3 Best Restaurants in Warsaw, Poland

You could not find a more romantic setting for lunch or dinner than this elegant restaurant in the New Orangery at Łazienki Park. The lamp-lit park spreads out beyond the windows, and candles glitter below the high ceilings. The atmosphere can be quite formal, though, especially when official delegations arrive—and they do. Creative versions of Polish cuisine may be are prepared with a variety of fresh mushrooms, including the very recommendable boletus consomme. Also recommended is the guinea fowl, served with fried chanterelles and apricots. The small but interesting menu changes with the season, as is only right.

The fresh and tasty sushi does not come cheap here, as you'll discover when you add up your seemingly inexpensive, individual pieces for a rather large final bill. However, your little bites arrive in fancy little boats in this floating interpretation of the "kaiten-sushi" (conveyor-belt–sushi) restaurant. Watch the chef at work: he definitely knows what he is doing, and it's like watching an artist work as he produces picture-perfect maki and nigiri. You don't even have to bother reading a menu: just grab the plates as they pass; and try to keep a running total in your mind so you are not so surprised when you get a hefty bill.

Sakana has bar seating only.

This long-established wine bar on the Old Town Square has been turned into a curious—though ultimately inviting—network of elaborately decorated dining rooms. There's a talking parrot in a cage here, and candles adorn all available shelf space (sometimes set dangerously close to diners' elbows). The decor is, admittedly, lovely; the food is okay but overpriced "Light Old Polish." Expect to find such standbys as oven-roasted carp, sautéed veal liver, and crabmeat crepes. As with most places in the Old Town, sadly, you don't really get you're money's worth. Nevertheless, there's no denying that this is still one of the most famous and popular restaurants in Warsaw.

If you dine here, go in with your eyes open and your pocketbook full.