Modra Kuchnia Might Be the Best Refined Polish Restaurant in Poznań

In the lead-up to my departure from Poland, after 2-plus months of my own personal ‘Eat, Pray, Fail to Make a Single Dollar, Love’, I knew I needed to treat myself to one final meal. After thorough research (primarily Reddit browsing and Google Maps’in) into the best restaurant for upscale Polish cuisine in Poznań, I noticed that one name kept appearing over, and over, and over…and over. Modra Kuchnia. 

So, I threw on my best pair of underpants and a black Polo shirt and made the trek over to the hip, increasingly Bohemian neighborhood of Jeżyce where Modra Kuchnia has set up shop to see if this sentiment rang true. 

Here are my unadulterated thoughts.

Modra Kuchnia: a Distinguished Ethos Evident as Soon as You Step in the Door

Website, Address, & Details:

• Location: Mickiewicza 18/lokal 2, 60-834 Poznań, Poland

• Price: $$ - 3 courses (including bread), 2 glasses of wine (1 also “on the house”), 1 digestif came to roughly USD 60. 

While my initial attempts to reach out to Modra Kuchnia and make a reservation proved less than fruitful thanks to the shoddy Airbnb WiFi I was on, I was able to secure a Friday night slot thanks to a well-timed Instagram message. This is definitely a spot in Poznań where you want to cross your t’s and dot your i’s before showing up by making a reservation. 

While I noticed several walk-ins, I wouldn’t leave it to chance as this is one cozy AND happening spot. 

The intimate nature of the restaurant can’t help but be felt as soon as you step down into the exterior vine-covered basement, which reveals a small open kitchen and multi-room seating that sits somewhere between a traditional Brownstone boiler room and minimalist Nordic study. Rustic exposed brick bifurcates the two dining rooms while sleek, modern fixtures sit comfortably atop aged Turkish rugs (pure conjecture on the origin of the rugs). 

There are contrasts between the old and the new, a foreshadowing of the cuisine to come - and deliberate (if I were a betting man). 

Getting Started

First and foremost, Modra Kuchnia is run by a married duo, Szymon and Dorota, with Szymon in the back firing up contemporary Polish dishes and Dorota working magic on the floor. The theme - modern Polish cuisine. 

There’s generational and regional inspiration behind each dish, leaning on seasonal and locally sourced ingredients to reimagine bites that almost every single Pole grew up eating (more about this below). 

What’s more, Szymon and “Kitchen co.” operate with a precision that I had yet to come across during my two-month tenure, deconstructing otherwise hearty food and then reconstructing it into methodical, balanced bites. 

Pale Ale Travel Tip: Make sure to grab my 4-city, 150+ restaurant list that served me well over 2+ months in Poland! 

A Departure From the Norm

Having gone heavy on the beers for oh…I don’t know…the last 3 months, I opted for my first glass of wine of the trip. However, there were a handful of locally brewed craft beers by Browar Szreniaw, which sits just to the south of Poznań, that were sensually calling my name like a Greek siren. 

“Big Body, Big Body, why have you forsaken us? Drink us Big Body, drink us…”

A note about wine in Poland is that unlike beer and other alcoholic beverages (ex. vodka), it is priced similarly to what you would expect in most Western countries due to an underdeveloped market (that has yet to scale). 

I dove deep into Modra Kuchnia’s signature dishes and already knew what was on the docket for the night, duck (and lots of it), which I then ultimately left to the waiter to pair with a fitting slightly sweeter red wine. 

I could try and blow some smoke up your “you know what” by describing the body, acidity, and balance of this slightly sweet Spanish red but that would be presumptuous. Especially for someone who, in his lifetime, has consumed roughly 1,000 gallons of wine out of a bag while donning an American flag bandana and fraternity tank top. 

It wasn’t a particularly libidinous night for this Big Body so I capped things off at two glasses. Just enough to catch a mild buzz while ensuring the rich, fatty flavor of the subsequent dishes was “cleansed.” 

