Warsaw’s Manekin is the next stop on our food tour of Europe. Go here for post one and two!
My husband LOVES food. No exaggeration. If he could spend his life traveling the world and eating everything, he would. No questions asked. Together, we are quite the match! We love to talk about food, wax poetic about doughnuts, and decide on our date-night dinners days before. You could say we were a match made in heaven when it comes to food.
Well, this whole food obsession started for my husband when he lived in Poland for two years. When we first met, he would talk about Poland, but a lot of the times the conversation would devolve into remembering his favorite doughnut shop, what meal he liked most, or Magda Gessler’s cakes (a pretty famous restauranteur in Poland).
So, when we finally arrived in Poland together after so much planning and preparation, he was literally a kid in a candy shop. He took us to his favorite place to eat soon after we arrived, (early, early in the morning) and we swiftly made the rounds to all of the best places to eat. One of the first places we visited was Warsaw’s Manekin. Originally started in the north of Poland, it quickly moved through Poland, finally opening a restaurant in the heart of Warsaw. And, as the photo shows, it was EXTREMELY popular. Mind you, this photo was taken around 3 in the afternoon. We tried visiting at regular mealtimes, and it was practically impossible to get a table.
One of the more unique aspects of Manekin was the decorations. With an awesome steampunk vibe, the restaurant was decorated richly with unique items, like a giant mannequin, a huge mural, and other fun things to make the visit more than an eating experience. We even sat under a huge top hat light fixture!
Once we were seated and looked over the menu, we knew that this would be a treat. With so many great options, (including many traditional Polish flavors) we had a difficult time choosing which crepes to get. We finally decided on the same crepe, a chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, pesto, herbs de Provence, and mozzarella masterpiece, mine with a cheese sauce on top, and his with a mushroom sauce. It was absolutely delicious; the sauces were a perfect addition to the flavors within the crepe and the portions were huge!
Because we were on vacation, we naturally got dessert. And, when you are at a crepe place, how can you NOT get dessert? We decided to share a raspberries, mascarpone, and cream sauce crepe with an addition of ice cream and caramel sauce on the side. (Keep in mind that each crepe comes with a sauce on the side and they all are magical!) Again, the portions were huge, but the crepe was a perfect combination of flavors. Not too sweet and with just enough flavor, we craved this for the rest of the day.
Though Poland isn’t known for its creperies, Warsaw’s Manekin is a great example of ingenuity in food and decor. Be sure to stop by in any number of cities throughout Poland!
Manekin Warszawa (Marszałkowska 140, Warsaw, Poland // +22 826 07 53) warszawa@manekin.pl