Polish Pubs in Scotland.

A thread I read today about POSK in London made me think about this. I've searched a little bit on the Internet but not much comes up. The question is, does anyone know of Polish pubs in Scotland, particularly Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen?

I think I know of one in Edinburgh which is run by a Polish lady and her Irish boyfriend but I don't remember the name.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated :)

What's the difference between a Polish pub and and English one ?

They might be run by Polish people, have Polish theme, Polish singers. Problem?

theres a few in Glasgow

No, it was a genuine question.

OK, I apologise for snapping... :)

The main focus of a Polish pub would be, obviously, Poland and that would be reflected in the decor, the beers and drinks served, the entertainment, the food etc. English pubs have their own, unique charm.


Do you know the names of any? :)

'Pani Solinska' on Broughton Street in Edinburgh. Bit of a weird mix of restaurant, deli, bar etc. (not quite sure what it wants to be) but possible to sit and guzzle Polish beers. Polish musicians living in Edinburgh play on Monday nights at the 'Beer and Bigos' night!

Was one in Aberdeen called McPolski Pub, down by the docks and up a flight of stairs (closed on the two occasions I tried to visit). I think many Polish nights are in venues which are rented for a one night a week. There were two pubs on Reform Street, Dundee that hosted weekly Polish nights but they fizzled out. As one of the landlords put it "It wisnae worth botherin'!"

Few dirty little, unfriendly places on Leith Walk in Edinburgh. I recall the one on the left as you head down towards Leith was called 'Krakow Bar' and there was one on the right hand side whose name I can't remember (all I remember of that one was 2 fat, track-suited, shaven headed guys sitting in the window leaning over big steaming bowls of bigos). Unfortunately I think a lot of the early attempts at opening Polish pubs have failed in Scotland. Hope that was all amazingly helpful! :)

I dont want to sound offish, but bars in Poland are decorated no differently than the ones in the UK and you can get Polish beers in quite a few bars now and apart from a few drunken people (who were quite entertaining sort of!) I saw no entertainment in bars in Poland. Bars are bars, it's the people in them that make the difference. :)

I believe you may be wrong! Have you ever seen anything comparable to a stunning Victorian British Alehouse in Poland? Or do you just hang around in Weatherspoon's?

Do we have Polish bars round our way? I heard there is one in Cheetham Hill?? But I ain't goin' to Cheetham Hill to get my drink on!

American Bars are cool. There's one in Tallahassee called Pour Paul's or something. Cool as f*ck! Dark, seedy American bar! Loves it!!!

Im not getting in to a spat over this, I live in Manchester so I have frequented many lovely bars in many different styles, but the "average bar" in the UK isn't really "decorated" any differently to a Polish one.

I'm sure Poland is not without it's architecturally pleasing alehouses too? The Weatherspoon's comment was a bit below the belt though.

Moreover, yeah... I've seen PLENTY more pleasing than a Victorian Alehouse. Just not in a pub! :D

He was merely trying to say that Im a bit of a scuzzer who drinks in lowly dregs bars! Arh well I can live with that, I doubt I'm ever going to bump into him in Panacea on a Saturday night! ;-)


I wouldn't bother, It's a Polish club, been there for many many years and it's full of very old Polish men, never been in but I'm told it's a bit like the Liberal club for Poliski Peeps :)

There used to be one called Pivow in Edinburgh that was quite good. You go down Leith Street and its off to the little side street before the traffic lights, before you get to the Omni Centre. Its small and a bit studenty but nice beer and friendly atmosphere.

Actually I was probably trying to say the opposite of that. That's the thing about UK old bars, they are the ones where you can meet ALL kinds of people. That is another point about Polish bars, they are very discriminating, students go to A, businessman go to B, medallion man goes to C, baldie guy with a pit bull goes to D, white handbag girl goes to E (or possibly C where medallion man goes) etc.

In the UK everyone goes to the PUB, a truly democratic institution!
You're probably right though I don't think I'd go to a place called Panacea or Diarrhoea or Enema etc.


PIVO still exists. It's a Czech bar, they used to have a once a month Polish Club night though

I thought Wetherspoons was for pompous tofferites? I don't know... I don't get out much. I was in The Shakespeare yesterday though. That's me socialising with the world. The fact that I'm here all the time suggests I don't get out much.

I like the Grapes :)


Same in the UK....pub culture is dying out

Hard Rock Cafe for me. Shakespeare was just nearer at the time and we needed drink like NOW. Shame because we were at Printworks before then but couldn't be arsed walking back.

Please don't say that. It makes me feel all wobbly!

I think that traditional polish bar is called 'karczma'-they are still in Poland but I don't think thhey are in England.

I was in Edinburgh in June and visited to 'pani Solinska' restaurant. Bit disappointed. Cakes are English there I expected cheesecake, popyseed cake,.... Menu quite small no pierogi, no golabki..... I think there was some fish and pork chops in crumbles.

There is many Polish Clubs in Scotland, we Scots cater for People from Poland suggest you just contact 192 com and place in Polish Ex servicemans Club Alloa and that gives you first place to start.and you will find many,Most older Scots welcome people from Poland

The Sikorski Polish Club
5, Parkgrove Terrace
Glasgow G3 7SD
0141 339 1368 Check here for info you seek

I remember going to some theme bar in Glasgow called "Piwo Piwo" where it was something stupid like 2.50 for a small bottle of EB (it was a while ago).

I just thought, "bugger this" and nipped to the Sikorski Club, where it was only 2.00 a full sized bottle (and I wasn't surrounded by such pretentiousness).