When Agata Wojda left her station at Opasly Tom two years ago, Warsaw’s gossipy gourmets wondered just how the restaurant could survive the absence of the chef whose lyrical style had made such an indelible imprint on both the restaurant and the city’s contemporary dining scene. The answer unfolded in two stages. One was the introduction of a revolving roster of guest chefs. And the second was the recent relocation of the restaurant from its ul. Foksal perch to a new two-level spot in ul. Wierzbowa, a few blocks away.
Here Buck.Studio has worked every trick in its bag to harmonise the various rooms of the 260 sq m warren. The starting point was a base palette of coral, sage, honey and ink blue hues. These are layered with almost gleeful baroque abandon, beginning with corrugated steel upholstered in velvet, and Art Deco accents, and ending in geometric patterned terrazzo floors, swathes of poplar burl, and globular stalactite lamps.
In the semi-open kitchen, Flavia Borawska proves herself a worthy heir to Wojda’s mantle as she harnesses stints at Noma, London’s The Clove Club and Florence’s Cibreo, to turn out delicate modern takes on Polish cuisine such as squash blossom salads, baked Jerusalem artichokes pooled in a cream of sweet onion. §
