Best Of… Poland

To find the essence of Poland, visit any one of these restaurants – ranging from elegant to shabby, discover these for a 360 view of Polish cuisine…

Bez Gwiazdek

Wiślana 8

Focusing each month on a different region of the country, Robert Trzópek’s tasting menu takes diners to the very heart of the Polish soul and does so via tastes that betray his fine dining background: delicate and precise, it’s the polar opposite of the mundane Polski feast. For many, it’s the best restaurant in the city!

Anons Do Dzielni

Madalińskiego 7

This charming brick-lined recess has a magical intimacy primed to cheer you up in the miserable months, and a menu that’s the epitome of rustic purity. The cooking here sings of care and freshness, and it becomes a pleasure to pick your way through a seasonal menu of homespun tastes. The beef cheeks are exceptional, but we’ve also taken great joy in balls of black pudding with panko and apple sauce – this is the gastro equivalent of a hug between friends.

The Farm

Mokotowska 8

Preaching a message of farm-tofork, this ambitious eatery takes its produce seriously – to the extent they have their own farm in the lake district to the north. Adjusted with the seasons, the menu on our visited included a roe deer stewed in Ukiel beer and served in a pan under a light puff pastry. Using chunky woods, copper light fittings and black and white floor tiles, the interior finishing leaves no doubt you’re somewhere upmarket.

Patelnia Patera

Wilcza 29A

Warm and homely with its woodsy finishes and empty pans hanging from the walls, Patelnia Patera deserve credit for creating the most incredible schabowy we’ve yet to taste: this flattened portion of pork is monstrous in size and marinated overnight in buttermilk ensuring that the meat stays moist and tender when fried. Coated in challah breadcrumbs mixed with dried podgrzybki, the flavors are electrifying.

Polana Smak W

E. Plater 14

Compact and woodsy, Polana Smaków has lost none of its copious charm since trading a no-man’s land location for city center Warsaw. Few chefs do a better job than Andrzej Polan when it comes to making herring sexy, but his skills go far beyond that alone. Offering a unique take on Polish classics, his food is seasonal and sophisticated yet reassuringly simple.

Syty Chmiel

Marszałkowska 10/16

Some know Syty Chmiel as a craft multitap, but the truth is it’s also so much more. Better-known as Pan Tasak, co-owner Wit Szychowski has devised a menu that champions Poland’s rural greatness, with star cameos including blood sausage pancakes with caramelized apples. Hearty yet surprisingly sophisticated in its presentation and tastes, this is the kind of food befitting of the sound of clinking glasses.

R D O

Targowa 81

Hardwood floors, exposed pipes and a flurry of plants equip an open area decorated with blasts of contemporary art, recycled furnishings and extravagant light installations. Menuwise, the food lights the soul. But more than just celebrating the power of local produce, there’s a refinement at play that speaks of a kitchen team that aims for the exquisite. For us, the pierogi with mushroom stock and smoked cottage cheese remain a favorite memory.