Skip to content 
Brian Kennett
Amateur Chef and Boozy Traveling Foodie Extraordinaire
Red Hog Review: Best Restaurant in Warsaw? I think so...
Red Hog Review: Simply the best dining experience in Warsaw. If you’re in Warsaw and fancy the most delilicious meal that comes with a side of political satire and a dollop of nostalgia, then Oberża Pod Czerwonym Wieprzem—affectionately known as The Red Hog—is THE go-to spot. It’s like a time capsule that whisks you back to the days of the Eastern Bloc, complete with portraits of communist leaders and a menu that pays homage to the era’s hearty cuisine of old…
I was very fortunate this day to be sharing this experience with five amazing Gentlemen, “some” of whom were even old enough to remember (and spell) Eastern Bloc… Such a great dinner with this wonderful bunch of international crazies: Pawel and Daniel from Poland, Matt from New Zealand, and from England Hodgey, Simon and yours truly.
The Red Hog is one of Warsaw’s oldest restaurants, with roots dating back to the early 19th century, and boy do they leverage that by nurturing the best local traditions, and cook based on traditional recipes and food preparation techniques. Plus they only use natural products from local suppliers: and believe me, you feel that in the taste!!! Move over Michelin the big red pig head is taking over Warsaw, keep reading our Red Hog Review!!!
The moment you step inside, you’re greeted by a decor that’s equal parts museum and Austrian ski lodge. Think red velvet drapes, vintage propaganda posters, and chandeliers that have seen more political intrigue than a James Bond spy novel. It’s kitschy, it’s quirky, and it sets the stage for a dining experience that’s as much about the ambiance, and most wonderful staff as it is about the food.
Dine Pre and/or Post, it’s your choice. It literally calls that out in the menu, with sections labeled: 1/ For the Proletariat. 2/ For Dignataries and the Bourgeoisie. Every time I come to this place I immedietely fall head over heels in love again. And today I have five most wonderful people attending with me to share the fun and the unique experience for this Red Hog Review.
Have you ever fancied dining under the watchful eyes of Lenin, Castro, and a pig with a penchant for political satire? Maybe never, but if you do/have, then The Red Hog in Warsaw is your kind of place. Officially known as Oberża Pod Czerwonym Wieprzem (just stick with Red Hog), this establishment serves up hearty Polish fare with a side of communist nostalgia. With a solid 4.3 rating on TripAdvisor (I think that is massively under-rated, personally), it’s clear that this spot has struck a chord with both locals and tourists alike.
The decor is a delightful throwback to the Eastern Bloc era, complete with red banners, vintage propaganda posters, and portraits of infamous political figures. But don’t let the theme fool you—the food is off-the-charts good, this ain’t no Disney, with sh!t fast-food, oh no…. This place will serve you up a dining experience that’s massively flavourful whilst a little historically cheeky. It’s a die die must try according to Islifearecipe. We hope you like our Red Hog Review.
Red Hog Review: Table of Contents
Red Hog Review: Yes I am giving this a 5/5. This isn’t just dining, it’s an immersive experience, and we had six captivated individuals this night. We dined and talked only about the food, and the restaurant. It is literally like a disease you”catch” in a positive way. Our server was also infectious. Every word and recommendation from his mouth became reality, and we procured EVERYTHING he suggested from food to booze. It’s a magial restaurant formula and it is therefore 5/5.
This place is, without any shadow of doubt, is one of my favourite dining experiences on the planet. I will rave on about Red Hog AKA Restauracja Polska Czerwony Wieprz for ever, likely. It should be on your bucket list of die die must-try dining locations: hey Bruce Willis came here, therefore Die hard dining destinations perhaps? It’s like a skiing Gasthof, that happens to be in the city centre, with the best food, booze and peeps. It ROCKS!!!
Red Hog TripAdvisor Review
The restaurant’s popularity is evident in its reviews, boasting a solid 4.3 out of 5 rating on TripAdvisor. One diner noted, “Really enjoyed my trip to the Red Hog. Food was as good as I’ve had in Poland. Really big portions, however not expensive at all.”
