Uli B.
Yelp
So, this is another Gessler establishment. It's interesting how much influence this family had and still has on Warsaw's epicurean pulse: everywhere you look there is a restaurant that's run by one or the other family members. Not surprisingly, they are not all friendly with each other. In fact, not only are the different family members in a kind of feud, they also have polarised the opinion of the Warsawians, where one, for example favours the establishements by Mateusz and the other favours dining temples by Martha.
Warszawa Wschodnia (which translates as "Warsaw East") is by Mateusz and it is very...swanky, although it doesn't mean to come across this way. It is situated in Praga, the up-and-coming district of Warsaw, where just a few years ago no one would have walked through alone at night. And more specifically, it is situated in an old warehouse complex and it might take a few minutes before you can actually find it.
The restaurant is vast...I mean literally, it's huge! There's actually two separate parts: one sit-down dining area inclusive with a show-kitchen and one where the show-kitchen is placed in the middle of the room and the diners gather around it on high chairs. And it was in the latter part, where I sat during my visit a few weeks ago. (I had come here following the recommendation of Karolina W, who in turn had heard about it from another Yelper.)
Now, let's get down to the food: not speaking a word Polish, I asked my two Polish colleagues for recommendations. They, themselves, consulted with the waiter for quite a while and then summarised it for me. I learned that this place is putting a heavy emphasis on intestines/entrails/offals, which I have to say is not my cup of tea. In the end I went with a starter (mixed salad with delicious guacamole) and the main was char-grilled duck with potatoes in two variations and slices of carrots. It was all very good and it tasted very nice...although I have to say that my expectations that this place invoked, were not quite met: I expected to be overwhelmed or at least amazed.
Oh well, I'd definitely recommend you trying out this place for yourself. There are two interesting bits of information: 1) Apparently they'are open 24 hours and 2) They also offer cooking courses in the show-kitchen next door.