The pre-war right bank that escaped wartime destruction. Workshop-bars, vodka rooms, the Bazar Rozyckiego flea market and the new Praga food-hall wave.
Zoni sits inside the old Koneser vodka factory in Warsaw's Praga district. Five surviving giant copper stills frame the dining room and the kitchen cooks contemporary Polish.
Signature: Beef zrazy, Ruthenian pierogi
Order: Whatever pierogi are on the seasonal menu and a flight of Koneser-distilled vodka.
Tip: The Praga Koneser complex also holds the Polish Vodka Museum; pair a tour with dinner.
Mateusz Gessler's Warszawa Wschodnia in Warsaw runs 24 hours a day at the Soho Factory complex in Praga. French technique on Polish ingredients, with the bar wrapped around an open kitchen.
Signature: Beef tartare, Polish bistro classics
Order: Whatever cut the bar grill is searing tonight and the in-house bakery's sourdough.
Tip: Open round the clock, the rare late-late-night option for a proper dinner outside Old Town.
Pyzy, Flaki Gorace! in Warsaw's Praga district plates pyzy dumplings in jam jars under fluorescent strip lights. Pre-war room, working-class hour, and the tripe-soup flaki the rest of the city is measured against.
Signature: Pyzy (potato dumplings), Flaki (tripe soup), Schab
Order: Pyzy with mushroom gravy and a small bowl of flaki on the side.
Tip: Open daily 11:00 to 22:00. A second branch sits at Podwale 5 in the Old Town if you can't cross the river.
Mateusz Gessler's Warszawa Wschodnia in Warsaw runs 24 hours a day inside the Soho Factory complex in Praga. French technique on Polish ingredients, the bar wrapped around the open kitchen.
Signature: Beef tartare, Polish bistro classics
Order: Tartare, the daily fish, and a coffee from the in-house bakery.
Tip: Open round the clock. The 02:00 to 06:00 menu is short but real food.