We asked for your recommendations. You won’t believe what happened next!
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Last Friday we asked you, our Eastern Chronicles fans, to tell us places worth checking out in Bratislava. We then did something nobody expected: we actually went to see those places!
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to visit all of them — which is why we have sworn to come back and check all locations on the list. Ok, if I am being honest, it wasn’t really that official of an oath, since no blood was spilled, no goats sacrificed, but that shall not stop us from visiting again!
We made it to 3 from the list and we stopped by another 2 places we found on our own (how crazy is that!).
First stop: Verne Cafe
This cafe’s main attraction, at least for me, was its location. Right next to the statue of Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav, Verne Cafe had a few tables underneath some beautiful tall trees that offered some much needed shade in Hviezdoslavovo Square (Friday was yet another day with 36 degrees at 6pm). And obviously, after driving around 500 km, this seemed like a good enough spot to wait for the others. And of course to get a cold beer.
I can’t say I was blown away by the location itself. Service wasn’t the best, beer could have been colder (but then again, it might have gotten warm on the way from the bar to the table — it really was that hot!). But since this is my first such review-type article, I will be nice and give Verne Cafe 5 points for shade, 3 points for the beer, 1 for service and 10 for location.
Second stop: Urban House
Now we’re talking. It seems we have hipster-died and went to hipster-heaven. Everything you would expect from a respectable hipster coffee shop / bistro / hangout, was present: located in an old communist building — check; black walls with white chalked stuff all over — check; bike hanging on the wall — check; rusty tables with different style chairs — check; Edison light bulbs — obviously check. It really had everything you would find on a pinterest board labeled hipster coffeeshop.
And you know what? We loved it! Even if we’re not hipsters (no self-respecting hipster would admit to being one), the whole Urban House vibe felt good. Simona, our waitress, did her best to help us out, even when we asked about other places worth checking out. I would give this place 5 points for service, 10 for the ambiance and 5 for the wine I had.
Oh, and speaking of wine and hipsters. On our way out, I stopped by the bar to take a couple of pictures of the wine bottle. One of the bartenders, after a few seconds of staring at me taking those awkward tall pictures of the wine bottle, asked:
‘You liked this wine?’
‘Sure, it was good’, I replied politely. Since I asked for a glass of whatever they recommend, I figured he was the dude that poured it.
‘No, this wine is not very good’, he said. Then went on with his business.
Since I wasn’t quite sure how to react, I quickly wrapped up my photo-shooting session and went to join the others. On our way to the next location I kept thinking about what just happened. It really felt like one of those Fry from Futurama “not sure if” moments, where all I could think was: was he telling me that they had better wine or that I was cheap for buying this one?
Third stop: Bratislavský Meštiansky Pivovar
You know that place that you recommend to whoever comes to your city? That place that is kind of ok for everybody, has lots of traditional items on their menu, and is part of the city’s history? Well, this old brewery restaurant is one of those places in Bratislava.
The location itself was a bit of a letdown at a first glance (but that’s probably because we just came from Urban House and this was definitely not that kind of place). Lots and lots of people, both customers and staff. There was a waiter stopping by our table every 5–7 minutes, doing the rounds. These people were definitely organised.
This was our food stop for the evening. We all got some local traditional specialty (well, most of us did — Alexandra got fried cheese with french fries, which, unless that was some special cheese and some freakishly rare potatoes, it really didn’t seem all that special). And we of course asked for a round of their beer. By the way, they only sold the beer they made right there, we were told.
Everything was good. I wish I had a funny anecdote to tell about this place as well, but there really isn’t much to say. It’s a good place, food was good, beer was good. Nothing OMG, nothing extraordinary — and I am guessing they’re really not trying to go for that OMG effect. I would give it points but I really think you get the idea of Bratislavský Meštiansky Pivovar without them just as well.
Fourth Stop: LE ŠENK craft beer cafe
If we would have been on our own, we are 100% sure we wouldn’t have made it to this place (so thank you for recommending it!). While it’s not that far from the places tourists usually visit in Old Town at night, I did check Google Maps for a couple of times to make sure we were on the right path (it really didn’t feel like it at times). Turns out we were just coming from the wrong direction. Oh well.
This was yet another hipster-style location, with its white chalk on black wall menu, its eclectic seating arrangements (ok, ok, I will stop with the hipster references). But the beer… oh my, the beer was good! We tried some number 3s, a couple of 2s, and then settled on 1s (you gotta check out their menu to understand the reference; but, honestly, this is how we ordered).
Not sure if we were just tired or if we just enjoyed their quaint little terrace, but we spent the most time that evening at this location. The view of the Most Slovenského národného povstania (Bridge of the Slovak National Uprising) was awesome and it really felt like most of the people around us were locals on a night out.
This place definitely deserves 10 points for its beer and another 10 for everything else. If you are in the area, do stop by — you won’t regret it.
Fifth stop: The Dubliner
Why wouldn’t you go to an Irish pub in Bratislava? Obviously this is where you’d find that real local flavour, that true Slovakian experience… Seriously though, it really wasn’t that bad. Being already past 1 am, we wanted to stop for one final drink before getting back to the hotel. And since we mostly had beer all night, we wanted to try something else.
The Dubliner is in the middle of Old Town, very close to the Hlavné námestie (Main Square). This place is clearly meant for tourists, based on its menu and prices. But that’s ok, sometimes it’s nice to have somebody speak proper English around you. I am not saying that we didn’t made ourselves understood in the previous locations, I’m just saying that the language wasn’t an issue here. The guy’s attitude however — well, that’s a whole different story. I don’t think he had something specifically against us; it just seemed like he had one of those “thank God it’s over” days.
Anyway, our stay here was short. I’d give it 5 points for service, prices and whatever we had to drink, and 10 points for its entertainment value — and I’m not referring only to our waiter here; the pub’s right-in-the-middle-of-everything location meant we had an endless stream of fun and (mostly) drunk people walk on by.
Bonus: D.Steakhouse
The next morning (which was almost noon to be honest), we wandered around the Old Town to get something to eat. Having just missed the 11 am cut off for breakfast food at Korzo, we figured we’ll find another place that offers late breakfast. Almost two hours later, we ended up in the same Hviezdoslavovo Square we started out at (Verne Cafe, our very first stop, is also located here) and decided to try this D.Steakhouse place.
Unfortunately, I am not what you’d call a foodie so I lack that certain vocabulary to describe the experience in full detail. But I can honestly say the rib-eye steak I had was in my personal top 5 steaks ever. Everything else we ordered was delicious and homemade (that means no frozen fries and lemonade from actual lemons).
D.Steakhouse deserves 10 points for the food for sure. One thing to keep in mind though, in case you’re tempted to stop by for a steak, it’s not a cheap place for sure (we have spent almost 40 euros / person, which is nearly double of almost all other restaurants in the area).
All in all, this was a great first night-on-the-town type outing for the Eastern Chronicles crew. The destination we have chosen turned out to offer us a much more rewarding experience than we had expected — and I am certain this is because of the awesome recommendations we have received. So, again, thank you guys!
Alexandra will probably put this article of mine to shame with some thoroughly researched points of interest worth visiting in Bratislava, but, until then, I hope you enjoyed this chronicle.
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