When it comes to Praga’s regeneration, it is traditionally Ząbkowska street that holds the headlines – which is quite natural given the impact that its Koneser development has had on the district. But the story does not terminate at the end of this street, and it is arguably Okrzei where the real revolution has happened. After all, it is here that vast gated compounds have sprung up, and it is here where legendary tenements such as the neo-Gothic Pod Sowami have been revived anew.

A little more silently, it is also here where a small clutch of venues have quietly gone about revolutionizing the area’s food and drink scene – places like Bota. Almost serving to define the modern Warsaw restaurant, it’s look alone stops you dead in your tracks – first walking the wooden deck, enter inside to find an interior that could double for a rain forest.

A place of soft grey colors and rough-hewn wooden shelving, every inch has been packed with leafy succulents. The design extends little beyond that, but it doesn’t need to – as a statement, it’s quite glorious to look at.

Onto the food, and that’s so pornographic as to deserve an XXX rating: inch thick, buttery challah bread arrives speared with a knife and leaking with greens, pulled beef rib, pak choi and a lightly spice coleslaw; fluffy bao buns lan in bamboo steamers; and chips are devoured along with the sea of kimchi with which they are served.

It’s food for a lazy Sunday, whether it be one spent with the kids or on your own nursing a juddering hangover. Either way, it’s simple food that improves your mood and heals the world. Sure, you could argue that the prices are a little inflated, but doing so would ignore the reality around us – show us a place that hasn’t been forced to raise their prices. The bottom line is, Bota take the seriousness out of dining to make it exactly what it should be – a happy experience that rounds out the day.

BOTA FOOD & FRIENDS

ul. Okrzei 11, 

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