Has ever a drinking den been so aptly named? Granted, the water doesn't turn to wine as you edge warily through the gloom back to your table. But set yourself down in this neo-gothic lair of phantasmagoria, and note how the imbibing of your chosen tipple can perform the same tricks on the mind as the sulphurous fumes that once intoxicated the pseudo-scientists of the Middle Ages. Consider the immaterial essence of matter, the likelihood of sudden metamorphasis, and weigh up the pros and cons of astral migration. As your eyes adjust to the murky twilight, a family of oddities emerge from behind the bar, including a collection of elixir-extracting glassware, and a taxodermic curio in the shape of a two-headed pheasant, just behind the stuffed baby crocodile. Nonetheless, the effect is remarkably subtle: Alchemia appears to have evolved over the centuries, or to have sprouted from a cordial enclave of Middle-earth. In fact, it was established in the mid-nineties, as the first in a series of what are perhaps best described as 'cult bars' - in a way that is fairly unique to Kazimierz. The back room is host to a constant flow of local art installations, and a few times a week you can catch an off-beat jazz recital in the dramatically staged cellar, complete with scarlet upholstered folding theatre chairs. It's become a well worn pitstop on the tourist trail, but the soul of the place hasn't been lost. Perhaps its time to move on, but its hard to fault this old haunt.

4.5 / 5

Other reviews of this venue

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  Alchemia by Slinky

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  Rated: 4 / 5

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  Alchemia by ispy

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  Rated: 5 / 5

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