Down the Stairs and Into the Labeerynt: Gdańsk's Underground Haven for Craft Beer and Heavy Music
- Randall Wilburn
- Jul 19
- 8 min read
Updated: Jul 26
Hidden beneath the streets of Gdańsk's historic center, Labeerynt combines Polish craft beer, shadowy cellar-bar atmosphere and a rock-and-metal sensibility that feels refreshingly unpolished.
There are bars designed to be seen from across the street, and there are bars that make visitors work a little harder. Labeerynt belongs firmly to the second category. That was the situation my partner in crime Paul, and myself, found ourselves in late at night on our first day in Gdansk....
Located at Szeroka 97 in central Gdańsk, the pub is reached by descending a flight of steps into a basement space whose concealed entrance is part of its appeal. From the pavement, Labeerynt can appear almost secretive. Below ground, however, it opens into a warm, dimly lit collection of rooms, corners and alcoves — a perfect nightcap destination for new arrivals to Gdansk. Posted hours vary depending on where you look, so don't be surprised if the door is open earlier in the afternoon than you'd expect; in practice it stays open well past midnight most nights, later on weekends.
The name is a bilingual joke that tells visitors almost everything they need to know. "Labeerynt" folds the English word beer into labirynt, the Polish word for labyrinth. It is playful branding, but it also describes the experience: a subterranean drinking den where discovering the next room — or the next unfamiliar Polish beer — feels like part of the evening.
Labeerynt's ownership and precise founding story are not clearly documented in publicly accessible sources (we are still trying to reach the owners for comment), so any claim about its founders or opening date should be treated cautiously. What can be verified is that the pub has operated for many years and had already established a strong reputation among Gdańsk beer travelers by the mid-to-late 2010s. Its endurance is significant in a bar market where craft-beer venues frequently open, rebrand or disappear as quickly as the fashions on their tap boards. That endurance shows up in the numbers, too: the pub carries a 4.5-out-of-5 rating across more than 240 Tripadvisor reviews and currently ranks among the top 75 restaurants and bars in a city of well over 800 dining and drinking spots — a hard thing to sustain for years running on a rotating tap list alone.
A pub first, a craft-beer showcase second
Labeerynt calls itself a craft-beer pub, but its strongest quality may be that it still feels like a pub.
The interior is characterized by low lighting, exposed brick, beer and music decoration, tucked-away seating and a slightly improvised underground aesthetic. Rather than adopting the bright, minimalist look associated with many modern taprooms, Labeerynt leans into the comforting darkness of a cellar bar. British beer writers Boak and Bailey described it as the most convincingly "pubby" place they encountered during a 2024 visit to Gdańsk, noting its red-tinted lighting, private corners and traditional bar service. (Boak and Bailey)
That observation points to an important distinction. Labeerynt is not a brewery taproom built around a single producer. Nor is it primarily a restaurant using craft beer as an accessory. It is a multi-tap bar: an independent showcase where the selection changes and the bartender acts as a guide through beers produced elsewhere.
The pub advertises 15 beers on tap, supplemented by a larger assortment of domestic and imported bottles. Its official online description emphasizes craft beer, music and drinks rather than a substantial food menu, making Labeerynt better approached as a drinking destination than as a dinner stop. (Instagram) That tracks with the broader review record: recurring feedback praises the beer selection, pricing and staff knowledge, with the occasional gripe about a stuffy, poorly ventilated basement or an inconsistently clean restroom — the kind of trade-off regulars tend to shrug off in exchange for the atmosphere and the tap board. (Tripadvisor)
A working map of modern Polish beer
The tap list is where Labeerynt becomes particularly useful to travelers. Rather than requiring visitors to tour breweries scattered across Poland, the bar gathers producers and styles from different regions into one cellar.
Because the lineup rotates, no fixed list can represent the pub for long. A recently updated menu illustrated the breadth of its approach: beers from PINTA and PINTA Barrel Brewing, Trzech Kumpli, ReCraft, Lubrow, Nepo, Czarna Owca, Wąsowo and Piwne Podziemie appeared alongside Belgian beer from Brouwerij Huyghe. Styles ranged from pilsner and low-alcohol lager to hazy IPA, Berliner Weisse, fruit cider, wild ale and a flavored foreign extra stout. (ontap.pl — beer-to-date today)
That is a revealing cross-section of contemporary Polish beer culture. Poland's modern craft movement has enthusiastically adopted American IPA, pastry stout, fruit sour and hazy-beer trends, but its best bars rarely restrict themselves to novelty or extreme flavors. Labeerynt's boards commonly place familiar pilsners and approachable session beers beside stronger, more experimental releases.
One recent lineup, for example, included PINTA's 3.5% This Is Light, ReCraft's Fresh Pils and Czarna Owca's Obywatel Kociewski alongside the citrus wild ale After Hours and Piwne Podziemie's chocolate, coffee, hazelnut and vanilla Angelico Stout. Published prices generally ranged from about 15 to 22 złoty for 300 milliliters and 21 to 30 złoty for 500 milliliters, depending on strength and production cost. Those prices are only a snapshot and will change with the beers. (ontap.pl — beer-to-date today)
The rotating board also appears to maintain a connection with Piwne Podziemie — literally "Beer Underground." Labeerynt has listed beers under the combined designation "Piwne Podziemie/Labeerynt," including Koga IPA. Public information does not establish that Labeerynt owns a brewery of its own; the safer interpretation is that these are house-associated or collaborative beers brewed through Piwne Podziemie — which is itself worth knowing more about. Despite the shared "underground" branding, Piwne Podziemie is not a Gdańsk operation; it's based roughly 500 kilometers south in Chełm, brewing since December 2014 under Dariusz Piecuch, a homebrewer who cut his teeth on commercial-scale brewing in the United States before building a reputation in Poland for bold, experimental additions — tropical fruit, coffee, vanilla, cocoa — and its recurring smoked "Katastorfa" releases. (ontap.pl — beer-to-date today; Untappd)
Care at the point of service
A long tap list is meaningless when the beer is poorly stored or carelessly poured. Labeerynt's reputation is strengthened by repeated reports of staff who understand both the products and the mechanics of serving them.
