Ognisko Polskie - The Polish Hearth Club

One of the restaurants tucked into the diplomatic quarter of London. This restaurant is very much a grand setting with inside seating and under cover outside. It is a very attractive dining room that one would associate with fine dining. Polish cusine I regard highly and this proved to be very good indeed. The pickles were notably good. Having beetroot soup and perogis, both were excellent. Service was highly attentive and how one would expect it to be in a venue of this calibre. Prices were reasonable too. This is great place for lunch or dinner and I would recommend booking although we did walk in.

The best place to try Polish authentic cuisine and its fusion varieties. The cocktails are also delicious and innovative. The venue is very atmospheric and there is a number of events on throughout the year. Definitely worth visiting.

Excellent restaurant in the heart of the museum and Imperial college area. Close to Hyde Park and the Royal Albert Hall, it used to be the Polish Club. Excellent selection of Polish Vodkas.

A beautiful Victorian ambient house, with a lot of history. Good service and lovely polish food presented in a fusion way with a modern polish twist. A great place for a drink for 2, or for a large group gathering. The atmosphere around Christmas time exceptionally nice.

Stunning, arrived late, and staff so accommodating and ordered the chicken liver, dumpling, and salmon. Wow, the liver was full of flavour I would recommend here for the history and beauty of the place and the food. Thankyou for a lovely evening

Wonderful for a private lunch. Great food and service.

Third time here. Never a disappointment. Love the romanesque Eastern European vibes. Food is cooked to excellent standard and generous portions. It was my first polish food experience when first here and been coming back for more ever since. Rabbit leg and duck leg is definitely a recommendation. Staff are always beaming with smiles and ready to help! Keep up the good work!

Absolutely awesome meal and great service. Since I was dining alone I couldn't sample a lot but everything was spot on and a wonderful place to be. Very friendly service and they made sure to recommend the right things!

I loved it. Yeah, it's a Polish place. I won't claim to know much beyond kielbasa and pierogis but please please please don't let that hold you back if you're in a similar boat trying to find something that's not a chain place near the museum district. First, the room is beautiful. A classic South Kensington white interior and outdoor garden area, just as nice heated in winter. A building with a lot of history and importance to the Polish community in London so real gravitas to the place. Somewhat odd paintings and memorabilia on some walls. Fine. Service was overall attentive if a bit... typically Eastern European. No issue with that. But the food was spectacular. Seriously. The best kielbasa (or any sausage) I've ever had. The best potato salad I've ever had. The best pierogi I've ever had. A fantastic placki...crispy shredded potato...with shredded black pudding over it. Do not think stodgy black pudding like your fry up. This was light and pure class. Finally the drinks. Poland is the #2 consumer of vodka in the world. Great price and quality for a range of Polish tipples here. I had two martinis that had me singing Christmas carols at Royal Albert Hall like Nigel Garage singing God Save the Queen. Trust me. Go.

Packed house on a Friday night. Had two types of pierogi - the cheese/onion and duck. Cheese/onion was the winner. Salmon blini also good. The shared whole duck was outstanding- some of the best we've had. Cod dish was good. Cheesecake was nothing special. Would have been 4 1/2 stars, except for... Poorly organized service. We counted at least four different (and indifferent) servers for our table - none who introduced themselves and none who actually said they were our server. When they cleared the plates no one came by to clean off the table until we flagged them down. Found the lack of professionalism of the staff incomprehensible at a restaurant of this class.

I must give give five stars to this establishment. The food was promptly served, hot and well prepared. Pork schnitzel, fish cakes, broiled bream, and pierogis were all delicious. Fresh berries highlighted our desert. Service was professional and friendly. A perfect London afternoon was also a plus, while dining on their patio.

I've never eaten Polish food before, so when a friend suggested Ognisko for dinner, I had no idea what to expect. I love the atmosphere. It was very old school, churning and romantic. The service was efficient and the server was friendly and knowledgeable. The menu is very traditional and features an assortment of appetizers, starters, dumplings, blinis, meat, fish and side dishes. It's a meat lovers paradise with goose leg, calves liver, rump of lamb, veal schnitzel, ham hock and the like to choose from. We started with an order of Perogi dumplings filled with Ox tail, served with Boczek and Okrasa and the marinated hiring blinis. Both were hot and flavorful. For my main dish I had the Roast hake with mushroom, spelt, broad beans and artichoke broth and a side of vegetables. Everything was excellent and truly authentic. If you're looking for something different and want to try and authentic Polish restaurant, I would highly recommend Ognisko.

