The Knaypa I have a personal interest in everything Polish, however as much as I cannot pronounce any of the words, nor could I stomach a lot of the stodge I had sampled on a visit to Krakow one cold and lonely weekend a long time ago. And frankly, apart from atmosphere and the odd mixture of characters that bequest wartime Daquis in South Kensington, the Polish kitchen is not well represented in London. Knaypa comes close I am told.
It is purely worth going to Knaypa to see the boar skin on the wall of the restaurant downstairs. However, the two times I have we sat upstairs. The décor is very Polish, in the sense that it is highly colourful, theatrical but sways more towards Ikea bordello rather than bohemian eaterie. It is comfortable and if you don’t like the black bejewelled candle holders you may enjoy the sounds of polish pop (the sort that would make even Mr Sheen shine!) that is played here. The food is traditional Polish, but like a lot of over stuffed menus, Italianesque mozzarella options are available, which I think is naff, but perhaps needed to bring in the lunch crowd to keep this relatively new restaurant afloat. Back to the food. The borsch was mediocre, the chicken soup bland, but the main superb. My dining Polish connection had the Vollaille chicken which she said was the best she’s ever eaten – home made – the creamed spinach was a creamy and melt in your mouth tasty and the pork shank I had was if not too salty, cooked to perfection in a rich creamy sauce. The desserts are a bit sparse so I would go for a starter instead. There is the traditional soup served in a loaf of bread (zurek) and the cheese and onion pierogi are good. I suspect, and my Polish connection agrees, that the time to go would be either on a Friday night or Saturday and if there is a private party downstairs, gate crash it as Knaypa sometimes has traditional Polish folk music which is brilliant and when the great Poles get drunk, they dance. However a weekday pre-requsite at Knaypa is to fill up with as many carbs as you can so you can drag yourself a few metres, to the bar in POSK (Polski Osrodek Spoleczno Kulturalny, 238-246 King Street), sit at the bar and drink vodka to oblivion. 3/5
(or 3.75/5 if you manage to get a 25% discount voucher which are sometimes advertised on the website www.theknaypa.co.uk) 
268 King Street, Hammersmith
London W6 0SP
www.theknaypa.co.uk
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