Another reviewer highlighted the ambiance, stating, “The Red Hog is dedicated to serving up communist-era food in Warsaw, Poland.” It’s clear that the restaurant’s unique theme and hearty fare resonate well with foodies.
The Red Hog’s commitment to authenticity extends beyond the menu and decor. The restaurant claims to be located in a building where Poland‘s first communists met to discuss revolution. Whether or not this is true, it adds an extra layer of intrigue to the dining experience.
The last secrets of Communism Cuisine: “Czerwony Wieprz” was recommended by The New York Times as the best Polish cuisine restaurant and included in a list of 10 reasons to visit Warsaw. Now that’s accolade, right there: ignore the Michelin Stars and come here. The New York Times gets a +1 from me.
Service at The Red Hog Warsaw
Service at The Red Hog is attentive and super-friendly, with staff dressed in period-appropriate attire that adds to the immersive experience. They’re knowledgeable about the menu and happy to share the stories behind each dish, making your meal both informative and entertaining. Our guide (and I give that title on purpose, because he did…) today was just excellent. He was part of the dining experience for us all with fun and insights and recommendation, not intrusiveness.
The Red Hog Warsaw Menu: what did we eat today...?
The cuisine of the “Red Hog” is a kind of time machine that follows the culinary history of the former “Eastern Bloc” countries. Ther specialty is Polish cuisine from the communist era, but in the menu you will also find culinary hits of countries that are no longer on the world map today, such as Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, East Germany and the USSR.
It was there that unusual flavours were born, which today The Red Hog is rediscovering, and bringing back to life those traditional recipes with a modern twist. Stuff of legend.
They invite you to taste the unique combination of history and modernity in The Red Hog dishes. Needing no second invite or call to action, we went all in today, and we gorged until we could gorge no more. Like literally I could not feel my feet, or stand at the end haha… It is so frickin’ cool, and definitley needing our food guide to make constant recommendations of food and local beverages.
Asparagus Home-Made Dumplings with Butter Garlic Emulsion: Specials on the Czerwony Wieprz Menu
These beautifully light little dumplings are called Pierogi. We spotted this on an Asparagus specials menu: likely Asparagus is “in season”, and boy was I glad we did. Hey we need some veggies with all that protein… right? These were simply delightful, light being the right word. Delicious Dumplings.
Sztandarowy Żur: Czerwony Wieprz Menu
Sztandarowy Żur @ 37.90, a soup for Diginitaries and Bourgeoisie on porcini and smoked bacon, with egg and country sausage, seasoned with grated horseradish and marjoram.Talk about a complex soup… So this came as a recommendation from Pawel, but Daniel immediately turned his nose up. Seems an acquired taste for the Polish.
And me, the fat man: I totally digged it. I thought this a unique taste, slightly sour, smoky from the sausage, deffo the mushrooms but something, something else: what is it? I had to confer with Pawel, and I would NEVER have guessed the secret ingredient in a million years – but once you know, you pull that soppy “of course” face, and do the “Oh yeah…”
They add bread starter kit. Total genius. That’s that taste. That’s that sour. It’s yeasty. Actually when Pawel did share it, it did make palate sense, but… How creative is that – bread starter kit in a soup, imagine a sourdough starter kit soup. Mind racing now!!! Watch this space!!! A new Islifearecipe recipe may soon follow.
A Duo of Polish Sausages from the Masurian Smokehouse: Red Hog Warsaw Menu
A Duo of Polish Sausages from the Masurian Smokehouse @ 44.50 traditional white with marjoram, pork QAFP ham, grated horseradish, Sarepska mustard, the crispy bread of their baking. These got an immediate following, aka were devoured – so we had to order more. Anthony Bourdain famously loved “meat in tube form,” particularly local and unconventional versions of sausages.
