A Taste Of The Classics

Turning back the clock, the Insider doffs its cap to the game-changing restaurants that are still going strong…

Amber Room

al. Ujazdowskie 13

Hushed, lavish, cultured and classy, the wedding cake palace housing Amber Room is a veritable maze of extravagant rooms. Serving as the icebreaker for Poland’s domestic food revolution, the standards have been maintained in the years that have followed. The recent recruitment of award-winning chef Lee Jones promises much for the future.

Belvedere

ul. Agrykoli 1

Exotic botanical flourishes such as a one-hundred-year-old palm and elaborate latticework are the norm in Belvedere, an Imperial Age orangery set amid the immaculate lawns of Łazienki Park. Delivered by gents in bowties and waistcoats, dine on posh Polish food whilst counting the peacocks that strut with aloofness outside the window.

El Popo

ul. Senatorska 27

Age hasn’t wearied El Popo one jot. Older than the sun it might be, but that hasn’t been to the detriment of the atmosphere. A place of happiness, the full color of the Mexican kitchen is brought to life via the full-fisted flavors of chef Angel Aceves.

Le Cedre

al. Solidarności 61

Of all of the city’s evergreen institutions, few names will feel as familiar as Le Cedre. Founded in the mid-90s, the original Praga venture introduced the city to the fresh, thrilling tastes of Lebanon whilst clearing the path for other Middle Eastern restaurants to follow. None have succeeded in quite the same way.

Mielżyński Wine Bar

ul. Burakowska 5/7

The 2004 opening of Mielżyński was visionary at the time: by offering an exhaustive range of wines at accessible price points it revolutionized the domestic market at a stroke. Occupying an ivy-clad warehouse in a buzzy courtyard, it continues to be the yardstick against which all wine bars are measured.

Stary Dom

ul. Puławska 104/106

Last year’s Lexus Hybrid Cuisine event drew Michelin-starred chefs from around the world to the Polish capital. That they ended up dining in Stary Dom says much. The cooking is ‘classic Warsaw’ as seen through a modern lens, and the cakes and pastries a legend in their own right.