Minipivovar TATRAS, Poprad

Minipivovar TATRAS is a brewpub on Poprad’s main square, Námestie sv. Egídia, housed in a building with a long brewing history. After the great fire of Poprad, in 1731 the Spiš German Jakub Emmerici built a stone house here in place of a wooden one and carved the words “Soli Deo Gloria” (“Glory to God alone”) into a beam. In 1778 Empress Maria Theresa confirmed Poprad’s ancient right to brew beer, and this house was one of the 19 burgher houses where beer was brewed and served. It was brewed mainly for home use, usually by women. When a brewery was founded in the town in 1812, home brewing in Poprad died out.

The tradition was revived by Poprad native Lukáš Vdovjak. As a student he fell for small Czech craft breweries and, together with his father Milan, turned the family house on the square into a brewpub; the feasibility study for the project became the topic of his bachelor’s thesis, and in 2014 he completed a maltster-brewer course. The first batch, a Pilsner-type pale lager, was brewed on 30 September 2015 and named “Odležiak”: the building was still under construction, so the beer waited in the tank for a year until the restaurant opened for trial operation on 8 September 2016.

What to taste and do

• Live beer. TATRAS brews both bottom- and top-fermented beers — lagers and ales — following the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516: only water, malt, hops and yeast. The beer is unfiltered and unpasteurised, with no preservatives, flavourings or colourings. The brewery draws water from its own deep well in the lagering cellar. Beers include Pilsák, Pánko, Tmavák, Weizen, Tatráš, Strapatá veža and Poprader; the line-up changes.
• Tasting set — eight current beers in 1 dl glasses, from the lightest pale to the dark.
• Brewery tour with explanations and beer tasted straight from the tank (about 45 minutes).
• Jacobus Emerici beer spirit (45%) — distilled from the house IPA by slow vacuum distillation at the Tatranská likérka distillery; an unusual souvenir.
• Beer spa. The building has a private beer spa: a dry hop sauna, a cold plunge, a bubbling bath with beer ingredients at 38 °C, yeast beer you tap yourself and a rest on wheat straw. Four tubs, up to 8 people, by reservation. Not recommended for pregnant women or people with high blood pressure, heart disease or an allergy to yeast or hops.

Practical information

Getting there. The brewery is in the centre of Poprad on Námestie sv. Egídia, so you can walk here from the railway and bus stations. Poprad is the main gateway to the High Tatras, which makes it a handy evening stop after the mountains.

Restaurant opening hours (as of October 2026, according to the website): Mon–Thu and Sun 12:00–23:00, Fri–Sat 12:00–24:00.

Tour: €8.00 per person; groups of 5 to 15; book at least a day ahead. According to the Region Tatry tourist office, tours usually take place on weekdays between 8:00 and 15:00.

Above the restaurant there is a small four-room guesthouse. Remember that Slovakia has a zero alcohol limit for drivers.

Nearby

• Spišská Sobota — a historic square within Poprad.
• AquaCity Poprad — the town’s thermal water park.
• EĽRO festival in Kežmarok — the biggest craft fair below the Tatras.

Official website: minipivovartatras.sk

Photos: minipivovartatras.sk.