Business lunch goes Balkan

Banja Luka, one of Warsaw's best-known eateries for Balkan cuisine, is offering a lunch special for the "suits."

Throughout August, the restaurant is looking to the strong tradition of the necktie in Croatian culture and serving up a hot deal on lunch for guests sporting a tie. The necktie tradition is based on a Croatian legend that had local womenfolk bestowing scarves upon their beloved as they set off to battle. The scarf, tied in a particular fashion around the man's neck, symbolized fidelity and was supposed to supply him with courage in tough times. The necktie has gone on to become one of the most recognizable parts of the Croatian people's traditional garb.

In celebration of this long- running tradition, the friend or client of a lunchtime guest - preferably sporting a necktie - dines on the house. Lunch specials include a soup and main course, prepared according to traditional recipes from Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia, Hercegovina and, of course, Croatia. The dishes, prepared by chef Goran Milosevic, vary from day to day and are priced at zł.19. Lunch is served between 12 and 4pm on weekdays, so as the Croations say: Tko rano rani, dvije sreće grabi - He who wakes up early, catches two fortunes.

Banja Luka is located on ul. Puławska 101; tel: 022 854-0782