Relaks

Relaks is one of Warsaw's early third-wave coffee spots, in the Mokotow district. The offer is deliberately small and focused, with the espresso doing the heavy lifting. It has become a neighbourhood favourite for a mid-walk break rather than a long sit-down meal. For the wider city, see the Warsaw guide.

This is speciality coffee, served with the care that third-wave roasters bring to it. The menu is small and focused, so expect the drinks to be the point rather than a big food selection. Espresso and milk drinks are the core, with filter for those who want it. It is a place to pause, take a good cup and move on rather than to settle in for a meal.

The space is compact and unfussy, geared to the coffee rather than to lounging. Seating is limited and it can fill at peak times, so it works best for a short, quality stop rather than a long spell with a laptop.

Relaks suits coffee drinkers who want quality over a long menu, and anyone who needs a quick, reliable break while walking the centre. If you are following the city's coffee scene, pair it with STOR, a speciality-coffee bar with several outposts. For a slower morning with pastries, the French bakery Charlotte Menora sits nearby on Plac Grzybowski.

Its Dolny Mokotow address, near the Srodmiescie boundary, keeps it a short hop from the main shopping streets, so a good cup here fits easily into a day spent on foot.

The cafe sits at ulica Pulawska 48, on the corner with Jaroslawa Dabrowskiego in the Mokotow district, in a unit that was once a toy shop. The fit-out leans on film posters and a mix of mismatched chairs and armchairs, and it draws a mostly local crowd, plenty of them working over a laptop.

Coffee is the focus, pulled from European roasters (Berlin's The Barn among those named), but the offer also runs to natural wine, which is why it trades under the Relaks.cafe, Kawa i Wino name. For current opening hours and what is on the bar on the day, check the cafe's own Instagram or website.