Restaurant Review

Manana

ul. Foksal 18, tel. 828-2622.

Open daily 1 p.m.-last guest.

Having rarely ventured further along ul. Foksal than Soma with its ever-enticing microbrews, we decided to cross the road and re-review one of the capital's original New World cuisine options - Manana. The sister restaurant of African Tam Tam, Manana never really pulled any of our associates through its front doors. In fact, most people were completely unaware of Manana's existence, having always gone two doors further to ogle the long-legged clientele of Tam Tam.

Fooled by a warped wooden door which got caught in the doorway, we thought the place was closed, leaving us to circle the building twice before finally giving the door a good yank. For a Friday night, you can understand our trepidation at thinking it may perhaps have been closed. As it turned out, only one other table was occupied. The music was predictably Latin and the atmosphere was most definitely relaxed, giving us plenty of time to stare at the ceiling mural, which was a rough map of Central and South America...most definitely a hint of what to expect from the menu, one diner cleverly observed.

Ravenously hungry, we ordered our appetizers and mains immediately, along with our cocktails: a caipirinha (cachaca, brown sugar and limes) and a batida (cachaca, lime juice and honey). The cocktails, though delicious, took a very long time to come to our tables, and had it not been for the bread rolls brought out along with them, this may have prompted cannibalistic attacks on our parts. With loads of time to kill before our appetizers came, the few bread rolls were devoured in a couple minutes, leaving a glint in our eye - one the waitress most definitely recognized, consequently choosing to remain at a rather comfortable distance.

Once our appetizers did come, we were stunned.

As an aside, a minor quibble we have with waiters is one where you order a full meal based on what you would expect to be reasonable portion sizes - which later turns out to be a false assumption - but they refrain from advising you otherwise. These "appetizers" were huge. In fact, had we not already ordered our mains, we might have just left afterwards. Instead, we dug into our poultry liver on a bed of salad and the panquecas with chicken in chive sauce. Both were amazing. Though never really fans of liver, we chose this dish on a hunch, which most certainly paid off. The liver was more reminiscent of foie gras, toasted lightly and placed liberally on a bed of fresh lettuce with a slight - but perfect - vinaigrette. And the panquecas were no chopped liver, either. In case you're wondering (as were we before asking the waitress), a panqueca is a crepe. But smother these crepes with a tasty chicken-and-chive gravy and the resemblance to your everyday naleśnik is minimal.

Having gorged ourselves on these fantastic appetizers, it was with nervous trepidation that we awaited our mains. As luck would have it, it seems they'd been prepared to follow shortly after our appetizers. The grilled pork loin was (once again) monstrously large, though delicious: two slabs of pork, marinated in herb-pepper and tarragon, grilled and covered in cheese. We only finished one. Our Argentinian steak was heavenly. Though we'd had doubts as to why the waitress hadn't asked "rare, medium or well-done," we're sure the cook knew exactly what he was doing. The steak was marinated in a cabernet sauvignon and cayenne pepper mix, grilled and slapped onto a big wooden plate. Amazing. Truly one of the best cuts of meat we've sampled in Poland. And though our stomachs warned of impending indigestion, yes...we finished it off.

Despite the wait, Manana has become our instant favorite for good food, a central location and good value for your money. It seems that Tam Tam is the weaker of the two sisters. For a truly excellent meal, pop in next door instead. HH