The Sunday Times
Charlotte Ivers may not have discovered a new restaurant, but she scored a genuine scoop in her review of this legendary and much-loved Polish institution (est. 1947), breaking the news that it is under threat of closure since its landlord, Transport for London, has secured planning permission to extend South Kensington tube station and redevelop the area.
“It’s world famous, a mainstay of guidebooks to London in Korea and China. It’s also a love story: Daquise is a merging of the names of the first owners, a Mr Dakowski and his French wife, Louise. And now it’s going, probably… The restaurant will, like everything else in London, likely become the site of luxury flats — the history, the fame, the love story gone.”
Charlotte was taken by a friend whose Polish family have been regulars for three generations, greeted by hugs from the 92-year-old owner – just what you want “in a transient city where most restaurants don’t make a decade”. The unchanging Polish repertoire of creamy, dill- and horseradish-flavoured dishes went down a treat, along with the butter-drenched carrots recommended by Charlotte’s colleague Jeremy Clarkson, who told her Daquise was his “favourite place in London.”
“It takes 77 years to build a restaurant like this. It’ll only take a couple of days to bulldoze it,” she lamented.
Charlotte Ivers - 2024-08-25Evening Standard
David Ellis followed a tip from Charlotte Ivers a few weeks back by visiting the oldest Polish restaurant in London, founded in 1947, for the simple reason that it may now be living on borrowed time. Apparently Transport for London wants to redevelop the potentially lucrative site of South Ken tube station – and, says David, “I’m not sure much can be done. This isn’t a rallying cry to huddle around the place, but a prompt — go before it does.”
As for the restaurant itself: “Change is not wanted here,” he reports. “This benefits the food menu, if not the wine (a Polish chardonnay aside, McGuigan’s is about as exotic as the list dares).”
Among the highlights: “The borscht tastes as pure as good intentions. It is a remedy for all ills; a sip will sieve out the worst of a hangover”, while “Goulash comes rich with brandy and stock and great hunks of beef, heavy on the paprika. It is the culinary equivalent of having one’s hair stroked.”
Some dishes, though, should clearly be avoided: “rabbit in a thyme and mustard sauce read beautifully, but tasted much as kitchen cleaner smells. Puddings are up to you; ours felt like punishment.”
David Ellis - 2024-10-13
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