Delivery Review: Ale Wino

Features Restaurants 30 April 2020 Insider 0

While the majority of Warsaw’s more upmarket restaurants have pulled down the shutters, Ale Wino have premiered a takeout and delivery offer that has left all staggered.

Ale Wino: if you haven’t heard of them then you’ve probably just come out of jail. Should that be the case (naughty you), then an intro is in order. Their story, while not exactly rags to riches, does have that feel-good ring to it: what started out as an online wine store caught the city’s attention – a bricks-and-mortar space followed, along with a few tables, and a menu involving small plates of this and tiny plates of that.

Everyone loved it. But the biggest step was yet to come: the appointment of chef Sebastian Wełpa, a move every bit as thrilling as adding a jet pack to some roller skates. Woosh – all of a sudden Ale Wino wasn’t just the wine bar everyone adored, but a fully-fledged restaurant trading punches with the best.

And Now
To press the boxing analogy further, they haven’t let the pandemic restrictions put them on the ropes. Ok, so you can’t enjoy the labyrinthine interior nor their summer courtyard garden, but you can at least enjoy cooking to you’d happily kill for.

Taking delivery food to previously uncharted levels, the daily-changing menu (either order via their facebook or by picking up in person) is limited but outstanding.

The Food…
Offering a small a la carte choice and a couple of set-dinner deals priced at zł. 45, diners are rewarded with dishes such as grilled asparagus; beef brisket; and truffle risotto.

For us though, a double-header of duck with red onion chutney, baked potatoes and jus, and a vibrant starter of herring, kohlrabi, mushroom creme fraiche, potato and dill. Executed to their usual outrageously high standards, the Insider has simply never had takeaway food of this level before – it’s likely you won’t have had either.

Packaged perfectly and delivered well within an hour of ordering, not one weak link presents itself, and making the experience even better are prices well below their usual norm.

With delivery and tip included, we paid around zł. 100, which, given the quality, is an absolute steal – eaten blindfolded, you’d assume you were inside Ale Wino itself; and that, surely, is a pretty good sign.