Coffee bar makes a welcome addition to java-deprived mornings
Returning on the early train to Warsaw from one of my road-warrior trips to the beer-drinking flatlands, I found myself in need of proper nutrition before showing up at the salt mine. Without the ambition to cook for myself, I staggered into a new breakfast joint now open near plac Teatralny the Business Coffee Bar.
In a city as cosmopolitan as Warsaw, it is surprising how few places there are to get a cup of joe before work. Szpilka stands out as probably the best breakfast option. Modular also does well in the food and coffee department, if you can tolerate a little high-volume disco polo while waiting for your first cup. Blikle, Cafe Nowy Swiat, and the better hotels in town put together some half-hearted attempts at a filling breakfast. And you can always get a cup of coffee to go at Dunkin' Donuts, if you can bear pink and orange colors in a pre-caffeinated state.
The ambitiously named Business Coffee Bar is sparkling bright and colorful. Its red and silver decorations and pictures of cars, motorcycles and drivers mingling among the hubcaps and speed-limit signs on the wall give the place a racetrack motif. The simple furniture also looks as though the cafe owners are preparing to create a franchise. Large windows open out on the Opera Narodowa and the Citibank building.
A woman in a uniform red T-shirt greeted the only other customer and me with a smile on this slow Monday morning. I made for a table by the corner and was immediately attended to. The restaurant has no printed menu, only a chalkboard behind the bar almost small enough to memorize. It will astound you with choices, and that was easy on my insufficient brain early in the morning. Coffee, cappuccino and tea ranged from zl. 3.50 to zl. 8. Light fare ran zl. 4-zl. 12.
Testing the name, I went straight for the coffee and ordered the Kawa Grande (zl. 6). Shortly after, another smiling woman in a red T-shirt delivered a fresh, steaming Tchibo coffee with a Speculoos biscuit. It was strong but smooth and came with a shot of steamed milk on the side. My first food selection, the toasty zestaw (zl. 12), arrived shortly after.
A basket with two slices of warm bread toasted on one side was placed next to a white plate with a beautiful azure trim. Arranged aesthetically around the plate were two slices of cold-cuts, three slices of cheese one processed and two gouda and on top of a solitary lettuce leaf were two slices of bell pepper, a slice of tomato, and a pickled mushroom. Though the ingredients were only a slight upgrade from the tired breakfasts served in the old communist-style hotels, the cheerful presentation was uplifting.
Twin dollops of ketchup and mayonnaise sat in the very center of this miniature cornucopia. No sooner had I constructed a small sandwich and placed it on the rim, than it slid down into the condiments, dipping one side in the mayonnaise. I had to sacrifice my napkin removing the offensive white goo. But the sandwich was still pleasing.
Next came the salatka owocowa (zl. 8.50). Yet another smiling red T-shirt delivered the fruit salad in a blue glass, presented on another one of those azure-rimmed plates. It was a mixture of mostly fresh with some processed fruit. Processed peaches and pineapples mingled with fresh kiwi, apple, mango and oranges and were topped off with three small dollops of whipped cream. It was a wonderful combination of summer fruits, and gave me the feeling that I was receiving some good nutrition.
By this time, I was through with the first cup of java, and, being an American coffee addict, one cup just wasn't enough. I ordered another, which was with me in a flash.
The check came to zl. 34 ($8.30), which puts their price almost up there with fancy restaurants and expensive hotels. For this price, I thought, dozens of greasy spoons along Route 66 will serve a 2x2x2 (two sausages and bacon, two pancakes and french toast, and two fried eggs) with a "bottomless cup of coffee" for less. I thought of all the lunches I enjoy for a mere zl. 20 and wondered why breakfast prices in this town are so disproportionately high.
I asked for a faktura VAT and was told I would have to come back tomorrow. I am not sure what is more upsetting: not getting a faktura on the spot, or the Polish government requiring such a stringent tax receipt that businesses must keep accountants on hand to take care of customers. Why is it so much easier in other countries?
But the Business Coffee Bar fills a niche sadly lacking in this town and offers another place to enjoy breakfast. They begin serving at 8 a.m., which puts them in a select league of those who have caught on that some people want to caffeinate themselves properly first thing in the morning before they head off to be tortured at the office. And for those days when you don't need to rush, the large windows facing out onto a slice of plac Teatralny let you enjoy a nice view from a cozy spot in bad weather.
