Whether oysters, crab, mussels, lobster or caviar is your cup of tea, the eye-popping spread at the seafood buffet bar will surpass your expectations. Spoilt for choice, I opted for king prawns tossed in garlic, crab and celery salad, mussel salad with chorizo, steamed lobster with herb oil, various smoked Polish fish, accompanied by a selection of vibrant salads and my favourite rye bread. And this was only starters! Particularly memorable were the mussels with chorizo, not to mention the sweet and delicate lobster. The temptation is to sample a bit of everything from the cold buffet, but you could – if on a romantic date, for example – restrict yourselves entirely to oysters!
Main courses include sea bass with coriander pesto, pike perch with vanilla sauce, trout with herb butter and capers and swordfish with verde sauce. Accompanied by grilled zucchini and herb rice, the meaty yet subtle swordfish contrasting with the tangy salsa verde proved a satisfying choice. My one complaint may be that the fish was only lukewarm… I know this is customary in Greece, but in wintry Warsaw, I prefer my fish hot.
My companion opted instead for salmon baked in puff pastry from the ‘carving table’. But just in case that might appear too pedestrian a choice, he also brought back to the table a bamboo basket from the Live Cooking Station, generously filled with steamed dim sum, mussels-in-shells and tiger prawns. The steam method had preserved the delicate flavours perfectly and we were soon so ‘fished up’, that we couldn’t even contemplate the sushi bar offerings on the other side of the room, despite our best intentions!
Although the selection of seafood varies from week to week, depending on the availability of top quality fish, the chef assures me that you will always find oysters, variously prepared lobster and salmon creations and a selection of smoked fish. The dessert buffet rounds things off nicely with an excellent fruit salad and a nice spread of fresh tarts, cheesecakes and gateaux to keep everyone happy.
Downtown’s ultra central location makes this restaurant a great place to find yourself in on a Friday night, either to transport yourself to the seaside after a long day at the office, or before going on to further entertainment at the many bars, theatres and cinemas in the immediate vicinity.
On the way out, as you find yourselves reentering Warsaw reality, take the opportunity to enjoy the contemporary Polish art exhibition in the hotel’s lobby areas, showcasing works by Jacek Rykala, Anna Slawkowska-Rode, Piotr Turek, Ryszard Zajac, Ryszard Pasikowski and the sculptor Stanislaw Wysocki.
Address:
Downtown Restaurant
49 Emilii Plater St, Warsaw
1st Floor of InterContinental Warszawa
A dinner lubricates business.
Lord William Stowel
