The Restaurants of Poland: A Primer

Belvedere Restaurant, Warsaw

One of the unexpected pleasures of my recent trip to Poland was the excellent quality of the food in the country’s restaurants. With the Polish economy thriving, the dining scenes in Warsaw, Krakow, and Sopot are thriving, and we had some memorably good meals. Here’s a selection of addresses that I enjoyed, plus one to avoid.

Belvedere, Warsaw. Set in the white-painted steel-and-glass 19th century orangery in Lazienki Park (pictured above), this formal restaurant offers both Polish and international menus. Start with Zurek, a soup of sour cream garnished with country ham and eggs and herring prepared two ways (with sour cream and onions and with prunes). Main courses include duck confit with currant jelly or beef tenderloin with cep mushrooms. For something less hearty, the international menu features Caesar salad, pumpkin soup and halibut roasted in miso with shrimp. Service in this elegant conservatory style dining room is excellent, and there’s a very good wine list. Ulica Agrykoli 1 (entry from Parkowa Street), Tel. 48-22-55-86-700. Dinner for two $160.

Polka, Warsaw. Though the long-running formal-dining in Warsaw’s Old Town is U Fukiera, I find it stuffy and over-priced relative to the quality of what they serve. So for anyone who wants to sample a full suite of good Polish comfort food, including dishes like potato pancakes with mushrooms in cream and prune-stuffed pork loin with beet salad and groats, I’d suggest Polka, which is run by locally well-known restaurateur Magda Gessler. Though service from the young staff can be slow, the food’s very good. This warren of fancifully painted vaulted dining rooms is also a cozy place to settle in for a meal. All of the staff speak English, and prices are quite reasonable. Ulica Swietojanska 2, Warsaw, Tel. 48-22-635-3535. Dinner for two $100.

Miod Malina, Krakow. This pleasant restaurant has a cheerful country style décor that includes a white-washed vaulted ceiling and a wood-burning oven. The delicious Polish food includes tasty pierogies (dumplings stuffed with cabbage, potato, mushrooms or other fillings) and fried potato pancakes with sour cream or mushroom sauce as a starter, and main courses like stuffed cabbage with tomato sauce or spare ribs roasted in honey. Conveniently located in the heart of the Old Town, it’s run by one of the city’s most successful catering groups, and most of the staff speak English. Very popular, so booking is essential. Ulica Grodzka 40, Tel. 48-12-430-0411. Dinner for two $80.

Wentzl, Krakow. Located in an 18th century building overlooking the Rynek Glowny, Krakow’s magnificent main market square, this long-running restaurant has a formal atmosphere and serves an appealing and well-prepared menu of Polish and international dishes in a handsome series of wood-floored dining rooms. Preferring a meal off from Polish cooking, we enjoyed mushroom mille-feuille and beef carpaccio with Parmesan to start, and followed with venison in morel mushroom sauce and veal sweet breads in a delicious red wine sauce. Don’t miss the apple strudel for dessert. Rynek Główny 19, Tel. 48-12-429-5712, Dinner for two $140.

Verre en Vers, Gdansk. It wouldn’t normally occur to us to head for the dining room of a Radisson Blu hotel, but this attractive brasserie was recommended to us by several locals, and we had a very good meal here of onion soup, salad, steak with brandy sauce and potatoes. This well-run restaurant is set in a pair of beautifully restored old houses in the heart of Gdansk, a city where the restaurant scene is not keeping up with the growing number of tourists. There’s a terrific terrace for dining al fresco in good weather, too. Dlugi Targ 19, Tel. 48-58- 325-4444. Dinner for two $130.

Azia, Sopot. In much the same way that we were surprised by our very good meal at the Radisson Blu hotel in Gdansk, the Azia restaurant in the new Sheraton hotel in Sopot, another local recommendation, proved to be a very pleasant surprise. It’s a very good-looking modern dining room, and they offer a very appealing selection of Indian, Vietnamese, Thai and other Asian dishes, all prepared by a team of accomplished chefs from these countries. After a lot of Polish meat and potatoes, this meal proved to be an especially welcome change. Azia, Sheraton Sopot Hotel, Ulica Powstańców Warszawy 10, Tel. 48-58-767-1961. Dinner for two $140.

Not recommended: Pod Lososiem, Gdansk. There may be framed photographs of Queen Elizabeth II and George and Laura Bush in the vestibule, but unfortunately these famous clients were no guarantee of good cooking at Gdansk’s most famous restaurant. Our meal of stodgy mushroom soup and badly overcooked salmon reminded us of business-class airplane catering, although depending on the airline, you might do better in mid-air than we did at this pretentious and gallingly over-priced restaurant.

-A.H.