During their Gdańsk visit, Boak and Bailey observed a bartender carefully manipulating a Czech-style tap to create the correct foam texture. They reported that the beers they tried were well kept and appropriately served, singling out Piwne Podziemie's Coffeelicous Special, dispensed through an English-style beer engine, as one of the standout beers of their trip. (Boak and Bailey)
Other travel accounts similarly praise the staff's ability to discuss styles and recommend bottles according to a customer's preferences. One reviewer recalled being presented with five possible bottled beers and receiving an explanation of each before choosing. Such service matters enormously in a bar selling unfamiliar products from dozens of breweries. It turns a chalkboard full of abbreviations into an approachable tasting experience. (Craft Beer Amethyst)
Visitors who are not deeply immersed in craft beer should therefore resist choosing solely by alcohol percentage or an amusing name. Describing preferred flavors — dry, bitter, dark, tart, fruity, smoky or lager-like — will usually produce a more rewarding recommendation.
Beyond the taps: Gdańsk's metal crowd
At first glance, upon entering the pub and sitting down for a drink, I did not detect anything that would denote the establishment as being "metal," or even a "rock" bar. Then I journeyed into the back room…
Labeerynt's appeal extends beyond beer, and that's how Fermented Metal came to visit the beer pub. Rock and heavy metal are recurring parts of its identity, reflected in its playlists, darker visual atmosphere and reputation among traveling music fans. Once I mentioned to our bartender our intent, the music playing in the background got a little louder and I could hear they were playing some obscure doom metal.
Labeerynt's appeal extends beyond beer, and that's how Fermented Metal came to visit the beer pub. Rock and heavy metal are recurring parts of its identity, reflected in its playlists, darker visual atmosphere and reputation among traveling music fans. Once I mentioned to our bartender our article intent, the music playing in the background got a little louder and I could hear they were playing some obscure doom metal.
The pub is listed by metal-oriented travel guides as a place to hear heavy music while drinking local beer, and customer accounts regularly mention rock or metal playing in the background. (Facebook) One international bar directory built specifically for touring metal fans sums it up plainly: "Nice small Bar. Good metal in the background and a lot of beer from the tap. Go there and enjoy nice local people with a good taste of beer and music." Independent Tripadvisor reviewers echo the same read, tagging it a "metal pub" without any prompting from the venue itself. Unlike a dedicated concert venue, Labeerynt does not need a stage or nightly bands to establish that connection.
While further conversing with our bartender, we learned of the Mystic Festival, Gdańsk's major annual metal gathering. In the past, Labeerynt has promoted extended festival-week opening hours and explicitly welcomed Mystic attendees looking for somewhere to drink before and after the concerts. (Instagram) The festival itself has only grown since — the 2026 edition runs June 3–6 at the Gdańsk Shipyard, spanning four days and five stages with more than ninety bands. The festival grounds run their own "Mystic Village" with local food, craft beer and art installations, which makes Labeerynt's role clearer by contrast: it's the off-site alternative, a cellar bar away from the shipyard crowds where the same fans can settle in without a festival wristband.
For festival visitors, that makes the pub more than a convenient pre-show stop. It becomes part of Gdańsk's temporary metal ecosystem — a meeting place where international fans, Polish drinkers and local regulars cross paths away from the official festival grounds.
Labeerynt is not known primarily for producing officially licensed band beers, nor does available evidence show a sustained program of brewery-and-band collaborations. Its heavy-music significance is cultural rather than commercial. The bar supports the scene through atmosphere, soundtrack and hospitality instead of treating metal as branding pasted onto an otherwise conventional venue.
Why Labeerynt matters
Gdańsk has no shortage of places selling beer. Visitors can drink historic-style brews, visit modern brewpubs, order internationally familiar lager beside the waterfront or explore other respected multitap bars. Labeerynt distinguishes itself by combining several qualities that do not always coexist: a serious rotating beer program, knowledgeable service, an unpretentious cellar-pub atmosphere and an authentic affinity for heavy music — backed up by a review record (4.5 stars, 240-plus ratings, a top-75 placement among Gdańsk's restaurants and bars) that's hard to fake over the years this place has been open.
It does not feel engineered around a single trend. There are modern hazy IPAs and flavored stouts, but also pilsners, Czech and Belgian beer, cider and more restrained session-strength choices. There is metal on the speakers, but the venue does not resemble a themed attraction. There are tourists, particularly during festival season, yet the place retains the informal rhythms of a neighborhood pub.
The result is a bar that rewards both exploration and repetition. A first visit offers the thrill of finding the entrance and decoding the tap board. A second visit reveals that the board has changed. By the third, the labyrinth no longer feels confusing. It feels like a refuge.
For craft-beer travelers (like myself) — and especially for metal fans visiting Gdańsk (like myself), — Labeerynt is not merely somewhere to drink before the next destination. Make it your "end" destination, and enjoy reminiscing about your day over a cold beer with a good friend, and some heavy tunes.
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