Our Warsaw Black Book

When I told friends I was coming to Warsaw in June on a way-too-quick, 48-hour scouting trip, there were two camps of reactions: those with questioning raised eyebrows, and others with a knowing look of approval. Since I didn’t have much time in the city, I reached out to several local friends and asked them to share two lunch/dinner/cocktail spots… and ideas for what to do in between. My base camp was Raffles Europejski Warsaw, which opened in 1857 as the city’s first luxury hotel, and after an extensive renovation opened as Raffles in 2018. I came armed with so many epic suggestions and fell in love with this beautiful and deeply creative city in the course of my short stay, that I vowed to come back for at least a week. And after receiving so many messages while there from readers who wanted my list, I decided we had to create a proper Black Book. Whether you’re in Warsaw book-ending a trip through Poland, here for a long weekend, lean more into clubbing or Chopin, I think you’ll be mostly surprised by how deeply cool this town is. —Yolanda 

OUR CONTRIBUTORS

Daniel Wieczorek is a content creator, vintage car and motorcycle mechanic based in Krakow.

Josh Hickey is a writer and founder of the Hydra Book Club, a bookstore and publishing house on the island of Hydra, Greece. He is contributing editor at the Financial Times/HTSI and contributes to many other literary and lifestyle publications.

Karol Majchrzak is head of marketing at Jack Bronson, a luxury architecture and interior design group based in Wrocław, and one of the men behind the Polish editions of Matt Hranek’s A Man and His Watch and A Man and His Car. He is one of the four faces of Dandycore, a Polish YouTube project on menswear.

Karol Seliga is a Polish menswear creator focused on promoting local tailoring and bespoke clothing.

Mateusz Tryjanowski is a creative with a background in menswear and specialty coffee. He has been living in Warsaw for 10 years after moving for his studies. He is the creative director at Poszetka, where he also runs his own Working Class label. His favorite side project is Magazyn REWERS, one of Poland’s go-to menswear Substacks, which he runs with industry friends.

Robert Kmita is a graduate of Swiss Hotel Management School and Les Roches Marbella, with over 25 years of international experience in the hospitality sector. He lives in Warsaw and is the general manager of Raffles Europejski Warsaw. Robert first visited the hotel at the age of nine, fascinated by its unique, almost magical atmosphere.

Thierry Morali and Olga Matvienko. Olga Matvienko is a Warsaw-based visual designer with a background in film and a fondness for cities with character; she’s a keen observer of contemporary art, independent design, and the little places that give a city its personality. Thierry Morali is a French architect with a rather peripatetic career, from Fiji to New York via Moscow, Dubai, and Kitzbühel. A longstanding fascination with the Wiener Werkstätte originally drew him to Vienna, but these days he divides his time between the Austrian capital and Warsaw, working across architecture, interiors and his own furniture collection. His work has recently been featured in Architectural Digest Germany.

Wojtek van Portek is a Polish-born, London-based creative director, stylist, food writer and author of Wojtek’s Bistro. He is currently Style Director at House & Garden magazine. His work spans food, interiors, fashion and culture, informed by a passion for design, entertaining and Polish heritage.

Yolanda Edwards is the founder of YOLO Journal.

Zofia Chylak is a Warsaw-based designer who founded her eponymous brand, Chylak, in 2014 as an accessories label that translates classic style and traditional craftsmanship into a contemporary language. She draws on Polish motifs from different regions of the country, often connected to her own family roots and childhood memories. She works on an intimate, sustainable scale, closely collaborating as part of her Heritage line with traditional embroiderers and weavers from various Polish regions. 

Zofia Wyganowska is a Warsaw-based interior architect and founder of Zofia Wyganowska Studio, established in 2014. Working across private residences, commercial interiors and exhibition design, she approaches every project as a conversation between the past and the present.

STAYS

Favorite classic hotel…

Raffles Europejski Warsaw! For me, it represents perfectly the feeling I had from the city—a perfect balance of old and new world. Its 19th-century exterior is historically intact, with  contemporary and tasteful interiors that all work together elegantly, a rare achievement in historic hotels. Its owners are major art collectors—they’ve amassed an incredible collection of over 500 pieces of Polish modern art; definitely take an art tour if you can. I loved my very chic room overlooking Piłsudski Square, its spa, and the Long Bar, where we began each night.  (Sitting in this bar is where we sat with friends and decided we really needed to do a Warsaw Black Book!) Even if you’re not staying here, it’s a must to visit, for a Warsaw Sling, and to see some of its amazing art. —Yolanda.