Kicia: A New Asian Neo-Bistro on Chmielna

A year ago, I wrote a long piece about soft openings in Warsaw restaurants – simply because I had grown tired of places charging full price while serving a project that was still clearly unfinished.

There are, however, some welcome exceptions. During its soft opening, the newly launched Kicia Bistro offers a 30% discount across the entire menu. Spoiler alert: they could have played this card muuuch better, but let's start from the beginning.

Kicia Bistro has an excellent location – right next to Varso Tower, yet tucked away in a quiet green courtyard, not far from MurMur and surrounded by a residential complex full of potential (and very well-off) guests.

Inside, it's minimalism in every sense: concrete, low wooden chairs, geometric dark wood furniture, large floor-to-ceiling windows, and wonderfully charming hashioki – chopstick rests shaped like little cats. Parts of the restaurant are still being finished, with a few cosmetic touches left to complete, but it already looks incredibly inviting.

So, you already know about the 30% soft-opening discount. Want to guess how guests find out about it? When they're handed the menu? Before ordering? When the waiter recommends dishes? Not even close. The correct answer is: only after paying – and only if they happen to notice that the prices on the receipt are about a third lower than the ones printed on the menu.

And that's one of the biggest missed opportunities I've seen in hospitality lately. Come on – a discount like this is the perfect way to introduce guests to a new restaurant. Tell them about the concept, the cuisine, the five ramen varieties, the unusual starters, the creative Asian twists on the menu. Mention the discount so they order a little more, tell their friends about the place, and come back themselves...

Especially since everything was already perfectly set up for it. 

The waiter asks, «Is this your first time here?», gets a «yes», and then responds with the brilliant: «Well, that makes sense – we've only been open for three days», before disappearing into the restaurant. 

The waiter himself is excellent and really does his best – this is purely a matter of staff training.

That said, from what I've heard, the situation has already started to improve. I've spoken to around five people who visited Kicia after I did, and they told me the team was already handling this kind of guest communication much better.

The food, meanwhile, is genuinely interesting. Kicia serves comforting but far-from-boring Asian cuisine while confidently embracing small, thoughtful twists. Kimchi made with cherry tomatoes and stracciatella? Absolutely. Pulled beef takoyaki (35 PLN) with oyster mayonnaise? No problem. And the smashed cucumbers (15 PLN), marinated in a classic American Bread & Butter pickle brine, are simply fantastic.

The beef tataki (39 PLN) comes with delicate slices of daikon, dots of aioli, and a striking sesame dressing that seems to be based on tahini. It's elegant, balanced, and beautifully put together – even if the portion is on the smaller side.

The salmon tataki (39 PLN) is another excellent dish. Lightly seared salmon is rolled around the restaurant's own take on takuan. If I understood correctly, this version uses a different variety of daikon than the beef tataki – Chinese watermelon radish with its distinctive pink veins, marinated with ginger.

The shrimp ramen (55 PLN) gets almost everything right: a rich, deeply flavoured broth reminiscent of laksa, soy-marinated egg, yuba, nori – it all works beautifully. The only downside is that instead of the boiled shrimp shown in the menu photos, the dish arrives with shrimp hidden beneath a thick layer of batter.

Overall, Kicia Bistro has turned into a genuinely interesting addition to Warsaw's restaurant scene. Thoughtful, approachable and confidently executed Asian cuisine is always welcome. Plus, if you currently have the chance to explore the menu with a 30% discount and discover your own favourites, why not take advantage of it? This kind of soft opening is a genuine win-win for everyone involved.

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