It has been a while since I did a proper Thirsty Thursdays on a city so today it’s back and we head to the remote town of Starogard Gdański in northern Poland – Pomerania Region. I’m growing to love Poland more on more with each visit. There is a sense of freedom, progressiveness with proud people with intelligent minds.
When you visit a town like Starogard Gdański, you become a bit of a novelty if you are not local. Basically there is no backpacker’s hostel here, and there were no other tourists on my visit but I found a cool place to stay inside the football stadium, Noclegi Rekord. What this means is that people are very interested to talk to you and in my three days in the town, I made about 10 new friends, all locals, all very open minded people interested to speak to a stranger in their town.
For three days here, this was my glory, this was my town and I embraced it, spending time touring the sights, getting some work done in the Wi-Fi cafes and meeting locals in the bars at night. Here are the best bars in Starogard Gdański.
1.Browar
Browar ended up being my favourite bar in Starogard Gdański. They brew their own beer, the interior décor is everything you’d expect from a local brew pub, the food is good and the staff were so polite and talkative.
I met Gregorgz, the manager and spent my time chatting to the happy, pretty bar ladies – Paulina, Oliwia and Marta. I still love the way every Polish girl’s name has to end in the letter “a.”
For beers on tap, my favourite was Starogdanskie, they brew it themselves and I love bars like this.
2.Małe Piwko
With the meaning, “Small Beer”, this bar, Małe Piwko actually has a huge range of beers for people with special tastes. The vodka and cocktail menu is also huge.
I got talking to Aneta on the bar and I was drinking the really sour local brew, called Pszeniczne z Kociewia Starogard. It is brewed locally in Starogard Gdanski and remains my favourite beer from this trip. I met two girls in here, Ada and Patricja and we had some really deep, detailed discussions. http://www.malepiwko.pl/?age-verified=f790a843c1
3.Projekt PRL
This quirky socialist themed bar is a great hang out and a cool place to meet locals. I hung out with Jacek here before heading to his home in Rywald village. Beer on tap starts at 5 Zlotys (£1), staff also speak English and the walls have nik naks from a bygone era. Expect radios, gramophones and nik naks from the 1960s right through to the fall of communism. https://www.facebook.com/Prlprojekt/
Projekt PRL was also frequented by another Starogard girl Hania Kokoszka who played a big part in my journey to this town. I hope to meet Hania someday for a drink in her town as we didn’t get the chance on this trip.
4.Rynek Beer Garden
The main square (the Rynek) in Starogard Gdanski had a temporary beer garden on my visit. I think this may be a summer only thing. But with beers in the pretty square from dawn until dusk, this is a great place to chill out.
Again, I met lots of locals and relaxed on the temporary beach here. There are films on sometimes on the big screen (including a porn movie on the Friday night!) and live music too.
5.Basement Club
I still find it odd that foreign countries use English sometimes with the names of venues. “Basement Club” is a popular nightclub. I’m not a big fan of nightclubs any more but this place provided me with some good memories and I got to see how open and passionate Polish people are about kissing, cuddling and dancing.
When I sipped the last sip of my beer here in Starogard Gdanski, I knew it had been a special few days in my life and I pondered on whether I’d ever be back to places like this again. With Starogard, I’d love to go back, I got a wedding invite when I was here so maybe I will be back.
6.Browar Kociewski
Browar Kociewski is a gem of a “brewery bar” here in Starogard Gdański. All their beers are brewed on site, and you can even see this from the bar. Top notch food is served, very friendly staff and the place also has Wi-Fi.
Browar Kociewski is also a rather swanky place, as it is part of Hotel Ren. Hotel Ren, I reviewed it before.
7.Kula Bowling
Kula Bowling is a trendy two tier bar complex.
9.The River Club
Down by the river there is also a bar and I found this one by chance one night!
10.Witches
I’m sure I have missed some good bars off this list. If I have, I will try and visit them next time, I’m waiting on some tips from a friend. I also featured in the local newspaper, Gazeta Kociewska thanks to my visit to this town, a poem to come as well, entitled “Starogard Girl”.
Here are some videos from my visits to the bars in this city:
Broadcasting porn in the town square? Ha, that must have been quite the scene!
Ray recently posted…Tappers Arcade Bar
Hi Ray, yes it was around midnight. This is NOT a shy town when it comes to romance. It was a beautiful little place and I may well be back. You just never know in life. Safe travels. Jonny
I like the Rynek Beer Garden. I can imagine the feels of drinking beer in an open garden while having a good laugh with friendly locals. What time do these bars close usually?
Hi William, thanks for the comment. Yes it is a cool place – the bars stop serving when people stop buying. There were still people there when I headed to bed at 1.30 am. Safe travels. Jonny
Great read and photos mate. Sounds like the sort of place interesting to visit especially as there are no other tourists. Definitely on the list to visit next time I visit Gdansk now!
M
Hi Matthew, thanks for the comment. Yes it’s a cool city. However if you are based in Gdansk, you are spoilt for choice. I also have done side trips to Pelplin, Tczew, Rywald, Leba, Sopot and Gdynia so take your pick. Safe travels. Jonny
Well, if I ever find myself in this corner of the world, I’ll know where to go at night. Thanks man!
Hi Frank thanks for the comment. If you do go here, send me your blog about it as it’s well off the tourist trail but I loved Starogard Gdanski! Safe travels. Jonny
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