As a native Pole I can confidently say that this is an authentic polish place serving a delicious traditional polish food. As the food is really high standards I very often eat there instead of making it...as it takes a generous amount of time to prepare it. You can indulge yourself in a fantastic selection of polish dishes including: dumplings, back pudding on the potato cake, herrings, livers, braised cabbage and meats etc.. Also various selection of vodkas and beer they offer is a nice compliment to this traditional and rich food. I visited there recently we a couple of British friends and they loved everything about this place. However be prepared to spend about £35-40 per person for a 3 course meal with alcohol. It's worth it though.

It's hard to describe how bad this service is. It took half an hour for the waitress to take our orders and almost half an hour for the soup to arrive. Not even talking about mains....

Was recently blown away by Ognisko. I've lived in very close proximity of this place for 10 years and hadn't tried it - boner move. Herring was incredible, devoid of overpowering fishiness, very well prepared chicken livers, and excellent pierogis. In a seriously lovely setting - must be one of the finest patios in London overlooking a beautiful square - this place could do no wrong, especially after that horshradish vodka.

I came here last night for the first time. We came in for drinks before an RGS talk. The bar is well stocked and there are select menu items you can order if you want to eat something quick. Later we returned for dinner and sat in the very atmospheric dining room that's beautifully furnished. I tried sweetbreads for the first time and found it quite pleasant, but I have nothing to compare it to. The broad beans and bacon were a nice addition. I had pork schnitzel for my main and it was amazing. Upon first seeing the plate it didn't look filling but under the meat there were plenty of potatoes! I did try to finish my cheesecake but was so full of the previous courses. The waiters were smartly dressed and very courteous. I think two managers were also on shift, helping them with delivering food and talking to customers. The facilities were very well kept as well. Hopefully I'll be back soon and I'd happily recommend this place to people.

Amazing Polish food and vodka with all kind of flavours. No headache next day guaranteed ;-) Service could be better, a bit more chilled and smiley would be nice..... but still a fabulous place to eat in London South Ken.

This pleasant restaurant was just a few minutes walk away from my AirBnB. Even on a weekday night, it was absolutely jam packed, & the reason became clear once I had a taste of their food. I had the Pork Schnitzel. It came with a fried egg, anchovies, potatoes & was absolutely wonderful; not to mention very filling. It went great with a glass of their Cocktail of the Week (Summer G&T, I think). However, since they are so busy, there's a noticeable wait before someone comes to note down your order & before the food is served.

You'd never spot this restaurant / Polish members club if you weren't one of the thousands of Imperial College natives who see Ognisko's chalkboard advertising lunch opposite the Imperial College front entrance everyday. The club is just another one of the many grand white column Kensington terraced houses that populate the surrounding miles. You know... the giant houses that you wonder how anyone could ever have afforded. So a Polish club by night, and by daytime a jazzed-up spot for lunch with Polish treats like herrings, beetroot soup and dumplings, as well as sandwiches and snacks. We were there for the latter, the reasonably priced 'bar menu' of dishes for a fiver. But they were nice enough to serve us at the dinner tables - white cloth under chandeliers with oil paintings of royals and Polish ex-pats and the sun streaming in through the patio window. The main menu hits at higher costs, but with much more extravagant Polish dishes immaculately presented. Their bar looks a lot of fun too in a gentleman's club kind of way and I've heard on summer nights their back garden is THE place to be this side of Krakow. So four stars it is, four stars for an accessible true Victorian Era lunch with gracious service and cutlasses on the walls. Pass me my pipe.

Great and classy place. Quiet and a great bar to meet friends. The food was excellent and the service was attentive without being intrusive. We would highly recommend it. We will be back.

Wow! The food? Amazing. The drinks? Fantastic. As a Moscow mule fan they have a lemongrass mule with lemongrass infused vodka. They were very nice and the atmosphere is lovely. 3 different dishes and everyone cleared their plates.

