Bratislava

Why it matters: opened in February 2024 by Martin Zambor and the civic association Stary tunel, Lepsi pribeh (A Better Story) is Slovakia’s first training cafe, where people recovering from mental illness build work skills with a therapist on site – around thirty employees have already moved back toward the regular job market. It runs like any good cafe: solid espresso drinks, fresh-filled rolls and cakes made that morning. You won’t be able to tell trainers from trainees, and that is exactly the point. Tip: it is inside the VIVO! shopping center in Nove Mesto, an easy stop on the way to the Zlate piesky lake or the Polus-area shops.

Why it matters: Radnicka is a sheltered-workshop cafe that employs waiters with intellectual disabilities, training them with a hotel-management school so they can move on to mainstream hospitality jobs. It hides in the arcaded courtyard of the Old Town Hall, one of the quietest coffee stops in the historic center. Order a coffee and one of the homemade cakes and enjoy the courtyard calm steps from Primacialne namestie. Tip: pair it with the Bratislava City Museum upstairs – same courtyard, same ticket-free entry to the cafe.