Knightsbridge, Polish Restaurant Guide

“It has to have one of London’s prettiest dining rooms” – this “stylish, opulent, high-ceilinged space” inside a Polish émigrés club (founded in 1940) near South Kensington’s Science Museum and Royal Albert Hall is “an exquisite survival from decades ago” and looks “magnificent”. But its appeal extends well beyond its evident “romantic” possibilities, or the fact that it’s “ideal for a meal pre-Proms”. The setting inside the still-functioning club – with its mixture of restaurant guests and long-time members – imbues it with a “welcoming” sense of a “very friendly, alternative home-from-home”. A further boost is its possession of an “excellent, large, part-covered outdoor terrace overlooking lovely Prince’s Gardens at the rear, which is a delight” and further fuels the “vibrant and exciting” ambience, especially in summer. Actually, the “copious vodka shots” available between courses and long list of wines and cocktails also help in that department. “Most Polish food is pretty run-of-the mill, but they polish it up well here and make you forgive it for being stodgy peasant food”. “Portions are generous to a fault” and have been extremely “fairly priced” over decades, creating “great value in an expensive part of town and an occasion that’s always fun… and delicious!”. “Even visiting Poles are impressed!”

“May this old-time Polish survive a few years yet!” – the news that Transport for London’s plans to upgrade South Ken tube station involve demolishing this “legendary” restaurant sent shock waves through the capital’s foodie circles. Founded in 1947, Daquise has provided “generous Polish cuisine” to generations of “students on their first dates, old members of the Polish diaspora in search of comfort food” and celebs from Christine Keeler and Roman Polanski to Hugh Grant, Mark Rylance and Penelope Cruz – although the “traditional cooking” has always played second fiddle to the institution’s atmosphere and history. Top Tip – go as soon as you can, before it either closes forever or moves to less evocative premises.