Paired with warm homemade bread that was infused with one of my all-time favorite spices, caraway seeds (a staple of Central European cuisine), and served with an earthy olive oil, I was ready to run the Modra Kuchnia gastronomic gamut. 

It’s Hard to Be Down in the Dumps(lings) With Pyza

Central Europe knows dumplings. I don’t mean just the standard Asian dumplings like gyoza or wontons that have probably come to the top of your dome (mine included) when you hear the word. I mean all types. 

This includes a style of dumplings you can often find in Polish and Czech cuisine called a ‘pyza’. It’s yeast-driven and what some might more appropriately label as a ‘steamed bun’ or ‘bread dumpling’. I find it somewhat similar to a Chinese bao. I hope that it isn't sacrilegious to make such a comparison. Either way, they’re perfect for playing second fiddle and acting as a formidable vehicle to sop up whatever flavorful sauce, soup, or stew they’re served with.  

If you’ve read any other posts on here or my main site (palealetravel.com), then you already know that there was an embarrassingly all-too-regular point in my past where I was tossing goose liver on top of anything I could. I had to dial things back after I looked in the mirror and had a flashback to when I was a child at Seaworld looking into the narwhal’s prison cell tank.

Just to clarify. I was looking like a narwhal. A sweaty, hairless, plump narwhal. 

So, when I saw that the recommended starter by Chef Szymon was a small leavened steamed dumpling with creamy liver sauce and seasonal fruit, I didn’t hesitate. While it may look like indiscernible gray gruel, I assure you that’s only in appearance. It’s an intriguing amalgamation, one that even after seeing the certified ‘Chef’s Recommendation’ endorsement adjacent still had me stroking my former double chin in befuddlement.

However, when you step back and repeat to yourself, ‘modern takes on traditional fare’, it makes sense. Also, who am I to doubt Szymon and crew? It wasn’t that long ago that I was contentedly scarfing down Hungry Man TV dinners and half-pound bags of Swedish Fish. 

Compared to their potato counterpart (there are two key types of pyza: potato and leavened), which is generally denser, heartier, and earthier in taste (after all, it’s made of potato), Modra’s leavened steamed pyza exists as a neutral, fluffy, and mildly sweet/slightly yeasty personal cloud of absorption. 

The savory, slightly metallic, richness of the silky liver sauce would cease to pack the gustatory punch that it does should anything but a neutral vessel accompany it. While there’s usually some guilt (not ethically for me) associated with tossing back any form of goose liver, Modra has distilled it down into an effervescent yet manageable form, one that satiates without overstaying its welcome on the taste buds. The sweetness and acidity of the grapes, raspberries, and other assorted fruit adds further depth to the sauce’s buoyancy. 

The only problem with the dish? That there wasn’t more pyza to sop it up. Every drop was precious and it pained me to waste it - especially after being informed by the waiter that there was no more fresh bread (currently) available. 

But it was a blessing in disguise as it was at that moment I decided that I’d go the full mile and round the night off with dessert.  

Pale Ale Travel Note: For all you slobs out there, Modra Kuchnia is NOT the type of restaurant where you can just casually pick up the plate and lick like that owl in the old-school Tootsie Pop commercial. 

The Quacking Tower of Pyza: Is There a More Underrated Meat than Duck?

I think it’s pretty well accepted that I went a little pyza crazy while at Modra. I’m not going to apologize as anytime I see the word ‘dumpling’, I cave. It’s in my DNA. 

As I mentioned above, I spent several days doing my due diligence on what to order and couldn’t help but audibly gasp after stumbling upon pictures of what appeared to be a ‘duck burger’. I think we can all agree that duck is a contender for the most underrated meat out there.

At the time, and unfortunately, quite late into my storied Polish cuisine eating career, I had a poor eye for identifying a pyza and may or may not have assumed the fluffy bun holding in the glossy dark meat was a yeasty dumpling. 

