 |
Fabryka Pizzy (Krakow, Poland)
by loulou22
== Fabryka Pizzy, Krakow. ==
Fabryka Pizzy is as it sounds, a pizza restaurant. I have visited this restaurant a couple of times since my move to Krakow and so far I have been pleased with the service and even more pleased with the pizzas!
== Location ==
There are a couple of branches of Fabryka Pizzy in ... Krakow. The one I have dined in is located on Lubomirskiego Street. It is about a 10 minute walk away from the main shopping galeria's and is pretty easy to find.
There are regular trams and buses which run to the centre of the city and the restaurant is clearly marked by its black and orange sign hanging on the wall.
== The Restaurant ==
Fabryka Pizzy is a really small restaurant, however thankfully each time we have been there has always been a table available.
The layout of Fabryka Pizzy means that you will walk in through the centre of the restaurant with the tables and chairs on either side of you. You can choose where you want to sit and you don't need to wait to be seated. Once we were seated the waitress came over and greeted us with a smile and asked us if we would like anything to drink and gave us a menu each.
== Menu ==
I think it is quite clear from the name Fabryka Pizzy that the main bulk of the menu here is going to be pizza, however they do also offer a large varieties of pasta dishes, salads and soups.
The menu itself has a really funky design, it is written in a cool looking text but is still perfectly comprehensible. The menu is written in Polish but has an English translation for every dish so I found it really easy to choose what I wanted without having to keep asking 'what's this?'. The English translations aren't perfect, but they are good enough to make it clear what you will be getting.
The menu is actually quite amusing as the different meals have some quite unusual names, for example, a pizza with chicken, mushrooms, garlic, pepper and onions on it is called 'Good Morning Dracula' and a simple ham and pineapple pizza is called 'Hog on Holidays'. Some of the pizzas offer more unusual toppings such as curry or broccoli.
For the kids there is a kid's menu offering the same kind of variety in pizza's and pasta's but smaller sizes.
At the back of the menu there is a list of drinks available including beers, juices, soft drinks and a range of tea and coffee. We ordered a beer each and we were really pleased with the speed the waitress returned at with them!
For starters we ordered a portion of garlic bread to share. When it arrived it was lovely and hot which made the bread nice and soft and the edges were cooked to a lovely crisp perfection. The only thing I could maybe complain about is that it could have done with a little more garlic sauce on the bread, but this wasn't a major issue as it still tasted delicious!
For our main meal we decided to share a pizza as from looking around the restaurant we could see they were quite large! The first time we ate here we had a simple cheese, ham and rocket pizza called 'Rocket from Parma'. When it arrived the pizza took up a large part of the table and looked really nice. It was served piping hot and we did have to wait a few minutes to be able to eat it. The base of the pizza was thin and in my personal opinion it was a little dry, but I generally prefer a thick base. I forgot to ask for this though! Once it had cooled a little bit we ate the pizza and I have to say it was very moreish. The cheese was melted with the odd golden patch and the ham was cooked just right and not burnt. I have never eaten a pizza with rocket on it before and I am pleased to say it was really nice, which says something as I usually avoid eating salads and greens!
On another occasion we have had a more spicy pizza, I cannot remember the name but it was marked on the menu as being mildly spicy. This was a big under estimate as it was actually quite hot and I found myself drinking between each mouthful which in turn made me feel rather dizzy as I had ordered a beer, so the combination of spicy pizza and beer is not recommended by me!
== Prices ==
The prices in Fabryka Pizzy are quite reasonable. You can expect to pay around 20zl for a pizza, which, when you see the size of the pizza's is a really great price! We shared one pizza between 2 of us and there was plenty of pizza for us both. Salads are around 15zl and Soups are only about 8zl. At the current exchange rate (February 2012) of £1 being equal to 4.9zl I would say these prices are great!
== Service ==
The service we received was great. Our waitress was very polite and came over to ask us if everything was ok with our meal and if she could get us anymore drinks. She only did this once, which I think was enough to be polite but not intrusive. She was efficient and fast with bringing our drinks and pizza and made no mistakes with our order.
== Decor ==
The decor in Fabryka Pizzy is unusual but nice. The walls are covered in newspaper pages from an Italian newspaper and while this sounds really untidy and maybe scruffy looking, it is actually the opposite and looks really effective and adds to the atmosphere of the restaurant. The tables and chairs are all made from a nice thick dark wood and are stable so they don't wobble around while you are eating, this is one of my pet hates!
== Toilets ==
The toilets in Fabryka Pizzy are kept clean and they are stocked up with toilet paper and soap.
