La Cantina — Restaurant in Warsaw

I had just returned from Kraków on a late Saturday train and went straight to La Cantina — a place I had randomly discovered earlier on Google Maps. Something about it caught my eye, so I followed that instinct — and I’m so glad I did.

Despite arriving without a reservation, the staff were incredibly kind and welcoming, quickly finding me a table. After a long day, I honestly didn’t know where to go or what to expect — but this dinner turned out to be one of the most pleasant surprises of my 1st trip in Poland.

I started with the parmigiana, which I found good — even though I couldn’t quite tell if the aubergine had been fried or baked. A solid starter with room for refinement.

Then came the garganelli alla siciliana — and here I must say, unlike many of my fellow Italians, I don’t approach international versions of our cuisine with overly high expectations or rigid comparisons. I know that each country adds its own touch, and I respect that. That said, I do care about one thing: pasta cooked al dente. And the kitchen team at La Cantina nailed it — perfectly cooked and beautifully prepared. It was genuinely excellent.

I ended the meal with a classic tiramisu and a shot of limoncello

Big thanks to...

Delicious dishes, but the service provided by the waitress, Masha, was absolutely terrible. First of all, we saw honey cakes on display. When we tried to place an order, the waitress, in a very irritated manner, told us that those were sweets from the bakery and that the bakery was already closed. She suggested a few options we didn’t want, and then asked what else we would like to order. I said tea, and she asked how many, but failed to mention that one portion was not a cup but an entire teapot. Then without any mentioning of the cakes are still available she turned back. We waited without understanding if we gonna have those or not.

Later, when paying the bill, I wanted to check the total to ensure everything was calculated correctly. Instead of allowing me to review it, Masha simply raised the terminal to my phone and said in Russian, “Oh, it’s already too late,” even though I was speaking to her in Polish the entire time.

We wanted to leave a tip and include it in the bill, but such behavior completely discouraged us. We won’t be coming back. To make matters worse, the teapots were dirty, with...

18/06/17. Dinner at 23.15. Outside terrace was at 40% capacity. The food is not bad, but nothing out of the world (check in the photos what I've ordered). The bad thing comes with the service. I have been attended at the very beginning by a blonde woman who could speak english correctly. But after that, the food was brought by another waitress who had no idea of english. I ordered a LEMONADE and they bought me some kind of melon juice with lime and gas, which is quite sweet (I expected a normal lemonade). After I've tried to explain it to the waitress, who cannot speak any english, she told me with some signs someone else will come. That never happened. The funny thing is that the manager or owner (I guess because he was standing in front of the door) was joking/flirting with the clients who were on my side IN ENGLISH!! Furthermore the blonde girl who attended me in the very beginning also was there but too busy with her smartphone... When I asked the bill the waitress forgot it 3 times, so I waited like 10 min just for it. To end up the history it is overprice and they charge the inefficient service I...