4 Best Restaurants in Warsaw, Poland

The best Balkan restaurant in Warsaw serves a mix of Croat, Serbian, Bosnian, and Jewish recipes, executed by Serb and Croat chefs. Meat dishes are the menu's core, although Thursday is fish day, and food comes in generous portions. Worthy choices include dimljena vesalica (sirloin smoked with cherrywood and then grilled very slowly), and jareći kotleti (mixed lamb cutlets in herbs). The decor is rustic, and in summer, the garden is one of the best places in town.

Before Toshihiro Fukunaga opened the longest-standing Japanese restaurant in Warsaw (with the longest sushi bar in Europe), he worked in the fashion industry and lived in South America. He moved to Poland in 1990, hoping to promote Polish fashion models in Japan; he ended up promoting sushi, tempura, and noodles to initially reluctant—and now enthusiastic—Poles. The menu is extensive to the point of overwhelming, but whatever you choose, you cannot go wrong.

This artsy place at the back of the Zamek Ujazdowski is not for the impatient. This is a busy restaurant—and deservedly so—and the result can be sometimes hectic, even rude service. However, all may be forgiven once you dig into your meal, which will be delicious and well-prepared most of the time. The creative menu includes everything from potato pancakes with Parma ham to pork in orange sauce. The location is simply unbeatable: in summer, outdoor tables overlook a magnificent view of the park. The best strategy is just to work yourself into a Zenlike state and go with the flow, but make reservations.

This establishment is widely considered one of the best Indian restaurants in Poland—and not just by its owner, Charanjit Walia. Tandoor Palace serves North Indian food, mostly tandoori dishes, as the name indicates—including excellent butter tikka masala, and a selection of jalfrezi (a vegetable curry), biryani (a sweet and spicy rice dish), and other recipes where green chilis, ginger, and coriander are used generously. Curries can be washed down with Kingfisher beer. The restaurant is the favorite haunt of foreign residents, who attend the monthly Curry Club and the Comedy Club.