Take 24hrs and a small section of the city and the Insider brings you a perfect day…
It’s not often my day begins at daybreak – hey, those are the perks of being ‘funemployed’ – but on the occasions it does then WakeCup Café (Franciszkańska 14) is the first point of call: pristine pastries, ballsy Brazilian coffee and a constant café clatter give it an edge over the others. With the essential morning duties wrapped up (Facebook updated), it’s time for some chill down in the nearby park – Krasińskich.
I figured City Hall had dropped a clanger when they announced the felling of 300 trees as part of its restoration, but not at all – what they’ve done is mold an overgrown tangle of Warsaw into a secret garden full of water features and Wimbledon perfect grass. Find a shaded spot, crack open the Kindle and you’ve got a fabulous way of losing some time. But looking at all those ducks can make you hungry, in which case, take the short walk into New Town for lunch. La Rotisserie remains one of the top restaurants in town – no argument – and Paweł Oszczyk among my favorite chefs. His menu is pure luxury, and perfectly adjusted to the blazing hot summer.
What happens next? With lunch complete then a browse of the antique stores of Freta is a must – mostly tourist tat and artsy junk, sure, but I’ve still made some top finds there before. There is a better way to spend your cash though, and one of them is on Elephant: as in the Belgian pub, not the big African animal. Found on Freta 19, I’ve done my best to try a different beer every day for the last six weeks and I’ve still barely made a dent in their collection. That’s not something that makes the girlfriend happy, so it’s an idea to diffuse any issues down at the fountain park below New Town. If that doesn’t work, then turn back to where you began and pick up a film at Kino Muranów. It remains a trailblazer in terms of edgy art house films.
Reopened after a zł. 15 million restoration, the newly preened Krasińskich Gardens have been made more user-friendly than ever with 200 benches, classical concerts, weekend yoga classes and plenty of shaded corners in which to slouch off with a Kindle.
Paweł Oszyczyk’s leadership of the La Rotisserie restaurant is one of enduring delights of culinary Warsaw. Twinned with the advice of Poland’s top sommelier, Andrzej Strzelczyk, you have a restaurant that’s amongst the best in the country.
Beer o’clock in the Elephant Belgian Pub! 180 bottles peer up at you from the fridge, and they’re ably supported by a cast of 21 tap beers. Not just beer, the imported mussels are arguably amongst the best you’ll find in Warsaw.
