09/15/09

Great food in small quantities

by nektir

I'm from a Polish American family and grew up on pierogi and kielbasa. I still make homemade pierogi every Christmas from Grandma's recipe. The pierogi here are a bit different. They are deep fried (traditionally they are pan fried), but still delicious! I ordered the potato pancakes with apple and plums and my friend ordered the potato and cheese pierogi dinner. We sampled each others dishes and I was impressed with both. The only problem was the portions were so small, we had to order an additional dinner to split. Even after that we had to order dessert to fill us up! Again, my friend ordered the lemon raspberry cheese crepe and I ordered the apples and creme crepe. We sampled each others food again, and they were both excellent! I'd like to go back, the only draw back was the food portions and then the price you pay to fill your stomach!

We ate inside the restaurant that immediately smelled like Grandma's kitchen cooking Polish food. In fact it almost looks like Grandma's dining room. The interior was quite a surprise. Upon leaving we noticed the outdoor seating in back. It was very cool! If I go back, I'd like to sit out there. There was a full bar, tables, lounge, etc.

• Pros: Delicious food... non-traditional Polish food
• Cons: Small portions

03/30/09

Not so good anymore

by jaysanjay

I agree with those reviewers who have said that something has changed at Warsawa in the last year or so. It used to be a really good place to eat -- both food and service used to be excellent back some five to ten years ago. But we were there for dinner this past weekend and had the second disappointing experience with Warsawa this year. I don't think I'll be going back. Neither the food nor the service is what it used to be. Even the Polish sausage was flavorless! Yipes. They used to get their sausage homemade from J&T European Market on Wilshire (or so I was told years ago), but if so, that market must have changed hands because the sausage I was served was flavorless and nowhere near what I used to get at Warsawa years ago.

They need to get back to the friendly attitudes, top quality food service, and excellent dishes that used to be the norm at Warsawa in years past. Right now, it's just not worth the money.

• Pros: the possibilities
• Cons: the reality

01/05/09

Unpleasant surprise New Years Eve

by pekkle1

I had been to this restaurant before and found it delightful in every way, but New Year's Eve was a shocking departure from what I expected. When we entered, the hostess informed us that she wanted everyone to leave as soon as possible so that she could "party". We ordered from the sole waiter on duty that night, and he was attentive but very rushed. The potato pancakes were delicious, but the rest of the meal a big disappointment. The Veal with paprika and tomato sauce had an unappealing tang, and there were no caramelized onions or dumplings in evidence. The Beef Stroganoff was bland, again no mushrooms or dumplings as on the menu. Finally, the hostess started to RUN between the tables, picking up checks, etc, so great was her hurry to clear us out. Her parting comment as we left was "I still have to shoo the other people out!"

01/01/09

Where is the Olde World Charm?

by pekkle1

What would you expect for a New Years Eve dining experience? Festive atmosphere? Attentive service? Especially well cooked menu? WRONG! This night was a Saturday Night Live sketch which would have been funny if we hadn't had to shell out $100 for the bitter laughs. First, there was one rushed waiter for the entire restaurant. Then the food was dished up in bland mounds cafeteria style....I couldn't even eat the veal.

The coup de grace was the hostess who RAN between the tables she was in such a rush to clear us out...shaking the room like a human earthquake....it was absolutely unbelievable!

• Pros: Old fashioned charm
• Cons: terrible service, inconsistent food quality

12/14/08

Amazing Polish Restaurant-Excellent for Parties

by Lily1981

I have been going to Warszawa for years and have never been disappointed. The food and drinks are fantastic and unique, the servers are friendly and prompt, and the ambience is charming and eclectic, with Polish poster art decorating the whole restaurant. Also, the back patio bar is really fun and takes you out of the typical LA vibe and into somewhere entirely different and wonderful.

Last night I threw a surprise party for someone there, and it couldn't have worked out more perfectly.

I reserved the back room and the staff at Warszawa helped to make it a fantastic surprise and birthday party, with charming servers and even a special birthday song in Polish.

This is a one-of-a-kind, first class establishment in the Los Angeles area.

