Jay B.
Yelp
I thought this was a good restaurant. The decor is beautiful, very much like a traditional Jewish home, very "old world." the art on the wall is very Jewish, and so is the music, so they've got the atmosphere just right. BUT note well, Ariel is NOT kosher, just Jewish style. A kosher restaurant would not serve both meat and dairy. The waiter sold me on the Zupa Berdyczowska (Berdytchov soup) which contains beef, vegetables, honey, and cinnamon. It was really great. The meat was very tender, like in a good pot roast. This could be your main meal and you could get latkes or something else on the side. I then had the cholent, which was also excellent and recommendable. As an American I expect bread and table water. These are not apparently included in Poland, so maybe it's wrong of me to expect them. Here, you order water and they serve it to you in a bottle and charge you for it. That's the way it is, get used to it. I did not want dessert after such a filling meal but I did want an after dinner drink. I mentioned what I wanted and was offered what I was told was an herbal liqueur. What it was was krupnik, a spiced honey brandy or vodka. It was really good and I recommend it too. What I didn't like was feeling that they were pushing or selling me on entering and ordering. Then, when I wanted to finish up and leave no one was there and I had to walk up to the front and ask for my bill. I waited a pretty long time. I'd say the service is inattentive once they have your business. I will say that the waiter did make good suggestions and he (or someone else) promptly admitted when asked that the restaurant was not kosher. (The fact that I figured that out impressed another diner.) The prices could be on the high side, I don't know, this is a pretty classy place, and the food is good. All in all, I recommend it, especially for a couple or a group wanting a leisurely meal and traditional old world Jewish food in a place with an appropriate atmosphere. I would return.