This text is part of the special Pleasures notebook
Exit the clichés of boiled potatoes and pierogis with cabbage: the new Polish gastronomy thrives on inventiveness and the fusion between past, present and future. The proof in five “tasted” and approved addresses, listed among the tables of the Michelin Guide Poland.
Bez Gwiazdek, Warsaw
In the Polish capital, chef Robert Trzópek worked at two of the best restaurants in the world, El Bulli and Noma, before opening his own culinary space. His idea: to revisit traditional Polish dishes by infusing them with a touch of modernity and elsewhere. Each month, the menu highlights one of the 16 Polish regions, including their wines — those served with the dishes here are at worst surprising, at best excellent.
This is the case of this pinot noir from the Lubusz voivodeship which highlights a drop of mushrooms, black garlic with a vinegared butter sauce, or this Dziki Taboon, an orange wine which perks up a twist of thin strips of cabbage flavored with flowers. worry.
Before moving on to the Madeira sabayon, we offer the classic duck blood soup, but spiked with black aronia, just to take it elsewhere. “In the old days, fathers served this dish to suitors who wanted to marry off their daughters, to make them understand that it was wasted effort,” says waiter Patryk Nowak. Quite the opposite, in short, of the dishes of this restaurant, whose marriage between tradition and modernity is consumed with dignity.
Elixir, Warsaw
If the menu of this establishment is entirely honorable, its bar is downright admirable, with 750 different vodkas (including 10 without alcohol), in a country which prides itself on distilling the best in the world.
Several are offered in food-vodka pairings, on revisited classics of Polish cuisine: duck with pear and cheese, tempura blood sausage, sturgeon caviar… One of the menus was even developed in honor of the stay of Napoleon Bonaparte, in 1812, where the emperor would have greatly appreciated the chrzanowka (horseradish soup).
To digest it all, a trip to the adjoining Vodka Museum is worth the detour: 10,000 artifacts (posters, bottles, etc.) are on display there.
62 bar & restaurant, Poznan
It’s hard to imagine a more improbable place for such a table. Located far from the splendid historic center of Poznan, above a Harley-Davidson dealership (and its adjoining bar frequented by bikers), 62 has a setting as elegant as its remarkable menu.
Flanked by a nice terrace where delicious cocktails are served, the dining room is built around the open kitchen. Chef Jaroslaw Kin takes particular care in the presentation of his daring dishes which sometimes border on controlled slippage.
We are left speechless at the creamed halibut with Nori seaweed with dashi Hollandaise sauce; beef tartare with raspberry tomatoes, caviar and chorizo oil; and the disconcerting caramelized onion, black garlic and truffle ice cream. No doubt: this restaurant has nerve and knows how to hold its own.
Fiorentina, Krakow
When the appetizing cherry arrives on the table, alone on its plate, we smell deception. The impostor hides his game well: under his glazed dress made from Jimenez lies a succulent mouthful of foie gras.
Housed under the vaults of a superb centuries-old residence in old Krakow, Fiorentina appeals as much to the eye as to the taste buds. Sheep’s cheese mousse with cranberries; halibut with wine and hibiscus, verbena and lemon sauce; trout in dill oil whose pearls of sour cream poached in vinegar burst in the mouth and flood it with flavors…
In a city designated gastronomic capital of Europe in 2019, the star of Fiorentina has not finished shining. It’s only a matter of time before it makes it into the firmament of the Michelin Guide.
Bottiglieria 1881, Krakow
Of course, they offer pierogis, but they are sometimes filled with pistachio and Polish wasabi, sometimes with artichokes served under an avalanche of truffle shavings. There is no question here of doing things like elsewhere in the country.
Of all Polish restaurants, Bottigliera 1881 is the only one to have won two Michelin stars. Located in the boho-chic district of Kazimierz, not far from Oskar Schindler’s former factory, this restaurant run by chef Przemysław Klima offers ultra-refined cuisine in a posh setting and with ultra-attentive service.
The beef tartare linked to the veal marrow is to die for. And the fall of small fruits and vegetables (wild trumpets, sea buckthorn berries, crunchy potato nuggets) seems to come straight from the sky. As for the zander fillet streaked with a two-tone crayfish sauce, it must have no equivalent on Earth.
Throughout the evening, there was plenty of attention. A waiter sprinkles the napkin with a scent of vanilla and plum, another brings a hunting knife in its case to attack the succulent venison.
Two tasting menus are offered in the dining room, in the vaulted cellar or at the two tables adjoining the food preparation area. Because here, witnessing the chef’s creations live is almost as enjoyable as putting his dishes in your mouth.
The author was the guest of Air France and the Polish Tourist Office.
This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Duty, relating to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part.