• Pros: Food, vodka, service/staff, atmosphere
• Cons: none

11/22/08

Something's changed -- and not for the better

by MerryJoe

I have been to Warsawa in Santa Monica several times before over the last 15 years or so, with friends and out-of-town guests, and always had a pleasant dining experience and good food. Last time was about a year ago.

However, we went tonight and it was NOT a pleasant experience in any respect. First, the hostess had the reservations messed up. Then, the house/restaurant was hot -- had to have been 80 degrees at least in our dining area. We commented on the heat when we were seated and the hostess said they were going to turn on the air conditioning. Well, some 90 minutes later when we left after the meal, it was still too hot to be comfortable.

Then the food -- what a disappointment! None of what I had was equal to the other times I've been there when I've ordered the same dishes. And no one else in our party was impressed with their food either. Plus the portions have gotten smaller and the prices have gone up. And forget about the desserts -- the crepes were truly unforgivable. I'm convinced there must be a new chef and kitchen staff who just don't have the skills necessary for this food.

Our waitress was not particularly friendly nor efficient, and the kid wandering around to pick up the empty plates and dishes kept "hovering" around our table to the point of distraction. Everything was very unprofessional, and very different from the previous times I've dined there.

So the new Warsawa? Very disappointing considering the good experiences I've had there in the past. Whatever has changed (is it under new management? new owners?), I don't think I'll be going again any time soon. If ever.

• Pros: Potentially great ambience in refurbished old house
• Cons: Unprofessional dining room service; food below par; expensive

06/14/08

a night of bad attitude, broken dishes, and almost fistfight

by zagatpro

1. waiter was drunk. he looked and acted like santa claus after a divorce court.

2. he dropped our entrees on the table, porcelin flew everywhere, and stumble away, leaving us with strogonoff a la internal bleeding.

3. huge polish woman came over and complain about a small tip, we also had to shut down drunk st.nick to have a conversation.

4. having listen to mr.claus/waiter complain about about how mean we are after eating his signature dish of porcelin shards over crepe and salmon and giving a low tip.

5. left the gulag finally, with a bad taste of fine china and bad attitude. and we were taking a friend to this hole in the wall for her birthday.

thanks Warzawa! you turn us off polish couisine and polish attitude forever!

• Pros: no pros
• Cons: you name it

02/07/08

The portions are so tiny, I made a sandwich after this place

by shuz17

My boyfriend is from Poland and I decided to treat him to this restaurant. We loved Polka and had heard to try this place out too. I don't know if was the dishes we ordered (me: pierogies, him: bigos) but, the portions were tiny! We don't even eat a lot and we were still hungry! It's on the pricey side too for what you get. We won't go back and plan to go to Polka instead. The only upside is I heard that the outside area can be nice in the summer.

• Pros: the ambience
• Cons: small portions, over-priced

12/26/07

skip it

by pinays

a friend has been dying to try this established polish restaurant for quite some time so i was more than happy to check it out.

the ambiance is quite lovely -- good for big groups or on a date. there is a small parking lot in the back and street parking.

we started off with the pea soup. for a cold night in la, it was not sufficiently hot.

we then had the kielbasa (grilled polish sausage). the sausage was nicely plump and juicy. however, the horseradish sauce was very very bland. quite disappointing.

i had the combo pierogi of chicken breast in sorrell sauce and pierogi of wild mushroom and cabbage. both were bland and served lukewarm. the chicken pierogi was too chewy.

my friend had the combo pierogi of braised beef and the pierogi of the white cheese, potato puree and onions. i only tasted the cheese pierogi.... again, bland.

at least the service was good.

08/10/07

Impeccable Polish food, a treasure

by emilyemily

I love this place. You wander through this rambling warren of rooms, often filled with intellectuals conversing in Polish and a variety of other languages, and it's hard to believe you're still in L.A. I too was reminded of the Russian places on Manhattan's Lower East Side. There are many different pierogi options, and a particular favorite of mine is the appetizer of roasted prunes wrapped in bacon. The atmosphere is modestly upscale and European, and the prices a little above moderate but well worth it.