Eatery provides a splendid setting for a post-holiday meal
The Sculptor, on the other hand, was still perplexed as to how and why his son Jordan had moved our huge picnic table and benches into the back of his Ford Transit van.
My friend the translator suggested we try Restauracja Splendido next to the railway tracks on Wroclaw's main shopping thoroughfare, ulica Swidnicka, for the investigation-dinner. Word had it that this 9-month-old eatery had been rated consecutively since October as the No. 1 restaurant in Poland by magazine Puls Biznesu. And in November Wprost and 150 top Polish chefs ranked Splendido No. 5.
My only concern was whether the place offered substantial vegetarian options for the Sculptor's daughter, Zaba. So when I called for a reservation, the polite woman at the other end of the phone assured me that the menu offered plenty of options for all eating habits.
Splendido is situated on the ground floor in the only building at the intersection of ulicas Swidnicka and Pilsudskiego to have survived World War II. Its location - two blocks from the Teatr Polski, a hop, skip and a jump from the soon-to-be erected Holiday Inn and five minutes from the mammoth Hotel Wroclaw - seems to bode well for the locale.
According to our waiter, Janusz, the proximity to Hotel Wroclaw has meant that the owners have already had to scurry to pump out menus in Italian and French to go along with the German, English and Polish versions.
On the outside, Splendido looks rather drab. Only the somewhat ornate wooden doors at the entrance give a hint to the extraordinarily interesting and well-appointed interior. Wooden beams and platforms faithfully rendering les poutres so coveted in French country homes give the place a rustic warmth. That was all accented by a variety of antique furniture, bone china coffee cups and other memorabilia gathered from antique markets from at least all over Poland and most likely all over Europe. (As the Sculptor pointed out contentedly, no two chairs in the restaurant were identical.)
Splendido has three dining levels, allowing a certain intimacy to every table, but not leaving diners with a sense of lonely abandon. The best part of the experience was our waiter Janusz. He was attentive, without being obsequious. He skillfully guided us through the menu, making suggestions and assisting us with and later congratulating us on our choices.
Zaba and I chose to start out with a traditional margarita cocktail (zl. 16 each), which was skillfully mixed. The men ordered Zywiec, which were a bit too slowly drawn from a wooden keg.
Zaba and the sculptor praised the acquacotta cream of tasty forest mushroom soup (zl. 12) and Jordan tackled the mauritius crab salad (zl. 19) served in a cornucopia-shaped pastry. So that I wouldn't feel "left out," Janusz served my primavera spring salad with yogurt sauce (zl. 8) early along with the other's appetizers.
The main course proved the best part. Jordan had a sirloin beefsteak cooked in soft Burgundy wine (zl. 25). He must have enjoyed it because the Sculptor remarked that it was the first time he had seen his two-meter-tall son savoring a meal bite by bite rather than engulfing it in its entirety.
The Sculptor equally enjoyed the royal beef sirloin coated in pastry and baked with a specially selected herbal composition (zl. 29). Zaba said she would order the broccoli baked with mozzarella cheese (zl. 12) again any day, but that she was not really impressed by the ratatouille provencal (zl. 8). I had not any complaints with my queen sole (zl. 29), baked to perfection and accented by dabs of a well-blended curry sauce.
The red wine we had - a bottle of Spanish Siglo Saco (zl. 80) - proved a nice compliment to even the fish and vegetarian meals.
By 9:30 p.m. there was not an empty table in the place. Jordan ordered another tall Zywiec, the sculptor a large cafe creme (zl. 5) and I chose an espresso (zl. 4) to go along with a banana mousse (zl. 13). When at 11:00 p.m. the Gypsy Kings' background music came back on for a third time, we decided to ask for the check.
The bill came to zl. 318.50 ($91). I had no problem getting a faktura VAT, but could not pay with an American Express card. However, passified and contented by the quantity and quality of the food, drink and service, I wasn't at all perturbed.
