Mercy Brown

Mercy Brown is a speakeasy in the older sense of the word: an unmarked door, no sign on the street, and a quiet room upstairs that you have to know about to find. It sits on ul. Straszewskiego, on the western edge of the Old Town along the Planty. The style is 1920s, the service is precise, and the mood is closer to a members' club than a busy bar.

This is a cocktail bar first. The bartenders work in the classic mould, building drinks with care rather than turning tables, and the list changes with the seasons. It is the sort of place to talk to the bar and let them steer you rather than rush. Expect prices above a standard Krakow bar, in line with the setting and the craft.

The room is done in art deco, low-lit and hushed, and it often runs live music. Jazz and burlesque nights are part of the draw, so an evening here can be as much about the performance as the drink. Because the space is small and popular, it fills quickly once word gets round each night.

It suits a date, a special drink, or anyone who prefers a considered cocktail to a loud crowd. If you would rather line up a row of Polish infused vodkas in a plainer setting, Wodka Cafe Bar near the main square is the counterpoint.

Straszewskiego traces the Planty, the green ring around the Old Town, so you are minutes from the centre on foot. Wawel and the Main Market Square are both a short walk away. See the Krakow guide for the wider layout.

The door sits above a restaurant in a historic building on ul. Straszewskiego 28, reached through a cloakroom, which is part of why it is easy to walk past. Drinks arrive in vintage glassware in keeping with the 1920s room, and the bar carries a listing on World's 50 Best Discovery.

Beyond the cocktails, Mercy Brown programmes jazz and burlesque evenings, so the mood shifts depending on the night. Given the size of the room, it is worth checking current openings and booking a table through the venue's official channels.