FOOD & DRINK

The New Warsaw

By Chantal Martineau

From Iron Curtain to velvet rope – Warsaw enters the euro club in style.

Miedzy Nami Cafe

The Polish claim they invented vodka. True or not, they’ve been distilling it here, in more or less the same way, since the 15th century. It’s still sipped straight up in Warsaw, like in the old days, but it’s also shaken and stirred with seasonal ingredients in hip cocktail lounges by the sort of bartenders who call themselves mixologists.

The Polish capital is a paragon of resurgence. Having recovered from virtual obliteration during the Second World War and economic isolation during the Cold War, it’s now in the middle of yet another reinvention – from culturally stifled backwater to thriving EU metropolis. Today modern skyscrapers share the skyline with the Soviet Palace of Culture and Science, and while Communist-era milk bars still serve up Polish staples for pennies, a number of trendy restaurants celebrate the same food traditions with an upscale twist.

For lunch with the city’s culturati, head to Miedzy Nami. The airy café-cum-nightspot serves up cappuccino and a contemporary lunch menu in an attractive loft-like space and publishes an art-and-style magazine featuring up-and-coming photographers and fashion designers. For a more traditional meal, visit the old milk bars, which still offer such staples as perogies, borscht and kapusta (cabbage cooked with onions, mushrooms and meat) and rarely charge more than $3 for a meal. These family restaurants have sustained Warsaw’s proletariat for decades, but tourists are often deterred by their behind-the-Iron-Curtain aesthetic.

At U Kucharzy (The Chefs), a stylish yet unpretentious restaurant set in the restored kitchens of the old Hotel Europejski, premium craft vodka is served with classic Polish dishes. House specialties include breaded pork chop, zurek (a sour rye soup with boiled kielbasa morsels) and perogies. Chic Varsovians – a once-rare species that’s now increasingly common – are likely to be found at Sense Café, an Asian-fusion eatery with a lengthy cocktail list featuring several house-infused vodkas, including cucumber, chili and mint flavours. Try pairing the rose-petal-and-ginger vodka with a sashimi “lollipop” served with a scoop of wasabi sorbet. Afterwards consider a nightcap at Paparazzi Warsaw café bar, a cocktail lounge known for its designer drinks, including several made with the quintessentially Polish Zubrowka. Once banned in the U.S. for its hallucinogenic properties, Zubrowka is vodka flavoured with bison grass, believed to be an aphrodisiac.

To fully experience Warsaw’s rise, fine accommodations are a must. The Hotel Le Régina features elegant, contemporary rooms and free Wi-Fi, and Hotel Rialto, with its Deco design and swank bar, is worth a visit even if you don’t check in. Better hurry, though, because as Poland prepares to adopt the euro in the next few years, its capital is gearing up to join the ranks of Prague and Budapest as the next hip Eastern European destination. Ten years ago, the streets of Warsaw were empty by 8 p.m.; nowadays, at midnight on a Friday or Saturday, they teem with people. Warsaw is moving up in the world. Get there before the new currency does, and you might catch a glimpse of its latest transformation in progress.

(Chantal Martineau is a freelance writer who splits her time between New York and her native Montreal. She is a regular contributor to Imbibe and Best Life magazines.)

TOP PHOTO: HENNING HARMS / MIEDZY NAMI CAFÉ
PALACE OF CULTURE: WARSAW CONVENTION BUREAU
LANDSCAPE: WARSAW CONVENTION BUREAU
CAFÉ: WARSAW CONVENTION BUREAU
RIALTO: HOTEL RIALTO