We went here last Christmas after a session of ice skating at the Natural History Museum. It was just what we were after, a good hearty meal with added entertainment value although I think this was probably unwitting You feel as though you have come into someone's house when you enter, they take your coats and hang them on a rack at the bottom of the stairs and lead you into a large grand dining room which is effectively the living room of the property. It's like going into a members only club out of a Bond movie, we felt very underdressed in our casual ice-skating wear but the waiters were not judgmental in the least and were more than happy to explain some of the options on the menu to us and go through recommendations from the wine list. The food was hearty as you would expect from Eastern European fare. And the prices very reasonable too. The entertainment came when at about 10pm a very large group of Poles came in all wearing full on evening wear, we were like onlookers at the ball in The Sound of Music, the ladies were wearing tiaras perched on their voluminous up-do's and some of the gents were wearing their medals. Brilliant old school dining! We did initially feel a little as though we were invading some private event but nobody batted an eyelid so we ended up feeling more like we had discovered a secret club and been allowed exclusive access. Definitely an experience and I would go back if I am around the area in the evening. A hidden gem!

Ognisko Polish Club formerly known as the 'Polish Hearth Club' has improved by leaps and bounds. Once the exclusive haunt of members of the Polish Government-in-exile, Ognisko has dragged itself into the 21st C. Now it's not only safe to take your English friends here, but the ambiance, good customer service and excellent cuisine will mean that they will want to bring their friends in turn. My favourite Polish dining venue in London.

Excellent food, great Vodka and a must visit for all Polish folk in London

On passing the many columned buildings you would not necessarily know that this restaurant was in one. Upon entering you come across a big stair well and reception area which made me feel like I was in a hotel not a place that had a restaurant in it. Through the door to the left you then enter upon a bar area / restaurant. This is where you will see another reception area and be checked in. The waitress that greeted us and checked us in was quite moody and not very welcoming. When we sat down at the white tableclothed tables we was then greeted by a waitor who was very welcoming and nice. I ordered goose leg with a apple and fig compote sauce and my husband ordered lamb. We was waiting for over 30 minutes for our meals to arrive. When they did the plates was stone cold and the food was luke warm. We did not say anything at time as we was in a rush to get to an event we was attending. Also the restaurant was very packed and we ate early at 6pm so we was quite surprised. However even though the food was luke warm it was still very tasty. They also do an array of amazing cocktails and non alcoholic cocktails the most I have ever seen in a restaurant. I had a non alcoholic cocktail pussyfoot my favourite and it was delicious. I would go back to this place again to eat but only if I was in the area I would not go out of my way to go and eat at the establishment again only because I felt some staff was moody and stuck up, meal took too long to come and was just luke warm in end and the plates were cold and I like hot plates.

Surly staff, overpriced food and dodgy decor.All of which is a great shame as with a new chef and some sympathetic decor this could be a real gem. Even a few plants on the garden terrace would make a difference. Go for the novelty value-it has the feel of a private house and a wealth of history connected to Poland-particularly the Polish Reisistance, but dont expect a gourmet dinner. Also if you like very uncrowded restaurants this one is for you-its almost empty. Cries out for new management.

Such a lovely spot in an unexpected space-the restaurant feels more like you're dining in a friend's home. The food is lovely, as well. Whether or not you like (or know) Polish cuisine, would encourage a visit. I haven't ever had belinis or borscht this good! Loved everything!

A restaurant i had such high hopes about. My wife is Polish, so i love Polish food, we'd seen this restaurant before and loved the look of the place. Although not very 'traditionally' Polish the menu looked good. We came for lunch, and had a 1 & 1/2 hour window to eat (we was at a conference across the road). Plenty of time for a shared starter and main. Waitress that seated us and the waiter that served us were both pleasant. We ordered sparkling water, steak tartare to start (shared) and veal and pierogi ruskie, but something seemed off when the waiter came back for the 2nd time to ask us if we wanted sparkling or still water. We waited over 45 mins for our steak tartare to arrive, at which point we cancelled the starter and said we'll just take the mains (because of our time window). We waited a further 30 mins for our mains to arrive, main's arrived after many requests and no apologies what so ever (i wouldn't mind but the place wasn't that busy). Another annoying part is seeing people arrive after us and get there food long before us. Mains arrived, the pierogi ruskie was fried, upon request my wife had said she wanted her pierogi boiled, according to my wife fried pierogi is generally what Polish do to boiled pierogi to re-heat. We ended up sending the pierogi back and cancelling, because we didn't have all day to wait. I ate my veal (which was ok) and we gave up and left. I spoke to the manager who didn't seem to give a shit (he never even apologised). I confronted him about the pierogi and he knew full well that i knew the pierogi was just heated up. Service was shocking - in fact i'd say one of the worst ever experienced. We shall not be returning, the restaurant needs serious lessons in service.