Bar Polski

Firstly I should point out that this place has changed name, apparently because nobody could pronounce 'Na zdrowie'. It's now called 'Bar Polski'. I had fun watching some of my friends walking past a couple of times with confused faces!

I went here on a Saturday night a couple of weeks ago, in a group of 6. Two of us have Polish ancestry, and having grown up eating a lot of Polish food, we know what to expect from Polish food, and have something to benchmark the food here against. My British friends enjoyed themselves too.

We ordered a selection of pierogi (Polish-style ravioli), some bigos (Hunter's stew of sausage, sauerkraut and cabbage), and some sledzie (herring) The food was fresh, flavoursome, well-portioned and well-presented.

Now for the drinks! There is a fantastic selection of different Polish vodkas, and being a devoted vodka enthusiast, I enjoyed trying a large number of them. They also have a good selection of Polish beers.

The service was excellent considering it was a Saturday night and the bar was full. The bar staff were definitely friendly and chatty with me, although I am polite enough even half-way through the vodka menu.

There was a lively yet civilised atmosphere and judging by the renditions of 'happy birthday 'and 'sto lat', this place is popular with other (British) Poles like myself.

To sum up, if you want to try lots of interesting Polish vodkas and eat some decent Polish food all in a lively modern bar, then here's a good place to go - just make sure you behave yourself!

And no, I have no affiliation with this place - I just love wodka and good food.

If I had a criticism, it would be that they don't stock Monopolowa or Baczewski wisniowka, but I can't seem to find this anywhere in the UK.

I'll definitely be going back at some point to finish working my way through all the menus.
Comment on this reader review

Edzio Sz
8 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, December 16, 2008