Eight firefighters
I devote the most space on my blog to food, which is not surprising, because without food, especially good food, I would have to consider life not worth a pound of hair.
Until now, however, I haven't dared to write a restaurant review. It's time to change that.
I found the Otto Pompieri restaurant on the internet. The name immediately and pleasantly brings to mind Italy, although in the Polish translation "Eight Firemen" it doesn't sound so appealing.
The premises are located in the capital, in a prestigious location at Plac Bankowy 1, in a classicist building erected in the early 19th century to house the headquarters of the Bank of Poland and the Stock Exchange.
The interior is indisputably atmospheric, evoking the Italian seventies of the last century. On the walls are bottles of Campari and Limoncello, cans of olives, tomato paste and bottles of extra virgin olive oil. In the window, a manual Berkel slicer, hanging hams and flavored oils with rosemary and pepperoni peppers.
We were served by a young Ukrainian woman who spoke fluent Polish, was friendly and smiling, although I have to admit that I wouldn't give her a high score for her ability to say more about the dishes than what was on the menu. Unfortunately, most Warsaw pubs suffer from this condition.
The richest section of the menu was "pasta e risotto" with such classics as spaghetti aglio olio e peperoncino, tagliatelle al gorgonzola, tagliatelle al ragu, ravioli ricotta e spinaci, or gnocchi al tartufo. They also have pizzas, among which my attention was drawn to mortadella tartufo, which I will eat here next time.
We started with a glass of lemon liqueur and a slice of bread with olive oil and tomato paste to awaken the taste buds.
Then artichokes served on rocket with aioli sauce. Soft inside, salty and peppery, with crunchy leaves. They were just as good as the original in Rome's Trastevere.
Focaccia served unusually in thin dough, with rosemary, olive oil and salt. It's worth coming here just for that.
Risotto con verdure grigliate with grilled zucchini, eggplant, peppers, chilli, garlic, onion, cherry tomatoes, rocket, butter, white wine and parmesan. A perfect combination prepared with Italian expertise.
Spaghetti aglio olio e frutti di mare with shrimp, squid, olive oil, garlic, chilli and parmesan. Delicious. Although this is the only dish I don't give a 10 out of 10 and I have to take a point off because I've eaten better in Italy.
For sweets, we got a dessert trio, which included Italian custard, panna cotta and Italian ice cream with mascarpone. Everything tasted as it should.
Add a carafe of homemade white wine and a glass of limoncello to finish.
Prices are decent. For dinner for two we paid just over two hundred zlotys, which doesn't seem excessive compared to Warsaw's top-shelf restaurants.
I recommend Otto Pompieri. I will be coming back here.
