There’s something that creeps me out about the word ‘concept’. It’s slick, corporate and brings to mind greasy executives plotting a campaign for Honda. So when I hear Miłość described as a concept bar I flinch. Needlessly so, it turns out. While there are some people who would consider it a concept bar, myself, I’m thinking of it as more of an ‘ideas space’ – for that’s what it is, a collection of big ideas under one roof.
Firstly, there’s the bar, the design of which was a collaboration between the Projekt Praga studio and creative director Adam Tarasiuk. It’s stunning: concrete slabs, a vertical wall of greenery and a DJ platform that doubles as a kitchen for their weekend brunches. That’s Jakub and Zofia you see working the menu, and their edgy creations are complimented by the home-baking of a guy called Pączek (!).
The upstairs mezzanine is the best spot for voyeurs, and it’s here that you learn there’s more to Miłość than meets the eye: a series of rooms unravel beyond, revealing a Super Salon bookstore, a Portuguese deli and a branch of Barberian, the go-to barbers for lumbersexual men: find the latter officially opening in the next couple of weeks. It is ultimately the bar that is the center force though, and it’s here you’ll find one-of-a-kind bottled cocktails that use natural ingredients, not to mention the full offer from the Perła brewery – enjoy both in a space that buzzes way into the early hours.