Bourdain said, “All my happiest moments seem to revolve around meat in tube form.” He also made specific comments about sausage carts in Prague, expressing his enjoyment of the “amazing wall of wieners”. Well, Mr Anthony Bourdain, I think you would rave over these, as they are just so good. There is a snap of the skin, and then that hit of savoury and intense smoke – but then pair that with the mustard and/or horseradish: sausage angels would/should be singing… WOW!!!
Luxury Lard from the PRL: Czerwony Wieprz Menu Warsaw
Luxury Lard from the PRL @ 23.90 with hunter sausage, pork scratchings, apple and onion, served with our bread and a pickled cucumber from Hajnówka. This was one of my repeat orders, as I have had this a few times now in Poland and it is serioulsy just WOOF, AKA OINK!!! Off-the-charts good…
Ladies and gentlemen, who do not come from Poland, I introduce you to: Smalec, a traditional Polish spread made from rendered pork fat (or lard) flavoured with onions, garlic, and spices. It’s a staple in Polish homes and usually served as a starter or snack with bread and pickles. Heavenly!!! I am telling you straight, pork Gods will come down from on high to join you for this dish and a vodka… one of my Death Row Dishes.
Traditional Beef Tartar @ 59.90: Red Hog Review
Traditional Beef Tartar @ 59.90 of juicy deboned beef tenderloin, served with egg yolk, pickled cucumber, onion, capers and mustard, seasoned with black pepper and olive oil. Sadly, this Tartare was the dish we were all a little disappointed with today, but each of us had a different reason and rationale – which is weird, right…? I cannot put my finger on it as to why today, it just didn’t work for the gang-of-six… Maybe because it was outclassed by the other dishes we consumed? I truly have no idea!!!
Don’t you just love food for this exact reason. Six individual’s palates could have been “off” for this dish today, just today. So we’re not saying it was bad. It was just not for us this day, especially compared to the other Michelin-grade dishes. WOW!!!
Polish duck a’la Czerwony Wieprz: Red Hog Review
Polish duck a’la Czerwony Wieprz – Chef’s specialty! @ 89.50 half a Berber duck, marinated in sea salt with garlic and marjoram, served with sauce made of Polish cherries, roasted apple and stewed beetroot. Holy Moly Mother of Duck. In fact Holy Duck. Wow this was so good. The meat was so juicy it could have been still swimming around in a pond, the skin a stunning “crack” of crispiness and the jus, my goodness the jus – sweet and sour, and just the perfect bedfellow for the duck. A stunning dish that will be on every return order from now on.
Crispy Black Pudding: Rod Hog Review Warsaw
Crispy Black Pudding @ 44.50 homemade black pudding, stewed onion with marjoram and French mustard, demi-glace sauce with green pepper, emulsion made out of Sarepska mustard. I like black pudding, actually I love black pudding, so will always order when I see it. I had this on the previous trip, and just did a re-order but x2 as there are six of us.
I tell you, black pudding angels will be strumming harps and seranading you in the clouds above when you eat this. It is just sublime, heavenly food. I am going to call it as the best black pudding dish ever, and will be trying to recreate it now with my mate Allan Muir’s black pudding from Muir’s Deli. I think they deep-fry the pudding as it has a double-crunch, and melty interior. Oh man, it is so good, and then with those sauces… it’s just OINK!!!
Chef at Red Hog Warsaw – I am totally stealing this dish for my restaurant in the Philippines. Come and try my version when we open: The Kapre Restaurant and Bar. The Kapre Krispy Black Pudding: memories of Red Hog.
Cold Legs in Jelly: a’la Czerwony Wieprz Menu
Cold Legs in Jelly @ 43.50 served with marinated chanterelles, boletes and chanterelle vinegar * prepared with the original recipe from the “Magda” Milk Bar, which operated in this place in the 70s.
