A few weeks ago we returned to Gdansk after a short trip home, and it was great to take to the cobbled streets of the old town (albeit through Belfast-esque weather) to try the new Verres en Vers restaurant in the beautifully restored Radisson SAS on the the main historic square of Dlugi Targ.
The Radisson itself is really a remarkable restoration job. The lobby is bright and spacious and we decided to take a drink at the Sure bar just off the foyer. This was billed as a ‘cosy Irish bar’, but the reality was that it felt like a hotel bar. A classy, stylish one with an excellent cocktail list, but ‘Irish’ and ‘cosy’ are not two words that spring to mind.
We went for a couple of cocktails at 25 PLN (£5) each. Pricey drinks in Gdansk, but really well made and just soooo good. As the Radisson has only been open a few weeks, the bar was empty, the silence broken only by us and a light tinkling of 50s swing from the sound system. The cocktails were good enough to go back to, but the price will probably discount much of a local trade.
Drinking up, we sauntered along the corridor to the restaurant. Decorated in dark woods and light creams, it certainly looked the part of a stylish bistro. We took a table at the window overlooking the main street – we had plenty of choice as there was noone else dining there on the saturday night. Hopefully, no big deal as the restaurant was new, pricey and the tourist season had been stalled by the chilly weather.
The wine list was impressive in content, but seemed obscene in price. Wine is more expensive in Gdansk in general, but a house white at £20 a bottle seems a touch expensive. We opted instead for a caraf of Alsace Reisling at £10. At 25cl the caraf was almost humourously small, but the wine was good quality and it gave us a wee glass each.
The first starter we ordered was the onion soup. This was far and away the highlight of the meal – a rich broth stuffed with crunchy croutons and packed with cheese. About as good as a French onion soup can be (that means really good) and keenly priced at 20 PLN (£4).
After the full flavours of the soup, the crab salad could not have been more bland. The crab was completely without any flavour, so tasteless that it was almost disturbing… We grabbed the salt shaker and kept grinding until it at least it tasted like salt. The rocket and mixed leaves salad was also very lame. At around £10 for the starter, this could not have been worse value.
Mains arrived with some fantastic ‘garlic bread’ on the side. In this case the bread (a very non descript baguette) was accompanied by half a bulb of roasted garlic and a knob of butter. The soft garlic cloves could then be spread onto the bread and dusted with salt to create the some of the most amazing garlic bread we have had – why don’t we do this at home?!
Main number one was the fillet of beef with a brandy sauce and roast potatoes. The beef was perfectly cooked to medium rare and was a really great slab of meat. The sauce was a little fiery with chilli oil, but very tasty and a good dip for the potatoes.
We ordered a side of Dauphinoise potatoes with this (I didn’t realise the beef came with roasties) which were adequate… but rather than being creamy had more of a dry eggy texture. Hmmm.
The other course was the pork belly. At 40 PLN this was one of the cheapest things on the menu, but came as two large slabs of slow cooked pork belly with a nice crispy edge. The meat was served with potatoes and fennel in a red wine sauce, with a green side salad. While not wildly exciting, it was about as good as a meat and two veg dish could be – not bad at all.
Onto dessert, and with summer (supposedly) here we opted for two light fruity ones – strawberries with cognac and cream, and mille fuille with raspberries and cream. They were fine, fresh, fruity, did what they said on the tin, but nothing more.
Removing the cocktails and tip from the bill, the meal came to 350 PLN (£70) for three courses and a glass of wine each. While the ambiance and staff were superb, you really are paying for the location more than the uninspiring food. The onion soup was so good, though, that we might give it another chance now the summer is properly here.
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Verres en Vers
Radisson Blu Hotel
Dlugi Targ 19
80-828 Gdansk
As usual, your honest review, combined with stunning photography, has transported me to Gdansk’s Radisson Blue Hotel, if only for a moment. Just what I needed on a gloomy sunday afternoon here in Toronto.
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