loved it all because it seemed really authentically San Franciscan and was everything I'd expected from the city. A little stereotypical maybe, but that isn't always a bad thing.
The food is standard bar / restaurant fare and there is quite a good selection of burgers, pizzas, fried fish and salads. The portions sizes are huge. We decided to go for the lighter bite options and my husband had a small pizza and I had clam chowder in a bread bowl, which is a very popular dish in these parts.. Both of them were far bigger than what I'd consider to be a light lunch, but they were both still reasonably priced. The pizza was absolutely packed with topping and was very tasty. My clam soup was delicious as well, although if I was to have it again I'd probably skip the bread bowl as it was an extra dollar, as compared to a regular bowl, and it meant that the bread to soup ratio was off balance. You don't need bread with the soup as it is so creamy and thick, it is a bit surplus to requirements.
We had beers with our lunch (we were on holiday after all!) and my husband, mishearing what the waiter said, ended up ordering us both huge 20oz beers. It was a local beer that was pretty good and lasted even him the whole meal. This meant that our bill was less that $30 for both of us which is more than we'd normally spend on lunch. Having said that, we could have quite happily had that for dinner so the price isn't actually that bad.
The service was great, the staff all very friendly and knowledgeable. The surroundings were great and the food was simple but good - I'd definitely recommend this place to any visitors.
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