I have visited quite a few cafés in Poznan City recently but didn’t have time to write about it. Now I face a wall of photographs I made and think which one to choose now. I decided to put together some lines about U Mnie Czy U Ciebie mainly because I passed by this place many many times and never entered. I guess this will do it justice to type a little review of it now.
This place is located in the geographical center of the City of Poznan, right by a very crowded tram stop. Now the best location, I’d say, the neighboring establishments are not appealing to the eye and the Sphinx restaurant on the other side of the street acts as fast-food-people magnet. Fortunately, it is also close to the Imperial Castle and the recently renovated office building – Okrąglak. Those factors make this area a must-go spot for tourists rendering a higher number of potential clientele.
Anyway, the entrance to the coffee spot is right next to the tram stop. You can miss it unless you go below the arcades where you will surely notice their big, shining, orange banner. Inside it does not go far from what you would expect from a café. Tables, chairs, bar. All in brick-orange tones. It gives an impression of a very cozy, warm place. And it is not untrue. We went directly to one table we decided on occupying since the moment we entered but then we noticed a sign on it. Thinking it was a reservation we started looking for an alternative spot. However, it appeared not to be a reservation. The sign states ‘stolik profesorski’ (professors’ table) so we asked the waitress what was this sign about. She said that they are close to the University of Economics and many teachers go here for a coffee. Also, apparently this particular table was their favourite one so they put a sign on it to make it official. Naturally, we immediately sat on the sofa by the professors’ table and started looking at the menu.
I wouldn’t say there is a big choice of coffees there but I am also not a fan of a very big choice. I am always going for black coffee if such a wide array of coffees is available, just to make it easier. Anyway, the prices aren’t very low. 8PLN for an espresso that far from the old market square is not really something I would expect. Perhaps it is not the cheapest place to have a cafe because of the surrounding Imperial Castle, Okrąglak, św. Marcin and being on the geometrical center of Poznan? Who knows. I didn’t ask.
The coffee itself was, well, ok. I wouldn’t say it was stunningly delicious but it was also not a bad one. It also wasn’t very strong I’d say. Maybe I just needed something else that moment. We were also given both brown and white sugar. Which is a nice thing, because it does not always happen. I have been to places where it screams to add brown sugar but they only have the white one. I know this is rather cheap but I really can’t say much more about the taste of the coffee they serve. ‘OK’ is the word. Nothing else seems to convey the message right.
All in all, this is a unfortunate location, a little expensive and not particularly tasty place. I still liked it though – this area needs more coffee spots, without a doubt. Seeing any type of establishments like clubs and fast food ‘restaurants’ just makes this place degrade more. Cafes like U Mnie Czy U Ciebie are absolutely indispensable for the general good of the City of Poznan.
CaffeineSpotter 