Where to eat? "Kuchnia i Wino", Pszczyna

I realise that for some of you Poland may sound as rather exotic holiday destination, but I am sure some of you will visit this country one day. And perhaps some of my recommendations you will find handy.

During my last visit in Poland I hade the opportunity to visit one restaurant recommended by my Mum. It is called "Kuchnia i Wino" ("Cuisine and Wine") and I would recommended to anybody who likes to try Polish cuisine.

I was told this restaurant took part in a TV show similar to "Kitchen Nightmares" by Gordon Ramsay and it use to be French style restaurant - too expensive and lacking of customers. It was converted to a place serving mainly Polish cuisine, however you will still see remains of the old menu - there are few French classic bits.

Unfortunately the menu is in Polish, however I believe that if they get some foreign customers they should be able to explain what is on the menu, or hopefully in a future they will have menu in English too. The things is that Pszczyna where the restaurant is located is not very popular for tourism. It is small, historic town intertwined with the history of the famous Polish dynasty (Piast) and their local residence, the 12th century palace, now a site of the Castle Museum (Muzeum Zamkowe) on the main town square. It is also know for its Bison Centre. So there are few things to do!

This restaurant welcomes its guest by nice, warm interior, many candles and fresh flowers. Owner and one of the chefs walks around the restaurant so you can always have a chat with him. Also steak tartare (Polish or French way) is prepared in the front of you by the owner.

For the starters we have ordered traditional Silesian pork gelly (galert śląski), I believe made from slow cooked bacon joint and pig trotters. Very delicate, lean meat, extremely tasty, a good old fashion one. Also we had a duo of Polish herrings. Again very tasty, tender, but little bit too salty for me. Starters were served with very good, real sourdough bread and butter (soft! too cold, hard to spread butter is quite common mistake in restaurants). Both starters were very, very tasty.

For the main dishes we had chef’s speciality: roasted goose (gęś) served with buckwheat and warm beetroot relish. Goose was very tender, meat was melting in my mouth, however to my taste the skin should be crispier. Buckwheat was mixed with some fat and lardons - very aromatic! Beets - to die for. The same dish you can order for one or four people - in this case they serve whole stuffed goose. Also one of us had a boneless pork chop (kotlet z prosięcia), pan fried in bread crumbs and served with Silesian salad (szałot) made with potatoes, onion, bacon lardons and cucumbers in brine.

Unfortunately we did not manage to have a dessert, portions were rather large and I could not manage to eat all of my main. And believe me - I can eat a lot! I have to admit I forgot to check out their wine list, as we decided to have non alcoholic drinks to sympathise with one of us that was driving back home.

I will definitely go back there for more delicious Polish food such as traditional Silesian dumplings served with beef olives and red cabbage (rolada śląska z kluskami i zasmażaną modrą kapustą, btw: soooo my Granny’s like), or something that I did not have before: cold herring soup (chłodnik ze śledzia).

Also, what is worth mentioning, the bill did not leave me speechless. For three starters, three mains and three mineral waters we have paid 145 PLN (exclusive of the tip), which is around £32. Not bad at all! Especially considering that goose is one of the most expensive dishes on the menu. Simply you get good value for money.

I definitely recommend this place!

Kuchnia i Wino
43-200 Pszczyna
ul. Zdrojowa 4