It’s not exactly a scientific metric, but it’s usually possible to track the gentrification of a neighbourhood by the aesthetics of its restaurants and cafés. Case in point is Jeżyce. Until recently, a fairly poor suburb of Poznan, the area is marked with beautiful pre-war tenement houses. Attracted by the rent and possibilities, tribes of young creatives came sniffing and before you knew it, a buzzy little Mitte-like enclave is taking shape.
The latest restaurant to turn our heads is Yeżyce Kuchnia, a compact eatery set on the ground floor of a modernist building from the 1960s. Encouraged by the light pouring in through two walls of high windows, designers Adam Wiercinski and Agnieszka Owsiany decided on an open plan layout, subtly demarcating spaces through the use of matching coloured furniture and lighting.
Anchoring the space is a long bar and coffee counter, one sheathed in mirrors and the other in glossy black tiles; while customised brass lamps and a globed chandelier float over the oak-top tables and banquette.
All of which forms a suitable slick backdrop for the restaurant’s menu of modern Polish with an European twist – to whit, gzik, a Poznan classic of cottage cheese drizzled with linseed oil and paired with potatoes and chopped onion; and a butternut squash steak hit with black sesame, kale, buckwheat, and figs. §