== Wheelchair Access ==
I would say that Fabryka Pizzy is wheelchair friendly as it is all on one level. There is one small step as you enter the restaurant but this is no higher than a kerb height so if you have someone with you I don't think you would have any problems getting in the restaurant. The toilets are on the same level as the restaurant and I would say are big enough to move around in. The restaurant itself is well spaced out so movement and finding a place to sit wouldn't be a problem.
== Overall ==
Overall I would definitely recommend Fabryka Pizzy in Krakow. The food quality, the size of the pizza's are great. The prices are reasonable and I will definitely be eating here again!
Thanks for reading :)
Read the complete review |
 |
Spotkanie (Warsaw, Poland)
by dangaroo
Spotkanie which translates to 'meeting' is a restaurant located in the Zoliborz district of Warsaw, located on a road heading away from Plac Wilsona towards the Wisla River in an area fairly free of competition. It just so happens to be a place that I pass when walking from the metro station Plac Wilsona to a graphic designer colleague ... who I meet from time to time. The grubby mannequin in the doorway has often intrigued me, so one evening when passing by, I decided to pay it a visit with another friend.
The decor is the first thing that grabs your attention. It has, I imagine some similarities to a pre war Warsaw jazz cafe. People in to modern styles may not like it but personally I thought that they did a wonderful job of combining several sets of large heavy tables and chairs and at the same time maintaining plenty of space. No two tables are the same in shape. There's a spiral staircase that ends in mid-air in the centre of the room and bare light bulbs dangling from the ceiling like vines. I should perhaps add that despite going for an old style, the place is absolutely spotless.
Foodwise it's pretty much the top end of Polish cuisine, game or even goose is not really something that's appealed to me but I have to admit that the dishes going out to other people's tables did look rather scrumptious and the cheaper end of the menu that we diverged in was equally satisfying.
The food prices tend to reflect the cuisine that is served and even the price of drinks are a little inflated, a restaurant beer for 8zl is not particularly bad value though. Serving Staropramen and Carlsberg, they are not exactly serving local tipples but both myself and my Chilean pal commented on the freshness of the beer and they certainly keep their pumps in good nick.
One of the other tables was made up of a rather tipsy business party, a middle aged American man was repeatedly pestering one of the waitresses, who did a fantastic job of rejecting his advances whilst being polite, friendly and professional. 30 minutes from closing time, the staff also asked us if we would like another drink which was pretty impressive because most places are usually keen to get rid of the last guests when it nears closing time. Top marks for decor, staff, food and drink. The only thing that lets it down is the location but the centre's loss is Zoliborz's gain.
Read the complete review |
 |
Florian (Warsaw, Poland)
by dangaroo
Florian is a two tier restaurant and pub located in the centre of Warsaw. The street it's on - Chlodna was at the centre of the Jewish ghetto and until recently the street was pretty run down, its fortunes more or less completely turned around by the award winning pub Chlodna 25. The part of the street where you can find Florian has ... recently been pedestrianised and is starting to become a trendy area to go dining in. Located in a big building opposite the church and next to the fire station, Florian almost acts like a gatekeeper to the road.
The restaurant's lower floor which is actually up the stairs on the first floor of the building is the main restaurant, the lower level being a Fireman's Museum, Florian being the patron saint of firefighters gives the restaurant its name, you see.
The decor of the restaurant is somewhat grandiose, whilst it may be technically possible to clutter up the room even more, it would certainly take some doing. The amount of painting leaves little wall, the said paintings all have enormous wooden frames which clash with the wooden beams of the walls and roof. Flower displays are found throughout the restaurant and floral patterns a regular theme when it comes to the upholstery of the heavy wooden chairs.
Bright red napkins, shiny silverware and sparkling glass are just some of the touches that make the restaurant a Magpie's paradise and adding to the over the top feel of the place. If Hyacinth Bucket was to have a restaurant, it might look like this. With my clumsiness and drinking habits, I'm more or less scared to enter and prefer the much more relaxed upstairs room.
Benches and loungers give the upstairs a more casual feel, essentially a pub and smoking area, there's more risk of falling asleep on the comfy sofas than breaking anything. The downsides are that it's a smoking area that may be a tad uncomfortable for a non smoker, the wall one one side is slanted and makes it easy to bang your head when getting up to go the loo or leaving.
It's relaxing, comfortable and perhaps best of all very affordable when it comes to drinks. The food scores well on appearance and flavour but it's quite a meat heavy menu focussing on pasta dishes and the upper end of Polish fare.
Since writing the review, I've since been on a Monday, a day I do not recommend going there on. The upstairs was closed and the labyrinth of differently coloured and decorated rooms downstairs housed only a single couple. The same album was played repeatedly and generally it would have been a really disappointing atmosphere if I had been that couple!
Beer costs 6 or 7zl depending on the type, meals are from 20-50zl. 5zl is 1 pound at the time of writing.
Read the complete review |