Honestly, I’d equate this to one of my favorite “eats” which requires two hands (or knife and fork if you fancy like that) - a BBQ pulled pork sandwich. There are a lot of parallels in the construction, the richness in flavor, the sweet, tangy sauce, and the textural crunch of cabbage that ties it all together. 

Replace the pork with slow-cooked, tender, pulled duck (with just the right amount of gamey-ness), and substitute a sweet/zesty BBQ sauce for an acidic, tannic red wine sauce and tart cherries. Stuff it, along with a handful of crisp, sweet and slightly vinegary red cabbage, between the spongy, mild pyza, and there’s a familiarity that elicits nostalgia. 

However, there’s a cultivation that tickles the senses and informs you that what you’re experiencing is extraordinary and measured. 

Fork and knife, hands, a mix of both. I went through it all while eating this. And so did other patrons. Refined dining doesn’t have to be stuffy. 

Modra Kuchnia is the real deal. 

Appealing to the Sweet Tooth of a Meat Tooth

I think the meringue was the only one that really didn’t “hit” for me as I’m not a meringue “type of guy” and should have specified to the waiter before giving him carte blanche to choose for me. It’s not that it wasn’t quality or creative. It was. 

A stable airy peak that doesn’t fold over itself? Check. A sweet, clean, sugary taste that melts upon impact with your tongue? Check. A combo of two viscous concoctions that both uniquely complement and contrast? Check and check.  

The nutty halvah mousse, eerily reminiscent of peanut butter, along with slightly sweet and tart cherry sauce were the parts that brought the meringue together for me. Refreshing yet luxurious. However, as someone with more of a ‘meat tooth’ than a ‘sweet tooth’, anything that even mildly tilts the Brix Scale, I found cloying after too much of it. 

If you’re a sweet tooth and dessert connoisseur/meringue maniac, then this is going to be right up your alley.  

Of course, I had to toss back a Polish digestif since I’m typically more stuffed up than a kid’s first Build-A-Bear and opted for a “lemon Longinus,” aka Cytrynówka, a tart liqueur with a slightly sweet aftertaste that reminds you of a slightly more alcoholic limoncello. 

Then again, I think that’s because it’s actually vodka. Someone, please fact-check that for me. 

I’m not sure it was effective but my digestion woes aren’t something to be cured in a single night.  

Pale Ale Travel Note: If I hadn’t spell-checked this post, there’s a good chance that you’d be wondering why I was writing about the popular Dominican style of dance, merengue. 

I Have a Feeling We Have Yet to See Modern Polish Cuisine’s Heyday

Poznań was a welcom surprise during my several months posted up in Poland and restaurants like Modra Kuchnia were the driving force behind that sentiment. 

My experience tells me that Poland is reviving its rustic, hearty, filling cuisine that has served its constituents well since the 10th century through innovative, polish(ed) (Zing!) vision and execution.

In the best way possible, Modra’s takes on these staples are aggressive, so every single dish may not resonate with everyone. But that’s what makes it stand out. It’s why it’s a refreshing departure from mom-and-pop canteens (ex. Milk bars and traditional kuchnia/kitchens) that most think of when they imagine Polish cuisine.

And, with Poland’s preceding rising wages and economic growth, I’d reckon we’re just at the beginning of what ‘modern Polish actually is’. If Modra Kuchnia is any representation of what refined Polish cuisine can be (and is), then hold onto your hat - because things are going to (continue to) be delicious.

If you have any questions about traveling to Poznań or Poland, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me via email ([email protected]). Also, if you’ve eaten at Modra Kuchnia, I’d love to hear your thoughts and if you think it lived up to the hype or not. 

You can also find a complete list of restaurants that I ate at in Poznań (and Poland) over here: My Poland Eating Guide.

Finally, don’t forget to grab your free 9-day, 3-City Poland Travel Itinerary (with a downloadable PDF). 

Eat well everyone,

Big Body