Description: Warsaw has many cafes and restaurants but one magical place is the old fashioned Chocolate Drinking House on Szpitalna Street. Sometimes known as Pijalnia czekolady Wedla. It is one place every newcomer to Warsaw should take time to visit.
Karl Wedel, the first of the chocolate dynasty, came to Warsaw in 1845 and six years later opened a cafe on Miodowa Street. Four years later he began producing chocolate using a steam engine imported from France.
In the 1890's Emil Wedel moved production and sales to a newly built house on Szpitalna Street, where the shop and chocolate drinking house still remain today. Here, smartly dressed assistants and waitresses will serve you chocolate, ice cream, cakes and endless other creamy, rich delicacies from the Wedel range.
The list of chocolate products has quadrupled over the years, but some of the originals still remain. For example; the Jedyna chocolate bar even retaining its wrapper design.
At Xmas time the selection of chocolate bars is large and you will find chocolate moulded into many festive shapes and wrapped in a simple but effective way always with a red ribbon. These are sold in supermarkets as well as other chocolate drinking houses at Wilanow and in Krakow.
A cup of classic hot chocolate goes down a treat especially in this cold weather and if you are not sure what to order from the menu the waiting staff will talk to you about the selections and help you choose. I have always found the staff here very polite and helpful.
I particularly recommend the creamy cheesecake. Light, rich and so tasty - it's the best I've ever tasted. Ice creams are delicious too. The menu is packed with pages of delightful chocolate concoctions. This cafe really is a shrine to chocolate.
The building is elegant and has a feel of the 1920's about it. Warm colours, subtle lighting, crystal clear glass shelving, old -fashioned wrappers and tins all contribute to making a visit to Wedel's a very special one.
In Praga, another area of Warsaw I love, there is a modern factory still in operation.The Wedel family moved production here in 1931and the rich aromas are sometimes overwhelming as you pass by.
Expect to pay a minimum of just under £3 for one item on the menu. Not a bad price for those melted moments of sheer luxury.
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