A protégé of Tom Aikens, chef Bartosz Szymczak has come to be regarded as one of the most original chefs in Poland. Taking the reins at Rozbrat 20 in late 2016, under his leadership the venue has grown to become one of the local blogospheres favorite write-ups – and rightly so. Never the same, if there’s a consistent thread to visits then it’s the playful inventiveness that has come to define Szymczak’s cooking.

Finding weak links is a thankless task, the pointlessness of which becomes apparent with the bread: look around Poland, and you won’t find many that do it better.

Then, the real stuff. For the Insider, a vibrant-looking dish of kohlrabi with goat cheese, quinoa and a serving of grapefruit sorbet. Stylishly executed, the sheer freshness of it all rides over you in steady waves of awe.

Mains, and that’s pork belly, quince, turnip and a pour of apple cider sauce. There’s much going on, but the ingredients come together effortlessly to create the kind of memorable dish you talk about for hours – usually, longer.

Dessert: salted caramel, vanilla, ginger and hazelnut, a class effort that feels right for the time.

Criticisms? None. Need to know? Go there. There’s many who call this Warsaw’s best restaurant, and being here, you understand their argument.

Rozbrat 20
ul. Rozbrat 20, rozbrat20.com.pl

(Words & Photos: AW)