Every pearl has its price, and this one is no exception
While Brazilian Rodizio el Toro has earned an early reputation as the place to go for ingesting untold heaps of skewered barbecued flesh, its more dignified upstairs sister, Zlota Perla, is the picture of elegance.
Billed as "international traditional," Zlota Perla is on the second floor of the recently opened Landa Dom Restauracyjny complex in the Wola district. The complex contains Rodizio el Toro (see Will Sartori's review, WBJ, Feb. 21-27) on ground level and the Miami-themed night club, South Beach Cafe, in the cellar.
When Zosia and I strolled into the Landa building at 6 p.m. on a recent Saturday night we were promptly met by a well-dressed man who seemed pleased to learn that we were dining at Zlota Perla. Perhaps our reservation was unnecessary, I thought. Before I could even slide my coat off, someone was jockeying to do it for me and a second guy had already been dispatched to relieve Zosia of hers. Not bad.
Our maitre d' now seemed poised for action or promotion. Leading us up a brightly lit spiral staircase to the renovated heaven above that would soon be Zlota Perla, he seemed to have our evening planned out.
"First, dinner here, next to Rodizio el Toro, then to South Beach Cafe," he said, clearly trying to schmooze us into agreement.
I could understand checking out the nightclub, but a second dinner at the protein palace?
As Zosia assured him we already had other plans for the evening, we emerged into a bar area with an impressive view of the dining room's runway/dance floor. Someone had obviously thought about all of this. According to the restaurant's promotional material, the glossy wooden runway, which separates the two halves of the dining room, is intended for fashion shows, dancing, and musical performances. A good spot for a high-buck wedding reception too.
Ultra-modern and well-lit, Zlota Perla's varnished blonde woodwork, white flowing curtains, linen tablecloths and starched napkins contrast tastefully with navy blue carpeting. With expectations now set on high, Zosia and I were ready to find out if the chow lived up to the decor.
Before we could do that, however, we had to choose a table. Resisting the urge to swagger down the runway, I suggested one in the back on the right. We now had our own half of the restaurant. Was it that early or was all the action downstairs?
Promptly our waiter appeared to help Zosia with her chair and leave us Polish/German/English menus. The menu has expanded considerably since the restaurant opened in January. Before deciding on food, though, we took a look at the wine list: five French vintages are available for zl. 105-zl. 355 a bottle as well as reds and whites from Italy, Spain, Chile, Africa, Argentina, Australia, and Germany. We selected a bottle of the Chilean Chardonnay, Terra Mater '98, for zl. 105. Not exactly a bargain, but it was excellent smooth and crisp and our waiter was always on hand before either of our glasses became dangerously low.
For cognac lovers, by the way, Zlota Perla's ample bar carries both Hennessy XO and Camus XO for the low, low price of zl. 3,500 a bottle.
While sipping wine and gnawing on whole-wheat rolls with garlic butter, we were ready to consider the menu: cold and hot starters range from zl. 24 for the "pate of venison in short pastry" I ordered to zl. 120 for black caviar on ice. Skipping an appetizer, Zosia went for a fresh spinach salad, lightly fried with bacon and parmesan. This was fantastic. My pate, meanwhile, was good but unremarkable. Topped with cranberries, the pastry shell was light and buttery but the venison pate filling somewhat dry.
Anticipating the need to save room for dinner and dessert, Zosia passed on the soup. I ordered a bowl of the leek cream (zl. 12), a thick and slightly peppery green puree that did the job of filling me slightly before my entree. A great soup for a chilly March night. The zurek (zl. 12), though, also sounded tempting.
Mains include several kinds of pasta, fish, and meat dishes, including a marinated knuckle of lamb (zl. 48) that our waiter recommended.
Zosia went for the roast venison in cherry sauce (zl. 54), but when it arrived she seemed surprised. Expecting kopytka as a side dish, she received a crescent-shaped potato pastry instead. It would have been nice to have been informed of the change. It was not until my duck landed a moment later that I too found myself wondering what I had ordered. While the potato pastry on my plate was good, it just couldn't replace the dumplings in the duck breast with cabbage and dumplings (zl. 35) that I expected. Aside from the weird translation and mysterious kopytka/dumplings disappearance, Zosia's tender venison smacked of a good 'n gamey steak, and its tart cherry sauce was a smart complement. My duck breast sans dumplings, meanwhile, was sliced into strips with the skin left on. Again, not what I expected, but the cabbage with golden raisins and freshly stewed tomato helped me overcome my early prejudices. After all, not every duck in Central Europe has to be served in one hunk with gravy and dumplings.
While finishing our meals, we took another look around the dining room. Seven-thirty and it was just starting to fill. Would there be any music? If so, would it be good and more importantly, would we have to pay zl. 40 a head for it as the menu states? Zosia, being a native speaker of the local language and thus more competent than I to root out such details, asked the waiter.
"Yes," he said, there's music, usually every Saturday night (though not that night) with styles ranging from dance to ... karaoke. Yes, karaoke. That wasn't such a shock considering Zlota Perla's unoriginal choice of background music commercial ballads. Whitney Houston howling for Kevin Costner followed by Bryan Adams' eye-welling finest was gut-wrenching enough the first time, but when it became clear that the restaurant's mix master had flipped the tape and was going to force us to listen to the entire thing again, we knew we had been there too long. A Chet Baker CD or a piano player tucked in the corner would have been far more appropriate given the atmosphere.
For dessert, Zosia ordered the szarlotka with vanilla ice cream (zl. 15) and I, the nalesniki with pears (zl. 15). Both did a fine job of perking up our palates after all the game we had eaten. Zosia's ice cream, with specks of real vanilla bean, was delightful. And both the apples in her szarlotka and the pears in my pancakes were fresh. A couple of strong espressos (zl. 10) helped keep us from sagging too much afterward. Our bill including wine came to zl. 339 ($83) without tip.
Overall, Zlota Perla is long on looks and an appropriate place to haul a date or perhaps conduct a little midday business, but a little more work on the details wouldn't hurt. Maybe we'll even be back for a fashion show and check out that runway in action. Hopefully, though, the music won't be karaoke.
