A taste of home
By : Anna Staniszewska
Depending on where you come from, Warsaw's selection of restaurants, pubs and clubs could be a boon or a bust if your after-hours goal is to hook up with your fellow countrymen.
Apart from a healthy handful of venues that cater to the English-speaking business crowd, Warsaw lacks outlets that focus on any other community, expats complained.
So where do expats go, other than such obviously touristy places as Old Town, the Wilanow palace and Lazienki Park, to hear people speaking in their native tongue?
Lokale Immobilia grilled various representatives of the Warsaw expat community to find out where they go to mix and mingle among their own.
Anglo-Americans
Since native English speaking expats are probably the city's largest foreign group, it's no surprise that many restaurants and pubs cater to them.
Americans and Canadians looking to rub shoulders tend to hang out at the 99 Restaurant and T.G.I. Friday's on Aleja Jana Pawla II, the Boathouse on the east bank of the Wisla river, the Warsaw Tortilla Factory on ulica Wspolna near the Marriott Hotel, or the Blue Cactus in the Mokotow district. Traipse into any of these eateries and you'll find dozens of English-speaking compatriots, said Brian Borrough, managing director of TKG International, a developer.
"I like to take (friends) to these places," said Borrough, who has lived in Warsaw for five years.
If you're British, though, don't be tempted by the looming London Steak House sign on Aleje Jerozolimskie in downtown Warsaw. Morgan's pub on ulica Tamka is a far better choice if you're looking to bump into a few colleagues, Warsaw Brits said. The restaurant/bar is run by the Irish Morgan family, and is frequently visited by Irishmen and Brits looking to quaff a good pint of Guinness.
German/French
Continental Europeans find it far more difficult to name their countries' hot spots. The German community doesn't have an obvious meeting point, but heads to various bars and restaurants, German expats said.
The French are in a similar predicament. Despite the plethora of French spoken at the Hotel Mercure, French businesspeople said the city lacked places to meet compatriots.
Stanislas Dwernicki, managing partner of French law firm Gide Loyrette Nouel, who has lived here for 11 years, said he never takes his guests to French restaurants. "They have it at home," he said. "Why would they want to eat the same thing (here)?"
Loic Guibourge, the founder of Patriman, a consulting company, said that not only does Warsaw lack French places, it's also hard to find good French wine, cheese and properly cut meat.
Therefore Guibourge's favorite destinations especially when hosting visitors from France are the Fukier restaurant in Old Town Square and Qchnia Artystyczna, which is near the Lazienki Park. "We want our guests to have fun and give them a taste of Poland," he said.
Japanese
The Japanese tend to be more faithful to their native cuisine, even when living somewhere as landlocked as Warsaw. "Japanese food is better for Japanese people," said Sano Hiroshi, manager at Jetro, a Japanese governmental organization. He said he prefers to take his guests to Inaba, Tsubame or Nautilus because those restaurants prepare authentic Japanese food.
The stereotype that the best place to find other Japanese business people is on the golf course does not apply here, said Hiroshi, who is not a golfer. He added that "entertainment is not very popular with the Japanese community in Warsaw." When going out, Hiroshi said he takes his guests to the Panorama Club on the top floor of the Marriott Hotel an expensive substitute for a sightseeing tour. The other popular evening option is classical music, with the Teatr Wielki opera house being a favorite destination, he said.
Mixing with locals
A lot of expats, especially the younger ones, prefer to meet foreigners and Poles alike in bars and clubs.
Sebastian Troen, a Danish-Canadian who works for Young & Rubicam, likes to treat his guests to a night on the town. "I try to show them my life in Warsaw, which differs a lot from the typical sense of the city," he said.
Younger expats tend to hang out at SOMA, a U.S.-owned restaurant and microbrewery on ulica Foksal; Scena 2000, a club located on ulica Szucha near the Foreign Ministry; and H2O, an outdoor club on ulica Wawelska, expats said.
"Young people are the same as everywhere else," said Paul Turner, manager of the sports marketing agency Turning Point. He said that in many aspects, such as in films, shops and going out, Warsaw is not all that much different from other cities.
But some expats said that one shouldn't focus on the trendy international places but try "real" Polish establishments as well. Turner, a Brit has lived here for seven years, and said many things have changed as a result of Americanization. "It's a shame," he said.
He added that Poles were to blame for this since they've failed to market their treasures, which could potentially be very attractive to the expat community here. "The task is to be able to show its treasures, like Mariensztat (square)," he said.
"It's a nice city that has a lot to offer," agreed Laurent Beaulieu, first secretary of the Canadian Embassy. His favorite places include Restauracja Biblioteka in the Powisle district and Restauracja Polska near ulica Nowy Swiat, which have "their own individual color and style that is not expat driven," he said.
