Londoners Magazine

Tucked away in the back streets of Holborn, Bar Polski is not so much a blink and you’ll miss it as a stare and you’ll pass on it kind of place.

A giant, garish rooster holds court on the otherwise bare, grey  walls while the uncomfortable, metallic furniture make it resemble a train station waiting room rather than a trendy Eastern European bar.

A quick look at the clientele fails to still your beating heart. Nervy, academic types clutter in groups and compete with nondescript music for aural appreciation.

But wipe the sneer off your face and your feet on the welcome mat and enter a world where angels spread their wings at the back of your throat. Treat your inner drunk to a fantasy world of flavoured vodkas, cheap Polish beers and traditional Eastern European snacks all priced as if the Iron Curtain never opened.

You haven’t started your first drink before your eyes lustfully glance at the well stacked menu for another. With 45 different flavours of Vodka to choose from, split into “dry and interesting” and “nice and sweet”, a little division of labour between you and your partner will let you sample as much of the menu as possible – without slurring your words and hitting on the bar stool.

My favourite was the Krupnik - a honey and spiced vodka with ginger ale. A culinary Cluedo, a gustative whodunnit, you’ll be too busy draining your glass to scratch your head, its hidden appeal so frustratingly locked on the tip of your tounge.

The Wybrowa (dry green apple) and the Jurzeback (Rowan berry, vine and fruit) are also highy recommended though Zlota Woda - vodka flecked with gold leaf, infused with aniseed and herbs- is not for the faint hearted.

At £2.50 a shot, Bar Polski is the perfect place to instigate the inebriation. Just don’t expext to pull anything tastier than a pint.

11 Little Turnstile
Holborn
London
WC1V 7DX

Opening hours:

12pm - 11pm Monday to Friday
6pm - 11pm on Saturdays
Closed on Sundays