I am sure this was one of the “test” dishes from Daniel: “I bet these non-Poles won’t ever eat this?” But we surely did, and wolfed down every scrap of it. It’s like braised pork leg, shredded, then put in gelatin to set, and then served with pickled mushrooms. I mean come on, it’s just delicious. I assume historically doing this style of preparation and cooking was for preservation, but today it’s just funky, quirky deliciousness.
Chef at Red Hog Warsaw – I am also stealing this dish for The Kapre Restaurant and Bar. Filipinos love pork, nose to tail of the pig, and pickle sours. Just look at the infamous Filipino cuisine: Sisig. So this will take a pride of place on the menu, slow braised pig trotter, with pork gelatin and pickles. The Kapre Jelly Pig Legs: Czerwony Wieprz inspired.
Red Hog Restaurant photos: Red Hog Review
The Motley Crew. We had such fun around the food. Pawel and Daniel would make personal favourite recommendations, but I think also to “test” the foreigners resolve. I grabbed my favourites off the menu from the last time I was here like the incredible black pudding, and we threw in a few other from the specials, but also the duck that we spotted from the corner of an eye. It was one fantastic, happy memory-creating meal, with truly fantastic people. It reminds me of that foodie poem I wrote on the blog once:
“Eating and dining is a communal activity that is central to our social lives, both within the family and beyond. It is over the dinner table that memories are made. Deals are conducted. Pain is shared… We romance, bond, fight and celebrate…”
True, dat!!!
The Red Hog Price
In terms of pricing, The Red Hog offers incredidibly good value for money for what they are serving up. Portions are generous cum huge, and the quality of the food is consistently of the highest. I will go back again, and again, and again!!!
SMORGASBORD!!! I am really not sure if we ordered enough… Hey ho, there’s always the next time. Bring it on Red Hog, be seeing you soon for that.
Red Hog Warsaw: Clearly a Celebrity Popular Spot
So, even Bruce Willis has ventured through these doors and now even has a cocktail on the menu in his honour. As we know Bruce is famous for the film, “Die Hard”. Well, mate, I tell you when you come to the Red Hog AKA Czerwony Wieprz – you actually “Die Easy” and “Die Happy”. All that meat, fat, black pudding and copious amounts of this local beverage the Polish call “vodka” is going to see you off to a very happy grave…
This is what I call Death Row Dining, I want this as my last dinner, that’s an order. I am changing my will… Well, once I have written up this Red Hog Review.
Beluga Vodka, Original Peachtree, fresh grapefruit juice, fresh lemon juice, sugar syrup. A cocktail made from an original recipe by Hollywood star Bruce Willis, which he passed on during a memorable visit to the Czerwony Wieprz in June 2010.
The Red Hog Warsaw Menu
The Red Hog Warsaw Reviews: Voice of the Restaurant
“Now has come the time to bring this legendary Warsaw eatery back to life, maintaining its former name, its legend, the spirit of its history, the XVIII century Iron Inn’s atmosphere and, above all, its menu. Politicians and regimes change but good culinary recipes are immortal. These recipes, found in the old chest, are the inspiration to the re-opening of the inn which had been host for over one hundred years to the likes of: Lenin, Castro, Brezhnev and even Mao Tse Tung, as well as many other dignitaries and leaders of the countries behind the Iron Curtain.
Restoration has been based on a drawing depicting all of them here together at one table, for the last time, amused and believing that they were the one’s who would decide the world’s fate. We know now how wrong they were, and that history has played a trick on them.
The world has changed, but … the fine table is left for the next generation of gourmets. In the Red Hog you will taste many unusual dishes such as: KGB Spies’Salad, The First Secretary’s pork loin, Wild boar “Zrazy” a’la Tito and Erich’s pork knuckle. The proletariat’s spirit will be recalled by Pig’s trotters in aspic, Board of delicacies from the Polish People’s Republic of The proletariat’s cutlet with cucumber salad all of which can be washed down with a tankard of fine beer to the rhythm of unforgettable hits of those times.”
Red Hog Vodka: WOOF!!!
