My biggest problem with this restaurant for years was that whenever I ate there I had a stomach ache. I could not avoid it in the late 1990’s as it was one of the few restaurants that were perceived as the “business” places, and the people, while they did not necessarily cared for food, had to be seen there. The times have changed. The restaurant boom in Warsaw is a fact, and 99 (fortunately) had to change. It has been recently refurbished with a more modernist décor (an acquired taste), and an entirely new menu was introduced. I have been there quite a few times already, and it appears that not only soda and MSG went by the wayside, but the food in general is really good. The menu is a mix of the Polish and international dishes. I must say that for starters the smoked goose breast with oscypek is first class; the steak tartar and the octopus carpaccio rock, too. As far as the soups go both żurek (light and tasty) and Tom Kha Kai are excellent. For the main course, among the pasta dishes, I would recommend the Thai-inspired rice noodles fried with duck, green vegetables and basil, as well as pretty fabulous kopytka. The meat dishes also compete with the best in town, with the Argentinian steak with celery puree, and braised beef cheek in red wine with potato purée and boiled beetroot. I am not a big dessert fan, so I will skip that part. What I also like about the new 99 is that it picked up the tradition of serving simple breakfast menus picked up from the nearby Atrio that closed down. The breakfast option was highly missed, and now is very welcome at 99.
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