Winda lifts Old Town's sketchy restaurant scene
On a recent, windy Sunday evening, Sister Bertrille flew in to sweep me away to a new restaurant she had noticed on the outskirts of Old Town the cozy and unpretentious Winda.
The good sister said it looked small and "neighborhoody," in a spot that's flush with visitors, but short on good eating prospects. Winda is on ulica Senatorska, across from Prohibicja, sandwiched between a sklep spozywczy and an arcade. Its entrance leads to the Dom Literatury hotel. Winda, incidentally, is run by the same company as Literacka Cafe and Restaurant.
Romanesque arches painted in a salmon wash from floor to ceiling give the two-room cafe a warm feeling in this cold wintry city. This was livened by accents of aqua around bookshelves and doors. Jugs, dishes, pictures, bottles, an antique radio and other knick-knacks lined the shelves. Two large windows, one in each room, face the street, with potted plants lining a shelf below.
Word has not yet gotten out about this cute spot, so only two tables were occupied when we strolled in early in the evening. After surveying our choice of tables, we decided the staff was waiting for us to seat ourselves, so we picked a nice table against the wall. All the tables were of the same blonde wood, set with salmon-colored cloth napkins, wine glasses and cutlery. The chairs were a potpourri of antiques.
Winda is a wine bar serving light fare so the menu is small and modest only three soups (zl. 6-zl. 7), five starters (zl. 6-zl. 15), four quiches (zl. 7-zl. 8), six pastas (zl. 14), and two desserts (zl. 6-zl. 8). As you would expect in a wine bar, the wines, not the food, are the main attraction.
The wine list was indeed fantastic, with selections from France, Italy, Chile, California, Spain, Austria, Portugal, Austria, Germany, Greece and Israel. The most expensive wine was a champagne Veuve Cliquot Ponsardin, brut or demi-sec, for zl. 390. The wine ranged in price from the Greek Retsina Boutari at zl. 38 to an Italian Marchesi di Barolo, zl. 219, with many selections in between. House wines ranged from zl. 25-zl. 38 by the bottle and zl. 6-zl. 8 a glass.
The sister and I chose a modest Sauvignon Blanc from Chile, a Gato Blanco (zl. 45). The wine steward came by and ceremoniously displayed the bottle, but found the cork provided too much resistance. He took it away to extricate the unruly plug, returned, and poured enough for a taste. It was not as dry as I had hoped and was closer to a light Chardonnay, but still met with our approval.
The sister and I started by splitting an order of carpaccio, which at zl. 15 is the most expensive thing on the menu. We hoped to get at the tender, raw beef before our taste buds became too cluttered. To our surprise, it arrived bathed in a Dijon sauce and a generous number of capers. The tangy sauce overpowered the delicate meat, but somehow we weren't disappointed. We soaked up the last of the delicious mustard sauce with the accompanying rustico rolls.
The highlight of the evening was an unusual selection. After the carpaccio, Sister Bertrille chose the cream of carrot soup with celery dill (zl. 6). She adored her soup, a thick puree tasting more of fresh vegetables than cream.
"I like the combo of carrot and celery together," she said. "It is pleasantly spiced and thick, the way I like it."
My French onion soup (zl. 7) arrived with a bowl of toasted croutons on the side. It was lighter than expected. I asked to have it after the carpaccio, so as not to overpower the meat, but it was served the other way around. It was not the masterful soup that the good sister received.
For the mains, she chose quiche with broccoli and mushrooms (zl. 8) and I opted for lasagna with spinach and feta (zl. 14). The plates arrived to our initial disappointment. We saw two slices her quiche and my lasagna sitting somewhat lonely, without sauce, in the middle of a white plate, and garnished with parsley only.
The sister's quiche had a generous amount of broccoli, with a thick layer of pastry and a light egg mixture. "It tastes rich and buttery, the way you would expect from a quiche," she said. "But you can tell it wasn't made by a real French chef."
My lasagna was a square of pasta cut from a larger casserole with layers of feta and spinach. Sister Bertrille took a bite and said, "It's obvious it's not fresh spinach, but this is winter in Poland. What do you expect?"
On second thought, we realized that the level of the starters the table settings, soup, wine, and attentive service had raised our expectations so that we became disappointed by the main courses. We were expecting spectacular, but what we got was good. Considering the prices, though, it was very good.
As there were two of us and two desserts on the menu, the choice was obvious. Sister Bertrille chose the chocolate mousse (zl. 8), which she thought tasted suspiciously like Hershey syrup in a marshmallow base. To me, it tasted more of dark chocolate.
"It satisfied my chocoholic craving," she said, "but it tasted like it wasn't done. It was runny."
I ordered the lemon tart (zl. 6), which was a cut above the Warsaw standard. A slice from a larger pie was centered on a white plate and sprinkled with powdered sugar. The grated lemon peel on top added a nice touch.
Dinner for two with wine and dessert came to zl. 123 ($29) a pretty good deal for Warsaw. Winda is a nice addition to a part of town that is flooded with restaurants but suffers from a lack of palatable, reasonably priced ones. It also makes a nice addition to its sister establishments under Dom Literatury's roof. It will be an excellent place to enjoy a fine bottle of wine and a simple meal. For price and quality, it falls between the light fare of Literacka cafe and the wonderful meals available in the restaurant cellar below it.