This bad boy is made from new potatoes and is so flippin’ smooth, even more so than our mate Matthew McConaughey. But it has that cheeky little ability to trick you into thinking it’s all good, its all safe to have another, and another, go on just one more. Oh no, my dear friends. This little trickster is not to be trusted, but did we have fun getting on this bad boy, and losing the feeling in my legs…
WOOF!!! In fact if I had lit a cigarette, likely that is what would have happened~~~
A stunning drink – punchy at 15 Euro, but like I say with good quality Tequila and Mezcal, you get what you pay for. This was quality. Totally organic. Artisinally made by the restaurant themselves. Clean and smooth for sipping – or plain and simple gulping and guzzling as Pawel and Daniel did this night…
The Red Hog Warsaw Photos: yeah ya nonce...
I feel so at home with my Beard Brothers too… Sad to say goodbye at the end of the evening, as I conclude my Red Hog Review.
Red Hog Review: The Best Warsaw Restaurant: Final Thoughts
The restaurant’s location on Żelazna Street makes it easily accessible, whether you’re staying in the city center or exploring the surrounding neighbourhoods. It’s a convenient stop for lunch or dinner during a day of sightseeing. It really is, just so easy to walk to and from and just soak up the city as you do so + I guarantee you’ll need the walk, cum crawl, home afterwards.
The Red Hog Warsaw is a place where history and quirky humour come together over a plate of pierogi or black pudding, and where every meal feels like a celebration of the history of Poland and the Eastern Bloc. You literally get immersed.
Final thoughts on The Red Hog Review? Well, where else in Warsaw can you devour pork knuckle big enough to take it’s own seat in your Uber on the way home while being stared down by a portrait of Brezhnev, or a bust of Carl Marx? This place isn’t just a dinner—this place is food theatre featuring incredible meats, home-made vodkas, and the occasional political nod that’ll make you smile as you chomp into your pierogi.
It’s the sort of spot where your parents and your history teacher would clap in approval, but your blood pressure doctor would be seriously frowning. It’s such hearty Polish grub with Cold War chic. The Red Hog must be on your Warsaw hit list, just try not to start an ideological debate with your waiter.
I am totally and utterly in love with this restaurant, and will make a point to visit every single time I come back to the beautiful city of Warsaw: and bring my Polish mates, and friends from around the world, and of course my beautiful family: who I have been teasing constantly since I first came here some four years ago.
It’s a place you come to, you eat and drink, and will still be speaking about the experience weeks after you have left: the hotel, left Warsaw, left Poland. Yes, I was doing exactly that today, sharing my Red Hog dinner story with my Jude Jude in Singapore. “One day I’ll take you Son, one day… Then you can write your very own Red Hog Review.”
“Islifearecipe kocha Red Hog Restaurant. Nie możemy się doczekać, aby zobaczyć was ponownie już wkrótce. Więcej czarnej kiełbasy proszę…i może połowę tej butelki wódki z młodych ziemniaków (podwójnie proszę…)”
Red Hog Restaurant Opening Hours
| Wednesday | 12–11 pm |
| Thursday | 12–11 pm |
| Friday | 12–11 pm |
| Saturday | 12–11 pm |
| Sunday | 12–10 pm |
| Monday | 12–11 pm |
| Tuesday | 12–11 pm |
Red Hog Restaurant Warsaw: Red Hog Address
Is Red Hog Restaurant Halal?
What is the Red Hog Restaurant Dress Code?
Casual I’d say. I rocked up from work in jeans, shirt and Clark’s Wallaby’s. It seemed OK, all around were dressed the same. Also I would say that your attire would be subject to the weather as well. On the first night I arrived it was cold cold cold, so cold, in fact, that it looked like I had swallowed two golf balls – but they were actually my testicles that ran away to hide from the cold….
Red Hog Restaurant Warsaw Reservation
Red Hog Warsaw Restaurant Contact Details
- Red Hog Restaurant Telephone: +48 22 850 31 44
- Red Hog Restaurant eMail: biuro@czerwonywieprz.pl
