Launched as a project between friends, between the lot of them the owners have quite a portfolio of venues: Pacyfyk, Prochownia and Paloma Nad Wisłą down the riverfront. Their experience and contact books have helped create a place that’s become one of the hottest addresses around.
The interior stops you in your tracks. Inspired, so we’re told, by The Jetsons, the moon landings and the atom, it’s a joy of lunar lines, pea green colors and furnishings and fittings that are retro-futuristic. Adorned with plants and a curvaceously bizarre ceiling light, your eyes dart all over the place before settling onto a sweepy bar that’s as snaky as the letter ‘s’. Though small in size, two mirrors positioned at each end seem to lend the place an additional fifty-meters. It’s all a trick of the mind, though, so instead perch on a z-shaped chrome barstool at the window, or tuck yourself in at the formica tables splattered around.
Groovy, of course. The easy-listening muzak sets a mood that remains relaxed no matter how busy it gets (and yes, it does pack out). Chiefly, the crowd fit into that ‘young professional’ bracket, which means lots of well turned-out boys and girls who define themselves as being ‘modern European’.
Foreign accents are prevalent, and while it feels undeniably young you won’t feel out of place if you’re greying and over 40 – we didn’t, anyhow, and to a large extent credit must be given to the chirpy, friendly staff.
There’s a decent choice of wines and bubbles and even a smattering of craft beer, but it’s cocktails that rule the roost. Classics are present, but it’s their own author’s cocktails that win the day – after starting with a startlingly sharp Queen Strawberry (grapefruit juice, lemongrass, vodka and strawberry) we enjoyed a passionate one-night stand with the Green Bubble (melon liquor, cognac, tarragon, lemon juice and fizzy water).
And at a time when Warsaw prices have gone haywire, that cocktails twiddle around the mid-20s mark is welcome news indeed. One more thing: if you want to blast off onto your own space journey, then they’ve also got an ‘absinth fountain’.
They’re bonkers. Vegan caviar; Hawaiian toast; food porn fries; and that essential 70s classic – cheesy fondue.
Whether intentional or not, the signature though has become herring served in the layered style of an eclair.
Slathered onto a brioche, find it topped with sour cream, mayo, onion and that vegan caviar we mentioned earlier.
If all the green has you thinking you’re drinking in Kermit’s cavern then step into the bathroom. Woah! A clockwork orange affair, you walk into a trippy cubicle decorated with mandarin colored tiles and oval mirrors. Trendy eco soap by Yope and piped lounge music finish it off nicely. You shouldn’t really hang around toilets, but here you can’t help it.
In these uncertain times Paloma Inn is just what Warsaw needs: a place that takes you somewhere totally unexpected – somewhere that’s fun and escapist and not of this world. Goodbye Planet Earth!
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