It opened on 25 April 2026, so it is still in shake-down mode and pulling the seen-and-be-seen crowd. Operationally it sits alongside The Coach House and The Duck & Dagger under the same Chester team, which is a steady local track record. If you want effortless, well-lit and Instagrammable, this is the spot. If you would rather hide in a dark corner with a pint of cask, the pubs on Lower Bridge Street will look after you better.
What it is actually like
The name is a nod to the Roman popina - the wine bars of ancient Deva and the rest of the empire - which is a tidy bit of branding for a city built on Roman foundations. In practice that means a curated wine list, classic and contemporary cocktails, a few premium beers, and a sharing menu of charcuterie, cheeses and small plates. It is stylish without being stiff: warm lighting, wood, low-key polish, and a resident DJ on Friday and Saturday playing the sort of thing you can still talk over. Sitting inside the Northgate development, the room feels modern and clean - a useful counterpoint after a day spent picking your way around the Rows.
What to expect
Expect bread baked at sister venue The Duck & Dagger, a proper wine list, cocktails that are not sugar-water, and a few premium beers if you would rather a pint. Photos will give you the room better than adjectives will: warm, polished, modern and built for a slower drink.
Avoid if
You are starving: it is sharing plates and charcuterie, not a slab of beef and chips to soak up the day. You are on a tight budget: the venue pitches itself as upmarket, and while it is not eye-watering, you are not paying Wetherspoons prices for the curated glass of Rioja.
Nearby plan
Storyhouse: The city's cultural hub for theatre and books. Chester Picturehouse: For your indie film fix. Chester Market: Just a stone's throw away if you want more casual food hall vibes before heading to Popina for a "proper" drink.
Photos
Photos from Google Places. The TTDC illustration remains the main image at the top.
If Popina is full or shut.
Cosy Club Cosy Club sits in Coachworks Arcade on Northgate Street, within the historic former Westminster Coach and Carriage Works setting, so the room has more theatre than the average all-day dining chain. The menu is broad rather than brave: breakfast, brunch, burgers, small plates, steaks, cocktails and bottomless brunch. Good for central group bookings, pre-cinema drinks and mixed-age meals where nobody wants a debate about the menu. 
The Kitchen The Kitchen is the Storyhouse restaurant for brunch, lunch, dinner and the useful business of eating before or after whatever is on. It works because it is inside the building, not because it is trying to be Chester's biggest dining secret. Very handy when theatre, cinema, library and food all need to happen under one roof. 
Lockwood & Company Lockwood & Co. is the central bar inside Chester Market, named for T.M. Lockwood & Sons and shaped around the three arches of the old Coachworks Arcade frontage. It works less like a traditional pub and more like the drinks engine for the whole hall: cocktails, twelve draught taps, a serious wine list and enough range to keep mixed groups in one place.