Hammock Cafe in Warsaw's Coolest Library

Hammocks remind me of holiday, lazy days and summer. What could be more relaxing than reading a good book on a summer day in a hammock? Well, perhaps drinking coffee while swinging in a hammock?

In Warsaw at the University of Warsaw’s Library building there is a café where the seats are hammock swings that dangle from the ceiling. The concept is brilliant but not unique – there are at least a few famous hammock cafes in Japan. The café in Warsaw is called Fenomenalna Crepes & Café and they serve sweet and savoury crepes and other light snacks and drinks. The place used to be called “Sin Frontereas Café” as it still says in their coffee cups. At the café there are also regular chairs available. I think it is a wise idea since they serve food – it is not that easy to eat and swing in a hammock at the same time. Even with coffee it was a little challenging.

The University Library itself is a very modern. The building was designed by architects Marek Budzyński and Zbigniew Badowski and opened in 1999. Glass and steel are distinctive features of the Library’s architecture. The interior has a feeling of space and interior design is very minimalist. The Library garden, designed by Irena Bajerska, is located on the roof of the building. It is one of the largest roof gardens in Europe and definitely worth a visit. Seems like it is quite fun to be a student here - during breaks you can swing in a hammock or enjoy outdoors on the roof garden.

Fenomenalna Crepes & Cafe

Dobra 56/66 (University Library)

Warsaw, Poland

Arabic Coffee at Tel-Aviv Cafe

In Warsaw I found so many interesting cafes and restaurants – the city really is full of them! One of them is Tel-Aviv Café + Deli where I headed for brunch on Sunday to try their Israeli and Mediterranean style buffet. The buffet was very tasty including bread, hummus, olives and baked beans among other dishes. However, the highlight for me was the coffee I had afterwards: Arabic coffee. I have to admit, I had never had Arabic coffee before, this was my very first time. And boy was it good! It was amazing!

The coffee was prepared and served in a small pot with a long handle (this type of coffee pot is called "finjan" "ibrik" or "cezve" depending on area). The small pot was full of this very dark, smooth, and thick coffee with a strong aroma of coffee and spices. The serving also included a glass of hot water allowing you to adjust the drink.

Arabic coffee is special in preparation and use of spices. Water and ground coffee are boiled in the pot but coffee is not filtered. I found that there are numerous versions of Arabic coffee and it is also referred as “Turkish coffee” or “Israeli coffee”. However, there are differences between these variations in flavour, preparation or presentation.  Most of them are flavoured with spices such as cardamom, cloves, ginger, and saffron.

In the Tel Aviv café they served the coffee in pots with cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and black pepper. The mixture of spices sounds heavy but the combination worked fantastically – I was able to taste the different spices in the drink and especially liked the hint of black pepper. The aroma and flavour were very strong and I immediately felt a warming effect in my body from the combination of spices and coffee.  Since I normally do not like extra spices or flavouring in my coffee, I was surprised how much I enjoyed the Arabic coffee. It was unique in taste and a perfect luxury coffee moment on a Sunday afternoon.

Tel-Aviv Cafe

Poznańska 11

Warsaw, Poland