The Roots Cocktail Bar & More sits at Wierzbowa 11, in central Warsaw's Srodmiescie near Plac Teatralny. Its headline draw is the largest starka collection in Poland, but the cocktail program reaches well beyond that one bottle.
Who would love it: a drinker who wants range, from a Polish aged spirit to a tiki build to a classic. Who would skip it: someone after a quiet corner on a Friday, because the room fills fast late in the week.
The cocktail list borrows ideas from London, Sydney, and New York while keeping a Polish angle through the starka shelf. The bar leans into its own history too. According to the Najlepsze w Warszawie 2026 cocktail guide, The Roots keeps a signed copy of Jerry Thomas's 1862 bartending guide along with vintage shakers and jiggers, a detail that signals how seriously the room takes the craft.
What to order: The President is the drink to start with, a rum forward build that the bar is known for. From there the tiki direction is worth a look, and any starka pour rewards a drinker curious about the aged Polish spirit at the center of the collection. The bartenders are happy to steer a first time guest through the shelf.
What to skip: arriving late on a Friday and expecting calm. The room gets crowded after 9 pm, so the terrace becomes the better seat when the main bar fills.
The crowd mixes cocktail regulars, visitors drawn by the starka claim, and after work groups from the central offices nearby. Wierzbowa places The Roots a short walk from Plac Teatralny and the edge of the Old Town, which makes it an easy first or last stop on a central crawl. The terrace adds outdoor seating in warm months.
Best time to go: a weeknight evening or an early Friday before the after work rush, when the bartenders have time to talk you through the collection. Later on Fridays the energy rises and the terrace is the place to claim.
What reviewers note: the starka collection and the bar history details come up most, along with the breadth of the cocktail list. Reviewers single out the terrace as the release valve when the main room is busy, and the staff knowledge as the reason to let them choose.
Wierzbowa puts The Roots within reach of the central Srodmiescie cocktail rooms and the Old Town. Start here for a starka led opener, then carry the night across central Warsaw. It anchors the heritage minded, spirit deep end of the city's cocktail map.
Pair this bar with Feliks Bar Cafe, Klar, or Weles to round out a Warsaw night.
See where it sits among the best cocktail bars in Warsaw, or browse the full Warsaw bar guide for more rooms nearby.
Sources: The Roots official site (2026); Najlepsze w Warszawie cocktail guide 2026; Google Maps reviews.
