Several years in the making, the 2021 opening of Browary Warszawski has been internationally lauded as a prime example of urban regeneration…
Established in 1846, the Haberbusch & Schiele brewery that once occupied this plot was the largest such plant in the entire Kingdom of Poland. Later also producing Coca Cola under American license, the complex later fell into complete dereliction.
Opened in 2021 after seven-years of work, the resulting Browary Warszawskie has utilized these surviving elements and set them against a swanky backdrop of freshly mapped streets and immaculate new build that feels contextually suited to the district.
Billing itself as a premium food hall, the centerpiece of Browary contrasts well against Warsaw’s other offers. Occupying a beautifully lit vaulted chamber that was once used to store beer, this magnificently formed space presents an offer based around a “quality over quantity” with twelve concepts vying for attention.
Pertinently, the wider offer has also cemented itself into Warsaw’s conscience thanks to addresses such as Robert Lewandowski’s Nine’s sports bar, a flagship brewery-restaurant, the ever popular Balkan eatery Munja, the high-quality Japonka restaurant, and Baila – a stunning live entertainment hangout.
Warsaw’s first ‘woonerf’ has turned what could have been an ordinary, boring road into a living organism on which people and cyclists flow as one with the passing traffic. Lined with photographic exhibition panels, these have included an in-depth look at the area’s relationship with Coca Cola. And then, half-way in, you have one of the capital’s finest staircases – turned into a canvas, its steps have been used to create the city’s first ‘stair mural’.
You can’t knock Browary’s ambition. More than just an entertainment hub, it feels more like a city within a city. Skillfully planned and deftly executed, you could survive here for a year and never feel bored. Moreover, there’s the underpinning mood: chic and affluent but equally easygoing. For that, it can’t be beat as meeting spot.
ul. Grzybowska 58, browarywarszawskie.com.pl