Review: Warsaw Intercontinental Brunch Buffet

After reading many reviews (yet again) we found the best Brunch in Warsaw to be at the Intercontinental (where we were staying. According to the internet, not only was the hotel a great deal, but they also served up a mean brunch buffet.

Upon arriving at the hotel, we called the front desk asking for a table at the brunch buffet, unfortunately they told us that they were all out of tables at the normal buffet, but we could get seats at the secondary restaurant. We were a little uncertain what this meant in terms of the buffet, but we really wanted to give it a try so we accepted their offer. Upon arriving we quickly asked the waitress if there were any extra tables in the main room just to test our luck - and to our surprise there were!

We didn't have a flight till later that afternoon so we decided that we would spend as much time in the buffet as possible. To start, we ordered champagne and orange juice, as not only was the buffet all-you-can-eat but it was also all-you-can-drink. After receiving our drinks, we scouted out the appetizers. Our plate included smoked salmon, clams, a crab-claw dish, and salad among other things. However, the main courses were not nearly as good and we barely tried any of them as they just didn't look as appetizing. Y did try the stir-fry station and she thought it was ___.

After loitering around the appetizers and main courses for two hours we moved on to dessert. However, at this point we were relatively full and we only managed to sample a few of them including some chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, fruit tarts and a bit of ice cream.

One of the multiple dessert tables

Appetizer Table

Verdict:
The brunch was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Most of the food was fresh and relatively well prepared, and the chefs constantly made sure that no dish ran out at any given time. However, we found the main courses to be a little bland and uninspired (as well as not looking too appetizing!), but the appetizers and dessert made up for this.

We would definitely recommend that you come here for a try when you are in Warsaw.

Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $$$ ($50/person for brunch)

Review: Papaya

After doing a lot of research to pick Dom Polski, Y and I decided that we wanted to try something different that was not necessarily Polish. Both of us enjoy fusion food, so, after reading around online and picking through many Polish-only websites, we found that Papaya seemed to be generally accepted as one of the best fusion restaurants in Warsaw.

We had a late reservation - arriving at 10 pm - we were probably the last table of the night to be seated. Unfortunately, the table we were given was relatively dark and as a result, the pictures did not turn out as well as we hoped (they are rather blurry).

Taking a quick look at the menu, we realized that the restaurant was more of a Japanese/Thai restaurant than anything that resembled fusion. However, this did not phase us as we were hungry. We decided to order three appetizers to split: the deep-fried calamari, the crab cakes, and the salmon tataki. After much thought, Y decided on a safe favorite - pad thai; and I had the Kobe beef steak, hoping that Kobe beef in Poland was of the same quality as everywhere else in the world.

Salmon Tataki

Deep Fried Calamari

Crab Cakes (started eating them already!)

Y's Pad Thai

Kobe Beef Steak

Verdict:
Overall, we thought that the restaurant was a relatively safe choice - the food was what we expected but did not blow us away. We found both the Calamari and the Crab Cakes to be good (but again, not amazing), but the Salmon Tataki seemed to be lacking a bit in the flavor department. Our main courses again were both very generic, the Pad Thai was sub-par (way too sweet) and the Kobe beef was tender, but was not up to the same quality of Kobe (Wagyu) beef that you could find in Toronto. We did not order dessert as we were stuffed after appetizer and main course. To conclude, Papaya is a place to go to if you want Asian food. However, we feel that there would probably be cheaper places with the same quality of food - we would recommend that those visiting Warsaw for only a few days look elsewhere.

Rating: 2.5/5
Price: $$

Papaya

Foksal 16
00-372 Warszawa
Polska‎
22 826 11 99‎

Pierogi Time!

Everyone knows that pierogies are a must-have when in Warsaw, so after a day in old town, we decided to go into a local pierogi bar hidden in one of the small alleyways. After entering the restaurant, we knew that we were in the right place - everything looked authentic and perogies were the only thing on the menu!

After much debate we decided on skipping the fixed price menu which would've come with a soup and just decided to order a few different types of perogies. The menu was all in Polish so we didn't really know what we were ordering but we just asked the server to pick three that he recommended.

Extensive list of different flavors

Orders placed here

Our Perogies

Delicious!

Verdict:
The perogies we had were a mixed bag, we found two of the three we ordered to be extremely flavorful and delicious, whereas the last one seemed to be a bit bland.

However, they were very cheap (only a couple of dollars) and after having so many North American perogies to finally try something authentic. We found that compared to the ones you often find in grocery stores, these ones were much larger and had a lot more filling other than just potato.

Overall, if you can't make it to this little perogi bar, we still recommend that you make time to either go to a perogi bar or a milk bar (extremely cheap restaurant) when in Warsaw.

Rating: 3.5/5
Price: $

Pierogarnia

Bednarska 28/30
Warszawa, Polska‎
22 828 03 92‎

Review: Dom Polski

After an impressive performance by the Warszawa Philharmonics, M & I were hungry for some authentic Polish cuisine. Dom Polski was not only recommended by the staff at the Intercontinental hotel (a very nice hotel for a very good price btw), the restaurant was also on various brochures and websites. After taking a cab where the driver thought he was a formula 1 driver in the mercedes, we arrived outside a beautiful villa. Although it was late, we were able to see the well-decorated garden from the dim lights. One could have never tell that this villa, housed Warsaw's famous Dom Polski.

At 22:30, we were the table to be seated for the night. The waiter led us to a table by the window with a nice view of the garden.

Here is what we had for our traditional Polish dinner:

Green lettuce with slices of smoke duck breast and fresh fruit

Golden and crispy potato pancakes with pink salmon and red caviar

Grilled royal shrimp served with garlic

Rolled wild boar filet in a aromatic forest sauce with potato noodles

Juicy catfish filet in herb pepper with spinach

Toffee cake

We ordered 3 appetizers that night because we were starving. The smoke duck salad was nothing special. It was a mixture of lettuce, tangerine, and smoke duck pieces. I thought the smoke ducks had a very particular taste, although it was on the salty side, it tasted a little spicy at the same time. M choose the potato pancakes and they were heavenly! The crisp texture of the potato pancake combined with the smooth texture of the smoke salmon led to a party in the mouth. Taking another bite with the condiments provided (chives, onions, garlic, and sour cream), this provided an incredible array of flavors. I must admit I was quite envious of M's potato pancakes. Thinking back, it was the best dish I had on our trip to Warsaw. We got the royal shrimp to share and were a bit disappointed with it. The dish lacked flavor and the shrimp were slightly cold.

Being as adventurous with food as he is, M ordered the rolled wild boar. When it arrived at the table, the presentation was not the greatest. However, once M started eating, he said the meat was tender and flavorful. The side dishes that came with the main were surprisingly good too.
I went with the catfish and according to our waiter, "it was the best dish on the menu." I beg to differ. The fish was quite bland in taste and was not crispy at all. As a garlic lover, I never thought I would complain that something had too much garlic but the spinach was overfilled with garlic and salt. Overall, this dish was way to salty for my taste.

After an abundance of food, M still decided to order dessert ("when in Europe" he says.") The toffee cake, he said was probably too sweet for most people but for him, it was excellent.

Verdict:
Overall, our night was pretty good. Some of the dishes were definitely a hit or miss. If you enjoy heavy food, this is the place for you. Or, if you want to try some authentic Polish cuisine this is also a must-go. We agreed that we would come here and just pig out on their amazing potato pancakes.

Rating: M - 4/5 Y - 3.5/5
Price: $ (for Polish standards)

Dom Polski
Francuska 11
03-906 Warszawa, Poland
22 616 24 32