Funkily Designed Restaurant
- May 25, 2009
- Rated 3 of 5 by
dangaroo from Warsaw, Poland
I haven’t been to Lanse on a regular day but I recently visited a wedding party which was being held there and was on the receiving end of meals which are part of their regular menu and therefore feel my opinion is more than valid!
Located on one of Warsaw’s main streets Ul. Marszalkowska, Lanse can be found between Plac Konstitucji and Plac Zbawiciela in a row of restaurants that includes a Thai and a Polish sports bar, opposite the road you can find an Indian restaurant – the originally named Tajmahal. The design of the restaurant & club was extremely inventive and visiting the toilet was a day out in its own right! With seats outside as well as inside, I’d say there is room for around 100 people at a push – that would be with tables together inside, so it would be more likely to hold about 60. Saying that, it hasn’t got a reputation for being packed out unless it’s hired for private catering as was the case this time. Lanse goes for the oldy worldy look, a wooden interior with beige coloured walls, what this place lacks in traditionally dressed waiteresses it makes up for with a sprinkling of modern design – Salvador Dali like paintings grace the walls and there’s pockets of quirkiness throughout the restaurant, whilst I can’t comment on the ladies toilets, the gents’ is a piece of art in itself, the seated toilet is normal but the urinal is pretty unique, a shiny silver bucket hanging from a chain from the ceiling hovers over a heavy duty wooden pallet where you can stand, the bucket comes fitted with a flush and it’s all very neat. Actually the restaurant was spotless throughout, including the cavern like club downstairs which is accessed by a precarious spiral staircase (the peril increases with each shot of vodka!), amazingly the sound of the music downstairs is completely separated from the dining area.
Due to it being a wedding, I didn’t pay for any of the food or drink but have since checked the prices on their website and they look reasonable enough with full meals costing between 20zl (£4) and 60zl (£12), it’s not going to break the bank. The menu seemed to focus on the high-brow Polish meals, so more salmon wraps than potatoes. Food wise, I was a little disappointed, it’s not that the food was bad – it was both plentiful and well cooked, it was more that the culinary offerings of the restaurant didn’t live up to the design of the place. I found the food to be a little bland and it seemed as if the chef didn’t want to venture in to the world of herbs and spices. Saying that, I thought the staff were quite good and it was generally a very positive experience. Opening hours were ignored due to the fact it was a private party but this place closes fairly early on a regular day (22.00