As far as the investigation went, the picnic table was necessary for a New Year's day excursion around the Lower Silesian countryside. Or so I was told.
My friend the translator suggested we try Restauracja Splendido next to the railway tracks on Wroclaw's main shopping thoroughfare, ulica Swidnicka, for the investigation-dinner. Word had it that this 9-month-old eatery had been rated consecutively since October as the No. 1 restaurant in Poland by magazine Puls Biznesu. And in November Wprost and 150 top Polish chefs ranked Splendido No. 5.
My only concern was whether the place offered substantial vegetarian options for the Sculptor's daughter, Zaba. So when I called for a reservation, the polite woman at the other end of the phone assured me that the menu offered plenty of options for all eating habits.
Splendido is situated on the ground floor in the only building at the intersection of ulicas Swidnicka and Pilsudskiego to have survived World War II. Its location - two blocks from the Teatr Polski, a hop, skip and a jump from the soon-to-be erected Holiday Inn and five minutes from the mammoth Hotel Wroclaw - seems to bode well for the locale.
According to our waiter, Janusz, the proximity to Hotel Wroclaw has meant that the owners have already had to scurry to pump out menus in Italian and French to go along with the German, English and Polish versions.
On the outside, Splendido looks rather drab. Only the somewhat ornate wooden doors at the entrance give a hint to the extraordinarily interesting and well-appointed interior. Wooden beams and platforms faithfully rendering les poutres so coveted in French country homes give the place a rustic warmth. That was all accented by a variety of antique furniture, bone china coffee cups and other memorabilia gathered from antique markets from at least all over Poland and most likely all over Europe. (As the Sculptor pointed out contentedly, no two chairs in the restaurant were identical.)
Splendido has three dining levels, allowing a certain intimacy to every table, but not leaving diners with a sense of lonely abandon. The best part of the experience was our waiter Janusz. He was attentive, without being obsequious. He skillfully guided us through the menu, making suggestions and assisting us with and later congratulating us on our choices.
Zaba and I chose to start out with a traditional margarita cocktail (zl. 16 each), which was skillfully mixed. The men ordered Zywiec, which were a bit too slowly drawn from a wooden keg.
Zaba and the sculptor praised the acquacotta cream of tasty forest mushroom soup (zl. 12) and Jordan tackled the mauritius crab salad (zl. 19) served in a cornucopia-shaped pastry. So that I wouldn't feel "left out," Janusz served my primavera spring salad with yogurt sauce (zl. 8) early along with the other's appetizers.
The main course proved the best part. Jordan had a sirloin beefsteak cooked in soft Burgundy wine (zl. 25). He must have enjoyed it because the Sculptor remarked that it was the first time he had seen his two-meter-tall son savoring a meal bite by bite rather than engulfing it in its entirety.
The Sculptor equally enjoyed the royal beef sirloin coated in pastry and baked with a specially selected herbal composition (zl. 29). Zaba said she would order the broccoli baked with mozzarella cheese (zl. 12) again any day, but that she was not really impressed by the ratatouille provencal (zl. 8). I had not any complaints with my queen sole (zl. 29), baked to perfection and accented by dabs of a well-blended curry sauce.
The red wine we had - a bottle of Spanish Siglo Saco (zl. 80) - proved a nice compliment to even the fish and vegetarian meals.
By 9:30 p.m. there was not an empty table in the place. Jordan ordered another tall Zywiec, the sculptor a large cafe creme (zl. 5) and I chose an espresso (zl. 4) to go along with a banana mousse (zl. 13). When at 11:00 p.m. the Gypsy Kings' background music came back on for a third time, we decided to ask for the check.
The bill came to zl. 318.50 ($91). I had no problem getting a faktura VAT, but could not pay with an American Express card. However, passified and contented by the quantity and quality of the food, drink and service, I wasn't at all perturbed.
As far as the investigation went, the picnic table was necessary for a New Year's day excursion around the Lower Silesian countryside. Or so I was told.
