Autumn finally came, rain and cold weather with it. Well, winter is coming and there’s nothing we can do about it, except reminisce about summer evenings we spent at Nocny Market. We were carefree, with nothing elso to do but drinking good craft beer and stuffing our faces with amazing pulled pork sandwiches, Vietnamese banh mi or delicious tacos packed with fresh cilantro.
I’m writing this while wrapped in a thick blanket, drinking hot ginger tea and wondering why my radiator works so poorly. Warm summer evenings accompanied by beer bought from Inne Beczki food truck, after waiting in a 20 minute queue, are just a distant memory. The memorable nights with food and alcohol wouldn’t happen if it wasn’t for Nocny Market located at an abandoned train station not far from Warsaw city centre.
Going out out
Nocny Market is a place where for the last two years all of the Warsaw residents would come to eat, drink and party together. As soon as it gets warm everyone puts on their trendy clothes and goes to the industrial space where they celebrate the arrival of summer.
Opinions about Nocny Market vary. Some love it and compare it to Asian food markets or the most trendy foodie places in Berlin. Others complain about long queues and a dangerous amount of influencers with their phones constantly ready to take selfies and flood their Instagram feed with good looking (but cold at this point) fusion food. For me it’s an interesting alternative to the most popular summer destination in Warsaw – the river bank where all the parties and food trucks used to be.
Sure, the queues are long if you come later in the evening (especially at the stalls that sell alcohol), but you can avoid that simply by coming earlier, or on Sunday. The hipsters, influencers, trendsetters and fashion bloggers are there, but so are the “normals” who just enjoy good food. I think it’s a great place to get together with friends, try something you never ate before, and if you’re feeling particularly adventurous you can even get a tattoo next to a food truck serving ramen soup.
What to eat
As far as the food goes, there’s as much diversity as there is with people who come to Nocny Market. There’s something for everyone. Several food venders changing weekly, a few places serving alcohol, ice cream and desserts for those with sweet tooth. Everything! Meat lovers will be happy to choose from multiple burger options, sandwiches with porchetta, pulled pork, duck meat or bowls of hot meaty chili con carne. Vegans and vegetarians won’t starve to death either. There are multiple Asian inspired veggie dishes, soups or traditional street food with vegan twist, i.e. vegan hot dogs, vegan pho, vegan sushi, etc.
What’s my favourite? This year there was a separate space with authentic Asian cuisine. Vietnamese, Korean, Thai. Asian Food Foundation finds the best cooks and lets them serve their exotic food to hungry polish clients. For me a real gem was aromatic spicy laksa soup with shrimps. At the same time it was the cheapest thing you could buy at the entire market. Respect!
In conclusion
Nocny Market is an important foodie place in Warsaw. Every time it comes back to life we know it’s truly summer, and when it comes to an end it’s time to watch ‘Game of Thrones’ agaian because winter is inevitably coming. We hope it will stay with us for a long time as it proved to be an amazing place to socialize, eat, drink and be merry 😉
[Where] Warszawa Główna, ul. Towarowa 3
[When] In warm months, so from may to october.
[How much] Prices vary from food stall to food stall but they’re mostly a bit above average. Asian food tends to be a bit cheaper.