KEEP IT LOCAL IN LVIV
Local lowdowns about places I know in Lviv that may make your evenings more interesting. They are not visited on our tours but you should definitely check them out before or after touring with In Lviv Tours. Lviv is a very fast-moving city and new places open all the time. Watch this space.
LAZY DOG
It's always a good idea to steer clear of pubs on a main track, but Lviv is different. Our old town pubs have been built for locals, meaning fair prices and fairer ladies.
Lazy Dog is one long room beginning with the bar area and concluding with banquette seating at the back. It's a tad gloomy but not in a negative sense. You get the picture: perfect for personal space.
Lazy Dog reminds me of The Hawley Arms, a decade before Amy Winehouse made it famous. In the early 90s it was a speed-fuelled bikers pub that showed football at night. An in-the-know hangout for music business makers in the day. Never boring, believe me.
If you like Amy, check out one of my exes from the dim and distant. Terri is Amy's deadringer singer.
The kitchen does not disappoint but I won't reveal the menu here, you must see it for yourself. Half a dozen draught beers meet all expectations so kudos to the landlord for getting it right.
Football, rather than music, is the name of the Lazy Dog game. If you're staying near Rynok Square and want to watch the match, now you know which side of the bed to fall out of.
TRAVEN
Traven is a safe space for students, young punks, antifas and LGBTQs, but a very broad mix of people hang out there and not all of them agree with the Traven status quo.
Traven kitchen is vegetarian and beers are mainly Brater with a few extras on the board. Music is broadly indie and whoever works there will decide what you listen to. You will not have a choice.
When I first visited the premises in 2014 it was a Right Sector bar (far right political group), then it became Dante, then Kerouac, then something else.
Now, as Traven, evenings spent downstairs will likely include live music, a lively debate, an art exhibition or film screening. During the day you can play table football.
Previous and current staff hail from the Lviv punk and stoner scenes, representing bands such as Breath Control Play, Planet Bit, Mauser and Suicideburg. Traven is a good spot in which to take stock before heading to Bar Deli Club or further afield in Lviv old town.
BAR DELI CLUB
The most notorious pubs have been around for a while and Deli qualifies with flying colours. It closed for a while in the COVID years when someone rented the space for massage services. Let's call that a blot on an otherwise unblemished landscape.
Bar Deli Club has always had quirky, some might say "foxy" bartenders, old school game consoles that you can play for free (Sega Megadrive, Dreamcast), and vinyls that you can spin. Star Wars stuff is everywhere, there's a room dedicated to Tottenham Hotspur (I don't know why either) and another for Beer Pong.
Deli kitchen stuggles to feed hungry people so eat anywhere else before visiting. Half a dozen excellent bistros and restaurants sit very close nearby, namely Kumpel, Stargorod (directly opposite), Kabinet, Meat and Justice, Traven (see above), and a Lviv Croissants.
Music is YouTube and Deli will play what you want, be that Death in June, Bauhaus or Baby Metal. Beers by Brater which means taste, value and variety.
The founder of Bar Deli Club, known to all as Ramm, was pulled out of a taxi and forcibly mobilized in early July, 2026 after a night out celebrating his birthday.
Ramm had an exemption from conscription on medical grounds but law enforcement ignored it. Bar Deli Club will continue, but without Ramm who knows what the future holds.
Given that his pub has long since been a safe house for evaders and brazen purveyors of stolen valour, it'll probably survive on very shaky ground, but then Bar Deli Club has always been on the brink.
BUFFALO PUB
A family pub founded in 2018 that delivers Ukrainian and British rock music to loyal locals. The kitchen is excellent, their borscht one of the best in Lviv. Beer, shots and snacks are all trusted staples.
Buffalo Pub (вул. Богдана Хмельницького, 15) sits between what is left of two synagogues that were destroyed by Nazis in 1941. The street was the scene of murderous pogroms carried out by Ukrainians in July that year.
Their wheat beer is gluten concentrate so if you suffer from gluten intolerance as I do, stick to the lagers and darker beers. One of my favourite pubs in Lviv, depending on who works there.
CANTONA
Founded in 2015 by FCKL fan Andriy Markovets, Cantona is all about the match with a hefty does of Britpop and Indie music. Expect an acceptable selection of beers and a decent enough kitchen. I bought the extractor fan therein amongst other things to support Cantona in the early days. Seems to have helped.
The pub has been acknowledged by Eric himself. Will he turn up? Probably. About United, Cantona has become basecamp for Lviv Reds (Manchester United supporters in Lviv).
Andriy is a serving soldier and his pub has long supported the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Please do your bit by visiting Cantona for a meal and some beers.
Cantona likes stickers of football firms and beers that are unavailable in Ukraine (especially white beers). If you plan on visiting Cantona, deliverance of either would be appreciated.
FACET
A place with history and status tucked away at the top of Virmenska, Facet can be found on a cosy cobbled corner in the heart of Lviv old town. Popular with musicians, artists and academics down the years, you can expect a very warm welcome from both owners and staff.
Facet walls are adorned with paintings of 70s rock bands by Andriy Pavliv and rather a lot of mirrors for the vain amongst us. Andriy's homemade spirits are a Lviv staple and the kitchen serves traditional Galician fare. Local beers and wines are also available.
Twin sister Fazetka opened a few years ago in front of Facet. It's an equally charming bar with an eclectic menu and entirely different ambience.
One, the other, or both are a must when walking through the Armenian quarter of Lviv old town.
PORCO MARCO
Sometimes it's worth paying more for quality, and that's exactly what will happen if you eat at Porco Marco. Owner Nastya Gren is absolutely devoted to her Armenian alcove, the result being a Lviv success-survival story as she has seen off the Great Pandemic Swindle and is currently winning in wartime.
Lviv has always struggled with proper pizza, we've had "Bella Ciao", "Ciao Bella", and all manner of in betweens. Nothing good happened until Nastya arrived.
Given that the closest most Ukrainians get to Italy is chewing on dough from the likes of Celentano and IQ Pizza, Porco Marco is a breath of fresh air - for those who can afford it.
Porco Marco breaks the bank for what is ultimately street food, $13 per pizza a king's ransom by Ukrainian standards, but they are big and almost authentically Italian.
Expect variants of all the classics and the Lviv version of Porchetta di Ariccia. I know all about that having lived in Ariccia 20 years before Porco Marco existed.
At time of writing, and after 5 years in business, Porco Marco has yet to publish their menu in English or Italian on Instagram. Something to work on.
You can follow Porco Marco on Instagram.
✍ August 9th, 2026.