As rain tips down and leaves lose their luster, thoughts turn to what lies ahead: autumn. Will it be damp and soggy? You bet. But the coming weeks also promise a pallet of exquisite colors and vivid sensations. Meticulously in tune with the shifts in the weather, few places manage to channel the nuances of the season in quite the same manner as Bazar Kocha. Connected to mother nature as if by an invisible, magic bond, it’s a restaurant that excels through its attention to detail.

That’s something you come to understand before you’re even seated. Effecting the look of a farmers’ market, the interiors flood with natural light bringing the most out of the woodsy elements and bright colored jars that fill all the shelf space. It feels carefully considered yet simultaneously familiar and warm: walking inside Bazar Kocha is like entering into a hug with a longstanding friend.

Closely bound to the season, the climate and the earth itself, the menu is an evolving work that compels all those who study it: beef tartar soon becomes a more-ish mash of seasoned tenderloin, marinated shallots, mushroom aioli and home-pickled gherkins. Each bite brings with it new pleasures; mains, and a sturgeon fillet, it’s skin baked to a satisfying crisp, enters the scene accompanied by smoked lard, firmly fleshed boletus mushrooms and a kohlrabi confit. Masterfully arranged, the ingredients happily pose together in an aromatic splash of mushroom consomme; and then, a cauliflower steak with sous-vide cooked grapes, salsify and baked topinambur – comforting but complex, it’s a dish that’s built to battle the growing chill in the air outside.

Now a firmly established part of the Mokotowska scene, chef Tomasz and owner Marcin are looking increasingly confident in their output and ideas. Evidence of this is more than anecdotal: since the start of summer, tasting nights in which a particular ingredient or technique is given the spotlight have become a recurring monthly theme. With autumn looking especially abundant, make a note to yourself to come check it out – after all, an autumn hug is tough to beat…

Bazar Kocha
ul. Mokotowska 33/35, bazarkocha.pl