Włoski Strajk Italian Sharing – Great Food, Terrible Service

Włoski Strajk Italian Sharing is a bright, uncompromising, and moderately insane place. So much so that it has managed to do almost the impossible – after two visits, it left me with completely opposite emotions. Hell, I still don’t know whether I’ll ever come back here again. But let’s take it one step at a time.

The chef has changed since opening. Former head of the kitchen Kacper Sproski is now building a successful career as a blogger: making TikToks, handing out doughnuts with herring on the streets of Łódź, and doing ads for events like Gastro Miasto. A very elegant career move, obviously.

For Włoski Strajk Italian Sharing, however, the whole situation has turned out to be a positive thing: the recipes are now overseen by Michał Wierzba, chef of Michelin-recognised restaurant Źródło. And when it comes to the food, I have absolutely no questions about the restaurant.

I’ll go even further: simply reading through the menu here is already insanely interesting. Heavy, mischievous, and very, very far from boring, it can easily make you smile before you’ve even ordered anything. You see a section called «Scarpetta» and immediately understand that, in keeping with all the Italian traditions, you can – and should – dip bread into the sauce and mop up every last drop. There’s no boring division into cold starters and hot dishes here; instead, you get sections such as «crispy», «smoky», and «creamy». And the recipes themselves are just incredibly intriguing.

I originally went for the «Bandit Breakfast» – served only on weekends – and, honestly, it’s difficult for me to imagine a better start to the day for anyone open to gastronomic experimentation.

There’s simply gorgeous pizza fritta (36 PLN) – fried dough topped with fresh and lightly marinated tomatoes, mascarpone, and capers. This is exactly the kind of dish worth sacrificing a few newly acquired kilos for. And not just once.

Want something more familiar, but no less impressive? No problem – here’s burrata stuffed with pesto (43 PLN), served with roasted-pepper caponata, a poached egg, and a crispy mix of toasted seeds, from poppy seeds to walnuts.

The most Instagrammable breakfast item, the «Bandit Plate» (44 PLN), is also the most controversial. Technically, it’s simply a beautifully presented selection of cheeses and cured meats. On the plus side, there’s a seriously good blackberry and tarragon jam, as well as taleggio with a caramelised crust. On the downside, there’s young ricotta, which definitely won’t be to everyone’s taste, and no spoon for the egg. Digging into the shell with a fork is certainly a memorable and very bandit-like move, but I’d still rather avoid it.

Polish-style soft ricotta dumplings with blueberries (41 PLN) are wonderful both in concept and execution. Slightly salty thanks to the ricotta inside, with blueberries in two forms – a neat cream and a sweet jam – caramelised lemon zest, and a walnut-and-pepper crumble, it all comes very close to the ideal of a smart, comforting breakfast.

But even here, the impression was slightly spoiled by the service – the whole thing was served together with the savoury dishes, so by the time I got around to the dumplings, they had already cooled down nicely. I wasn’t given any cutlery or napkins, so in order to start eating the now-cold dumplings, I had to walk to the bathroom, get some napkins, wipe down the already-used cutlery with them, and only then start eating.

So, as you’ve probably already figured out, there’s some serious nonsense going on with the service here. And on my second visit, that nonsense only got bigger.

Want to place an order? Complete the «stare at the waiter sitting at the bar counter for a long time» quest. Need to clarify something about a dish? Accept that the waiter doesn’t know the menu. As for clearing dirty plates from the table, obviously, that’s completely out of the question. And the cherry on top – no change being brought back.

I’m delighted that the waiter can decide for me whether I want to leave him a tip, but let me just remind you: bringing the change together with the fiscal receipt is not an option or simply a matter of good manners – it is a direct responsibility of the waiter.

Naturally, instead of bringing me the change, the waiter simply disappeared in a completely empty restaurant. I waited for ten minutes out of curiosity, then turned around and left.

And yet, the food was – as usual – excellent. The insanely vivid combination of flavours in the tuna crudo with pickled jalapeño and plum (58 PLN), the fantastic panko cauliflower (42 PLN) with corn cream and caramelised olives, or the new version of Panko Bomb 2.0 lasagna (52 PLN), which is now more ragù than pasta – all of it is genuinely great.

It’s just that, in the first case, I could somehow live with mediocre service, while in the second – with the complete absence of service – I simply couldn’t. Because every restaurant is a synthesis of a whole lot of different things. And even when the food (thanks to Michał Wierzba) and the interior (credit to Metraż studio) are both excellent, questionable service can easily undo everything good that has been created.