Bar Fis, Zakopane

Bar Fis, Zakopane, Poland

During our trip to Zakopane last weekend we decided to go for a meal in Bar Fis before getting our return coach to Krakow. We chose Bar Fis for the simple fact that it is very close to the bus station and our legs were aching so much that we didn't want to walk too far.

To get to the entrance of Bar Fis we had to climb a large set of steps, we then stood outside to have a look at the menu board displayed in the window. The whole menu was in Polish, but having a Polish person with me, this wasn't a problem for us. After finding something we both liked we headed inside.

The restaurant was very big with a lot of tables and chairs. I immediately noticed there was no real atmosphere and the huge glass windows, which made up 3 out of the 4 walls, combined with the laminated floor and light pine furniture made it feel in a way like I'd time-warped back to the 1980's which was weird but at the same time I liked it.

Along the back wall of the room was a large counter area with the menu hanging on boards above it and a couple of members of staff working behind this counter. To place our food order we needed to go to the counter and pay for the meals up front. We then had to sit and wait listening for the name of our dishes to be called out so we could go up and collect it from the counter.

The Menu

The menu at Bar Fis looks quite large, however when you translate it you will realise there are actually only a few meals on offer but with different fillings or toppings. The main items on the menu are:

Pierogi - A kind of cross between dumplings and ravioli. I personally love Pierogi and I ordered Pierogi Ruskie which is Pierogi with a cottage cheese and onion filling. They also have them with other fillings including blueberries, meat and spinach. The prices of Pierogi meals are around the 8-10zl (Polish Zloty) mark.

Kotlety - A choice of either chicken or pork cutlets covered in breadcrumbs and served with chips. I have to admit this looked rather nice and I probably would have chosen this if I had noticed it on the menu before I ordered. These meals are around 13zl.

Potato Pancakes - As it sounds these are pancakes made out of potato and they can be served on their own or with various toppings including meat, sour cream and cheese. The price of potato pancakes varies depending on your topping, for the sour cream or cheese the price was around 14zl but for the meat it was 17zl.

The menu does have other items for smaller appetites such as a plate of chips, hot dogs and burgers or a plate of what I can only describe as mush but apparently it is salad which has been grated and mixed with various sauces! These smaller dishes are around the 4zl mark.

There is also a drinks section on the menu offering the usual soft drinks as well as tea and coffee. These were priced at around 5zl. But we didn't order any drinks as we already had plenty of drinks with us from our mountain adventures.

Food Quality

As I mentioned earlier, I ordered a plate of Pierogi Ruskie and my partner ordered Potato Pancakes with a meat topping. I am unsure of what kind of meat as it simply says (in Polish) "with meat" on the menu. After waiting around 10 minutes we heard the call for the potato pancakes and collected this. I had to wait another 5 minutes for my Pierogi.

When I collected it I wasn't really too impressed. There was about 8 pierogi dumplings in a dish and they looked rather greasy with raw onion sprinkled on the top. Usually pierogi comes with cooked, crispy onion bits on the top which are usually quite nice, but raw onion... no thanks! So after taking the onion bits off I began to eat the pierogi, the first thing I noticed was the filling wasn't hot in all of the dumplings even though the outer shell of them was, this made them taste a little weird compared to pierogi I have eaten in the past. They also didn't taste as greasy as they looked. When I have eaten pierogi in the past I have usually really enjoyed them as they are full of flavour and quite filling, however these pierogi tasted quite bland and I still felt a bit hungry afterwards.

The potato pancakes did look a lot nicer, although, to me it looked like they had tipped a can of stewing steak over the top of them. I have been assured that they tasted good and the meat was a lot nicer than the sloppy mess it resembled! The potato pancakes also came served with a small portion of the salad I mentioned earlier.

The current exchange rate is 5.32zl for every £1 so for the price of the food I think we got what we paid for really. While the pierogi wasn't up to the standard I have been used to, it was still edible and I haven't been ill from eating it so I will give it 3 out of 5. The potato pancakes were apparently really nice and would be given a 4 out of 5

Toilets

Firstly, if I am a paying customer in a restaurant I would expect to be able to use the toilet facilities for free. This is not the case in Bar Fis as everyone needs to pay 2zl to use the facilities. Usually I wouldn't bother but being as we had a 2 hour coach journey back to Krakow ahead of us I thought I better go just in case. Reluctantly I put my 2zl in the coin slot and entered the ladies toilet. The toilet was clean and had toilet roll as well as soap and paper towels by the sink, but it was certainly not worth paying for! I know 2zl is nothing really but I just think it is a cheek when I have paid to eat in the establishment.

Accessibility

Bar Fis is accessible by wheelchair and pushchair as there is a ramp to the left of the steps outside. Once inside everything is on one level and the tables are spread out well to be able to move around freely.

Address

Bar Fis is located directly opposite the central PKP Bus station in Zakopane and the address for the establishment is:
ul. Jagiellonska 2,
34-500 Zakopane

Recommended?

I can just about recommend Bar Fis to you, although it really is only just. I am giving it 3 stars out of 5 with 1 being lost for my pierogi not being as good as it could have been and the other for having to pay to use the toilets. The atmosphere wasn't fantastic in Bar Fis but in all honesty I was so exhausted that I wasn't too bothered by this and simply wanted to eat! I would eat here again but I think in the future I will be trying the chicken cutlet as this looked much nicer and was served with chips so I think it would be much more filling.

The staff were alright. They weren't exactly the friendliest of people but at the same time we didn't have much contact with them other than placing the order and then going up to collect it when it was shouted out. I quite liked this method of food collection as it was something different to normal and added a bit of character to a restaurant which was generally lacking in it.

The restaurant was kept nice and clean and the tables were clean and given a wipe over each time a customer left so top marks for cleanliness from me.

3 out of 5 stars from me and I would eat here again.

Thanks for reading :)