February 5th, 2006 | The lowdown by Steven Brooks

The Mystery of the Seven Cats Explained

In a previous article about 2K, probably the best tea room/coffee shop in Wroclaw, I suggested that there might be more than anyone is prepared to say about its sudden name change from 7K (seven cats) to 2K (two cats). I suspected the unexplained disappearance of 5 cats was in fact just the beginning of a greater mystery – a mystery in which the sudden craze for repaving obscure streets in the middle of the night might also be connected.
And so intrigued I decided to investigate – and am now able to introduce a new favourite bar of mine: 7K.

Apparently the story is as simple as this: the owner of the original 7K (the tea room/coffee shop which is now 2K) had 7 cats, and over time 5 of them died. But in memory of the original 7 he opened a new bar bearing their name.
The new 7K is not far from 2K; simply walk along Kielbasnicza Street in the opposite direction from Plac Solny and then turn left onto Sw. Mikolaja. On the right you’ll see one of the Pyramida chain restaurants, but just before there should a sign beckoning you to turn right down an alleyway and to make your way to “7 Kotow” – at the end of the alleway turn left and then go up some steps and into what looks like the back door of nowhere in particular.
Once inside, however, 7K is a surprisingly large and friendly bar, popular with dating couples and people looking for a place to talk.
The drink menu is mostly the same as anywhere else with one exception. 7K has three choices of Grzane Piwo – quite literally, and deliberately, warm beer. Warm beer is of course the obvious way Poles reconcile their cold winters with their limitless thirst. Usually you just have to ask to get your beer warmed up – but in 7K they take things a little more seriously. The three Grzane Piwo on offer are normal lagers, warmed up with your choice of fruit flavouring and a sprinkling of cinnamon. These beers are more of a desert than a refreshing drink – very sweet in taste and quite heavy on the stomach – but if it’s cold outside, Grzane Piwo is by far the most satisfying way to beat the chill.