Wednesday, April 25, 2012

U Kucharzy

Warsaw, Poland

Fantastic and fun bar/restaurant in their downtown university area. There is a packed bar on the corner of the main street (Nowy...) but down on the corner on xxx is the restaurant entrance.  Reservations are hard to come by (according to my hotel concierge) but they will seat you at the bar for a table if you're willing to wait. A "10-15 minute" wait turned into about 35 minutes, but the maitre'd was fantastic and waited for a table facing the open kitchen to open up. In the meantime I got to enjoy the "orchestra" while I saw with my Campari and orange and glass of wine. The pianist, bassist, and drummer take their breaks, but live music is so fantastic

Inside, I saw at a high table with a view into the crazy kitchen. There was another pianist playing jazzy tunes in the small dining area I was in (there were multiple rooms). Waiters come to your seat with their saute pans and spoon the meat and dish directly onto your plate.

Definitely get the steak tartare - they come over with a cart topped with a chopping board and few thin slices of beef, that the chef then minces into tiny mush and adds onions, capers and other goodness before serving you beautiful spoonfuls on your plate. As the Polish dude next to me translated, slice and butter your roll and top with tartare for best results.

I also was recommended the veal medallions which were lovely, with a homemade pasta and beautiful sauteed carrots (which I ate despite the allergies, yum)

http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/europe/poland/warsaw/72637/u-kucharzy/restaurant-detail.html