Dwie Trzecie in Warsaw runs a tight Polish carte across two rooms, restaurant and tapas bar. The kitchen leans on game and spring vegetables and the wine list reads Belgian-brewed-by-default.
Signature dishes: Rabbit with peas, Asparagus and potato fondant
Must order: The chef's set lunch with the kitchen's pickled-vegetable accent.
Tip: The sister site Jedna Trzecie next door is a Belgian beer cellar; do dinner here and one trappist after.
Address: ul. Wilcza 50, 00-679 Warszawa, Warsaw
Aioli on Swietokrzyska is the breakfast-through-evening Mediterranean canteen that Warsaw uses for the in-between meals: late breakfast, working lunch, early drinks before dinner elsewhere.
Signature: Breakfast plate, Italian pasta
Order: The shakshuka at breakfast or the daily pasta at lunch.
Tip: The all-day kitchen and the live DJ slot after 21:00 make it the rare both-and room.
Tel Aviv Urban Food on Poznanska in Warsaw opened in 2010 as the city's first strictly plant-based room. Hummus, falafel, pita and shakshuka now run across three locations.
Signature: Hummus, Falafel pita, Shakshuka
Order: The hummus mushabbaha with extra warm pita and a side of pickled vegetables.
Tip: Walk-in friendly at lunch. Dinner Friday-Saturday is the harder slot.
Jacek Grochowina's Nolita has been in the Warsaw Michelin Guide since 2014. A small monochrome room with a glass-fronted kitchen and Polish-Mediterranean-Asian crossovers.
Signature: Five course tasting, Seven course tasting
Order: The seven-course tasting with wine pairing.
Tip: About 40 covers. Book two weeks ahead for weekend dinner.
Aioli on Swietokrzyska is the breakfast-through-evening Mediterranean canteen that Warsaw uses for the in-between meals: late breakfast, working lunch, early drinks before dinner elsewhere.
Signature: Breakfast plate, Italian pasta
Order: The shakshuka at breakfast or the daily pasta at lunch.
Tip: The all-day kitchen and the live DJ slot after 21:00 make it the rare both-and room.
Kafe Zielony Niedzwiedz in Warsaw, the Green Bear, hides in Beyer Park between Powisle and the centre. Small dining room, chalkboard menu, foraged-vegetable kitchen.
Signature: Beef cheek, Foraged-vegetable plates
Order: Whatever foraged-mushroom dish is on, with a glass of Hungarian Furmint.
Tip: Entry by car from Kruczkowskiego on the Powisle side. Walk-up from Smolna through the park.
Tel Aviv Urban Food on Poznanska in Warsaw opened in 2010 as the city's first strictly plant-based room. Hummus, falafel, pita and shakshuka now run across three locations.
Signature: Hummus, Falafel pita, Shakshuka
Order: The hummus mushabbaha with extra warm pita and a side of pickled vegetables.
Tip: Walk-in friendly at lunch. Dinner Friday-Saturday is the harder slot.
Mielzynski on Burakowska in Warsaw sits inside the old Lace Factory at the corner of Srodmiescie, Zoliborz and Wola. A wine merchant first, a kitchen second, both done seriously.
Signature: Polish charcuterie, Cheese board
Order: The charcuterie and cheese board, chosen by whoever is pouring tonight.
Tip: The shelves are the wine list. Pick a bottle off them and pay corkage that is lower than a list mark-up.
Robert Trzopek's Bez Gwiazdek in Warsaw rebuilds regional Polish cooking the way you wish your grandmother had cooked it. The name (no stars) is a joke; the room earns them.
Signature: Regional Polish tasting, Pierogi reinterpretation
Order: Whatever regional set the kitchen is running this month. The chef plates one menu, no choice.
Tip: Open Wed-Fri evenings and Saturday from 16:00. Book three to four weeks ahead, it is a small room.
Jacek Grochowina's Nolita has been in the Warsaw Michelin Guide since 2014. A small monochrome room with a glass-fronted kitchen and Polish-Mediterranean-Asian crossovers.
Signature: Five course tasting, Seven course tasting
Order: The seven-course tasting with wine pairing.
Tip: About 40 covers. Book two weeks ahead for weekend dinner.
