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| City Guide - Warsaw - Food and Drink | ||
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Food and Drink Warsaw's restaurants offer Polish, European and international cuisine, including a good range of Chinese and Japanese restaurants. Dining hours are typically 1200-2300/2400. Traditional Polish food can be found in the area around the Old Town Square. A cheap meal should cost about Z20-25 and a moderately priced meal about Z30-35. Men should wear ties and women should be smartly dressed for some of the most exclusive restaurants (where prices can skyrocket). Polish food tends to be fairly heavy and the diet contains a lot of meat and fat - vegetarians may have a difficult time trying to find a meal here. Polish specialities include kielbasa sausages, pork cutlets, steak tartare served with a raw egg on top, bigos (meat and cabbage stew), flaki (tripe soup), golonka (pork knuckle) and golabki (stuffed cabbage rolls). Lighter fare includes pierogis (potato dumplings stuffed with meat, cheese, mushrooms or cabbage), barszcz (beetroot soup) and zurek (sour rye soup). The most popular brand of vodka, in a country that consumes 250 million litres of it a year, is Wyborowa. Zywiec lager is often seen in Warsaw's bars; Okocim, EB and Lech are other popular brews. A tip of 10% is customary in bars and restaurants. Restaurants: The Belvedere (tel: (022) 841 4806), one of Poland's top restaurants, offers Polish and international cuisine in the unique setting of the New Orangerie in Lazienki Park (access is from ulica Parkowa). Bazyliszek offers good portions of traditional Polish fare in the centre of Warsaw's Old Town at Rynek Starego Miasta 3/9 (tel: (022) 831 1841). A wide variety of fish and seafood dishes are served (Z40 for a main course) in its sister restaurant next door (tel: (022) 831 3850). Fukier, Rynek Starego Miasta 27 (tel: (022) 831 1013), serves up Polish and international cuisine (Z150 for three courses) in a historical setting right in the centre of the Old Town. Inside, the vaulted ceilings and elaborate displays of fruit, flowers and candles create a warm atmosphere. The courtyard garden is open when the weather is pleasant. Just off Old Town Square, at ulica Jezuicka 6/8, is Club Swietoszek (tel: (022) 831 5634) which serves a variety of Polish dishes in its subterranean dining rooms (Z100 for three courses). White plaster walls set off the natural brick of the vaulting, providing a romantic locale in which to sample starters of smoked salmon and barszcz soup before progressing to the excellent roast duck. Adler Bar & Restaurant, ulica Mokotowska 69 (tel: (022) 628 7384), serves up a mix of traditional Polish and Bavarian cuisine in a rustic setting across the road from the Sheraton. Heavy wooden beams arrayed like spokes on a wheel bring the room in closer, as does the candlelight and wooden furnishings. Along the main stretch of the Royal Route, at Novy Swiat 63, is the Kawiarnia i Restauracja Novy Swiat (tel: (022) 826 5803), with a bright, spacious café on the ground floor and an imposing staircase leading to the restaurant upstairs. In the evening, candlelit tables and piano music accompany the international and Polish cuisine. The three-course lunch menu costs Z35 and the à la carte dinner menu is Z25-35. Conveniently located near the sights at Rynek Nowego Miasta 13, Nove Miasto (tel: (022) 831 4379) is a blessing for non-carnivores. Vegetarian cuisine is served 1000-2400, and includes meatless variations of traditional Polish dishes (Z50 for three courses). Menora, ulica Grzybowski 2 (tel: (022) 620 3754), is a kosher restaurant that offers a variety of East European dishes, including kreplech (ravioli with meat), kefta and chopped liver (Z35 for three courses). Cafés: Some of Warsaw's cafés (kawiarnia) date back to the nineteenth century. Many of these are located in the historic palaces, as well as in the Old Town and along the Royal Route - Café Zamkovy, in the Royal Castle, is one of the more atmospheric of these. The most famous of Warsaw's cafés is Café Blikle, at 33 Novy Swiat. The first incarnation of this café was from 1869-1939, when it acted as a literary salon and meeting place for actors and artists. On Saturday, people linger here over coffee and pastries (there is a patisserie next door) in its mahogany and dark green interior. Further up the street is the more spacious Kawiarnia i Restauracja Novy Swiat (see the Restaurants section), with newspapers and cheaper prices. Café Bristol, in the Hotel Bristol, is a tiled, bistro-style café lined by full-length windows, serving delicious pastries and coffees until 2100. |
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