Polish soul food
Daquise restaurant was one of my favourites when I was living in South Kensington years ago.
It’s one of the few places in London that seems not to have changed since then. Despite a disastrous fire some time back, the Daquise is open for business – and still serving Polish soul food.
Serious carnivores will love bigos, a rich hunter’s stew. There’s barszcz, which is even more difficult to spell in Polish than in the other Slavic languages – rich red beetroot soup. There’s duck with apple sauce – much nicer, at least to my taste, than the regular English pairing of pork and apple sauce.
Or you can just drop in for a glass of lemon tea and a cake – or better still, the gorgeous sweet cheese and raisin pancakes, dusted with icing sugar. Diet or no, I’ve never been able to tear myself away from Daquise without succumbing to the pancake temptation.
But the thing I really love about Daquise is its atmosphere. It’s a homely little place, with benches along the walls and plastic tablecloths – a real ‘caff’. There are traditional Polish papercuttings on the walls, and you’ll probably see some of the old Polish emigres who’ve been loyal to the Daquise for decades – as well as, quite likely, younger Poles working in London.
The prices are very reasonable; during the week you’ll get a set lunch for under a tenner, unless you decide to go for the flavoured vodkas…
Even more useful for the time-poor tourist, this restaurant is just round the corner from South Kensington tube station, and well located for visits to the Natural History Museum, the V&A or the Royal Albert Hall.
20 Thurloe Street, South Kensington – just outside South Kensington tube; open 1130-11 daily.
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