‘La Polanesa’ Calle de Narciso Serra, 3, 28007 Madrid
I love trying new things.
A couple of years ago, a friend who had lived in Poland found this restaurant and we enjoyed some delicious smoked cheese (Oscypek) along with gołąbki, pierogi and a salad. It was delicious but, as foreigners, I was going by what I thought tasted good rather than whether it was
authentic or not.
I was equally excited recently when my Polish friend Jakub
said he was missing homestyle food, I jumped at the chance for him to
introduce me to more food from a faraway place, and know if it was actually any
good compared to 'proper' Polish food. My own Polish roots have been diluted with time so my experience is limited to the Jewish peasant recipes that have been passed down to my generation, changed as time goes so now they are only Polish by name, if not by nature.
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| Traditional Polish Art |
So, on a muggy Sunday we stepped into the restaurant and immediately I was, once again, transported from sunny Spain to Eastern Europe.
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| Cosy like Grandma's house |
With the pictures on the wall depicting scenes from a cliché in my mind, the furniture and ambience for some reason felt different to the atmosphere I usually get in restaurants - it was cosy, like stepping into my Grandma's house. I immediately felt a connection to my Eastern European roots and a little pang of long-cherished and sometimes forgotten memories of my childhood.
Another touch I liked that fate had arranged was that other than the Spanish woman buying food in the little shop that is attached to the restaurant, I was the only other non-Pole in the whole restaurant.
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| Jakub enjoying a Lech |
After ordering some Polish beer (naturally) I left Jakub to peruse the menu. I am usually annoyed when someone else orders for me in a restaurant, but this time I left him in charge. Other than the allergy to Avocado and the odd hatred I have for bananas, he was given free reign.
He wanted me to try a traditional dish called Placek po zbojecku which is a potato
pancake with a thick meat (usually beef) sauce with mushrooms generously spread
over it. It felt a bit weird to be ordering what I would call proper winter
comfort food in the middle of July but hey, I am up for anything!
He also ordered us a cucumber and yoghurt salad (Mizeria) to share.
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| Placek po zbojecku |
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| Mizeria |
Whilst I enjoyed the food, I have a few observations. These are based on my own previous experience with Eastern European food and Jakub's own preference and opinion.
Placek po Zbojecku: The pancake was incredibly thick - with such a rich sauce I felt it needed to be slightly thinner. (N.B. We checked the authenticity of this and apparantly, this is the traditional way of serving it, Jakub, however, even as a native, agreed with my opinion!)
Mizeria: Again, I enjoyed it, but, as a side dish the yoghurt was very thick. Traditionally, it is served thinned out with lemon juice to make it more like a sour cream to cut the richness of the dish it is accompanying. I could have eaten this version happily as a main dish with a chunk of crusty bread, but as it was, it was too rich and was left fighting for attention and eventually got lost on my palate.
As a sidenote, it is worth mentioning that like in all cultures, variations appear from region to region and one persons preference changes depending on that. So in this case, I am willing to put my opinion aside, as choice of thicker sauce could be accredited to the chef's personal background.
Onto dessert. As I have mentioned before, I am not really a sweet-toothed person, but for experimental purposes, of course, I like to try something.
Again, leaving Jakub in charge, he ordered us Szarlotka (Polish Apple Cake) and Sernik (My beloved cheesecake) along with coffee.
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| Sernik |
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| Szarlotka |
Sadly, my hard-to-please sweet tooth was not satiated.
The Szarlotka was bland, cold and served with what appeared to be squirty cream from a can. A touch of cinnamon and a quick turn in a microwave would have made a world of difference. Sadly, the Sernik didn't fare much better. Considering my preference for savoury, this was a little too savoury for me. It didn't fulful my quest to find a cheesecake as good as my Aunty Judy's, (made from her mother's recipe, she also has Eastern European roots). Maybe my standards are too high, its a pretty delicious cheesecake.
The coffee, although not Polish, was delicious.
So, in conclusion - try something different. I think experimenting with different dishes is a good idea (the ones I mention in the opening paragraph have all been verified as great by Jakub!) Come in on a cold day and warm your soul.
Another good point to mention is that this place is actually great value for money (in that, you get what you pay for) and in terms of atmosphere and ambience, I recommend it.
http://restaurantelapolonesa.es/
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