Gessler at Daquise

I love this restaurant. It has atmosphere, great food, and excellent service. A real treat. Try the polish stuffed eggs - a lovely starter.
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John Baraldi
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Friday, February 03, 2012

Very good food - but PLEASE get some proper HEATING installed. The current system is simply not sufficient for the size of the room and for the fact that it is not well insulated. It was absolutely FREEZING yesterday and if I had been with anyone else, we would have had to leave. I felt sorry for the staff who had to work there in that temperature.
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Tom R.
8 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Friday, February 03, 2012

YES its the best polish food in LOndon.
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Adam Tarkowski
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Friday, September 16, 2011

The food is home-cooked, even to the extent of being served up from saucepans, and is of high quality. HIGH QUALITY !!!!.
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Elzbieta
6 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 6
Tuesday, August 23, 2011

I'm struck by the negative review below that once again the adage 'different strokes for different folks' applies. The entire aura of Daquise is built around (what we fail to achieve) the degree of service our European neighbours extending to chef's delivering their food to their customers' tables. Constructing simple dishes at table (and I loved the beetroot starter) is joyful and if it's a circus it's of the flying variety.

My own experience was a delight and total surprise - waiting for a late night concert at the Albert Hall we walked past the restaurant and I was struck by the old fashioned waiters outfits suffiecient to be persuaded to give this a try. I know next to nothing about Polish food but now I'm a convert. My topside of beef and my companion's veal were both top class. The restaurant was chocker by 830 so I was pleased we had negotiated a table that we had to vacate by 815 (we eventually left for music at 930!). The atmosphere was great triggered by the general hubbub and the fantastic professional cooks and waiters activities - I loved this place, and I'm with Gill 5 stars.
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Chris
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Sunday, August 07, 2011

Visited for Sunday lunch in July. With just couple of tables occupied, the place was crowded with waiters yet it took some 20 minutes for anyone to take our order. Marinated beetroot starter (£7.00) was just a plain boiled beetroot, quartered and garnished with a teaspoon of extremely mild horseradish sauce - boring and tasteless. Beetroot soup which my guest had a misfortune to order tasted and smelled of rotten vegetables - had it before in the Polish Centre in Hammersmith where it was delicious. Main course staples of a porkchop with cabbage and beef with, yes you guessed it, beetroot were ok-ish, though nothing to write home about. Dessert menu was so negligeable that we decided to treat ourselves in the patisserie nearby. The whole circus of serving food at the table straight from the kitchen pots is ... an unnecessary circus. All in all, waste of money for a very mediocre experience. Definitely not going back.
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Sue James
3 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 3
Thursday, August 04, 2011

Having read some of the reviews below, and having been fond of the old Daquise, I had some doubts about eating at Gessler at Daquise. Fortunately, these reservations were unfounded.

The decor, or rather the absence thereof, was probably the only way that Gessler could change the feel of the restaurant without alienating the old Daquise's clientelle. The sparse decoration and near-archaeological layers of revealed old paintwork, together with the few touches of ostentation (notably the fine chandelier in the rear of the restaurant) make for an atmospheric dining area, somewhat akin to eating in a ruinous country house.

The food is home-cooked, even to the extent of being served up from saucepans, and is of high quality. Nor, contrary to the experience of some reviewers, did we find the portions small. Indeed, my summer borscht was nearly over-spilling its plate! Prices are far from exorbitant. The menu is, however, a bit limited, and I have to say that I regretted the absence of bigos.

Service was friendly, if a trifle slow at times. The maitre d' may seem a bit aloof to some modern diners, but this is surely what one would want and expect from a relatively upmarket Central European restaurant. Polish restaurants were (and hopefully still are) a refreshing change from the anglophone world in that waiting staff were not all under 30, and no-one used to say "no problem" every time one asked for anything. Mind you, Gessler did give us the wrong wine (Spanish, rather than French), but it was very nice and we saw no reason to complain.

Hopefully the atmosphere of the old Daquise lives on at Malina (mentioned in a review below), but in a city where cheap Polish eateries are increasingly common (two have opened on Willesden High Road in the past year alone), Gessler at Daquise offers a more sophisticated Polish experience, really only comparable to the Polish Hearth Club, and from the food point of view, I think significantly better (though I have not been to the Hearth Club for some time.)
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Malcolm Barres-Baker
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Monday, July 25, 2011

As a big fan of the old Daquise, the 'Gessler Daquise' is a real disappointment. The food, whilst certainly not bad, is expensive and the portions are small. Somebody on here has commented on the fact that Polish food is not all about huge portions of potato and cabbage. Whilst that it is true and Polish food is capable of being served with flair, I'm sure that the writer has never come away from a good Polish restaurant in Poland feeling hungry or short-changed! The service is also certainly not what it was, a number of classic dishes have been removed from the menu, the atmosphere is sterile and slightly manic to the point where you can't relax and just enjoy your evening the way that you once could.

I wasn't going to post a review on here but I was prompted by seeing a number of people bemoaning the loss of the old Daquise and learning that the former manageresses of Daquise have now opened a restaurant in Hammersmith called Malina. I have visited a number of times since it opened in February and it's like the old Daquise only better for reasons which I have explained within my review on the Malina page. If you miss the old Daquise, then vote with your feet...
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4 Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 3
Friday, April 15, 2011

An amazing experience for me and definetely worth every penny spent. Food was delicious and freshly prepared. I loved the decor as it reminded me of old style Warsaw and I will be definetely back soon to try some more!
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Agnes
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Sunday, April 03, 2011

Great restaurant, attentive service, good value for money
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, March 01, 2011