Friday, May 18, 2012

Delizia, ul. Hoża 58/60, Warsaw, Poland

My Facebook pal, Etan Sanders, believes that this is the best restaurant in Poland.  I would not go that far, but it can definitely be in the running for the first place of the Italian restaurants in Warsaw, against San Lorenzo.  The place is run by a couple of Italian guys (Luca Bo and Lorenzo Robustelli), who seem to be always there.  Their attention to detail, and commitment to perfection is something that I truly admire; too many restaurants in Warsaw had a great start, only to die down, because their owners mistakenly thought that once started it will run perfectly forever.  The restaurant is rather small (about 10 tables).  Thus, a reservation is a must.  The cuisine could be broadly described as Italian, but with a twist or two, applied by the two gentlemen, to the truly Italian classics.   I don’t want to sound too pedestrian, but by far my favourite starter is a truly divine carpaccio.  However, the salad with warmed up artichokes, Parma ham and parmesan rocks, too.



I have been there several times, but once I was there with a vegan/ vegetarian, for  who they managed to prepare pretty awesome spinach and ricotta ravioli.

The pasta is made there, at the restaurant, and cooked to perfection; al dente with not too much garlic or spices.  For instance, their linguini con vongole had a very nice mix of spices that brought out the taste of seafood.  Tagliatele with calamari are also highly recommendable.






For the main courses, the fish of the day rules.  Basically, you can have a given fish prepared in different ways every day, according to your liking, with chef doing it just right. 


The steak is also very good.  For the first time, I have recently tried what you could call a Polish staple food – a duck breast, and I must say that it was excellent, with an “Italian sauce” on it.

The desserts are, of course, sinful, but I force myself once in a while to risk it.  Especially, when, like right now, we have a strawberry season, and you can get there an incredible creation called a strawberry tiramisu, in a glass.  I actually believe it cannot be all that bad, fatty and full of cholesterol if it has strawberries in it, right? 
To sum it up, I like the place, and I think it shows J