Time for a review of the first Michelin-starred restaurant in northern Poland: Arco. Arco opened in late 2019 and has been led from the outset by the restaurant’s chef patron, Paco Pérez, a Michelin-starred chef renowned for his innovative approach to Mediterranean cuisine and the use of regional ingredients. The head chef at Arco is the equally talented and delightfully charming Antonio Arcieri. Chef Antonio hails from Calabria in Italy but has primarily honed his skills in Spain. The result of this blend is a wonderful combination of Spanish, Italian, and Polish cuisine, with increasingly bold regional influences – but more on that later.
Arco is located on the 33rd floor of the Olivia Star office building, situated in the office complex in the Oliwa district of Gdańsk. Nothing particularly unusual – something a corporate worker knows well from their daily commute. However, Olivia Star is also the tallest building in northern Poland, not too far from the sea, offering beautiful views all year round. Upon entering the building, you simply head to reception, and from there, the way is taken care of. After taking the lift to the 32nd floor, where the observation deck is located, a restaurant staff member will guide you to the 33rd floor, home to two restaurants – the Michelin-starred Arco and the Bib Gourmand-rated Treinta y Tres (also well worth a visit). As soon as you step inside, the entire team greets you with a smile, which is a lovely touch. You can also take a look around the open kitchen and watch the team at work. It’s worth noting that after receiving the star, the team has significantly expanded, reflecting the growing interest in the restaurant.
The restaurant’s interior is decorated in white, beige, and gold tones, with darker wood accents. Perhaps the best comparison for this colour scheme is amber. The round tables are draped with long white tablecloths, and on each table stands a beautiful decoration in the shape of a sea buckthorn branch, crafted from silver and amber. This is a lovely nod to the seaside location and the subtle notes of sea buckthorn that can also be found in the dishes.
The relatively simple interior serves as a beautiful frame for the windows. In winter, due to the short days, you can admire the lights of the Tri-City. During the summer, the windows offer a view of the entire Tri-City and the whole of Gdańsk Bay. On a clear day, you can spot the Hel Peninsula, and if you’re lucky, you might even catch the most beautiful sunset.
Now, let’s move on to the menu! If you want to experience the favourite flavours of Arco’s guests, it’s worth choosing the Hall of Fame menu, consisting of 10 experiences and slightly larger portions of individual dishes.
For fans of vegetarian options, there’s the Green Green Grass menu, also comprising 10 experiences. However, we wholeheartedly recommend the menu titled De Rerum Natura, consisting of 24 experiences. With each menu, you can choose a wine pairing – either the basic option (The Art of Tasting) or the premium option, featuring wines from exceptional vineyards around the world.
The De Rerum Natura menu takes its name from Lucretius’ poem from the 1st century BC, which presents an exposition of Epicurean philosophy.
The “De Rerum Natura” menu is in a way a tribute to Epicurean philosophy, where the pleasure of food is combined with contemplation and respect for nature. Each dish in this tasting journey is carefully composed to showcase the richness of natural ingredients in their purest form.
The tasting menu is clearly divided into three parts – garden, sea, and earth. The first part included tapas inspired by Polish cuisine – a cebularz (onion flatbread) in the form of a doughnut with a wonderfully aromatic warm onion filling, an original interpretation of a pierogi ruskie (curd and potato filled dumpligs) without dough, and a pumpkin tartlet with the crisp texture of freeze-dried sponge cake, featuring pumpkin in various forms, as well as a fragrant cauliflower emulsion with cauliflower couscous.
After the tapas, three types of freshly baked bread were presented on a large tray, perfectly matched to the three parts of the dinner – brioche, focaccia, and sourdough – all warm, aromatic, and served with exquisite Catalan olive oil.
We were then taken back to the garden with a delicate and refreshing gazpacho made from three types of tomatoes, with a Kaszubian (region in the the North of Poland) strawberry granita added to the plate at the table. The perfect dish for hot summer days.
The next offering was a combination of olives, fennel, and grapefruit, which delighted us with its harmony and intensity, as well as its unusual form – the olives had the shape and taste of olives but appeared as jellies. The final garden dish was one of the brightest stars of the menu – pasta e patate, a dish inspired by a traditional meal from Calabria, but with nothing in common with the original besides its genius taste. The pasta was not pasta; it took the form of jelly tubes, enveloped in a wonderfully smooth and fluffy potato emulsion.
The sea section of the menu transports us, even if only for a moment, to the Mediterranean. The seafood at Arco is presented in masterful form. The tapas included mussels in dill escabeche, razor clams served as a wasabi and olive salad, sweet and crispy mini tacos with crab and chilli, a tartlet with rainbow trout and caviar, and the star – an oyster with homemade fermented beetroot juice (another Polish touch, which pairs beautifully with the oyster) and a sour cream pearl.
The next dish is meant to be a surprise for the guests – the titular seahorse soup actually consists of squid dyed with sepia, squid soup, and spinach. The flavour is exceptionally intense, and it also looks fascinating.
Another beautiful dish is perfectly cooked sturgeon with a parsley emulsion encircling the entire dish, caviar, and a perfectly creamy citrus sauce. Simply poetic.
The transition to the third part, based on the bounty of the land, focusing on various meats, is really a proposal of different versions of surf and turf or, as some might prefer, terra e mare. The first offering was sea cucumber, served with lamb ragout. The sea cucumber somewhat playfully serves as the pasta. A slightly smoky grilled aroma pairs beautifully with the aromatic ragout, creating an unforgettable composition. The next dish follows a similar spirit. This time, we were served raw red prawns atop a wild boar ragout, shaped like Japanese nigiri. Seemingly incompatible ingredients create a sensational composition on the plate – the sea flavour of the prawns pairs perfectly with the intense taste of the wild boar.
Next came a snack of ham, styled like jamón, made from Kashubian goose leg, served on a piece of brioche soaked in aromatic sauce. Following this was exceptional pork sourced from a special breed of acorn-fed pigs, with cucumber gel and hoisin sauce with nduja.
The next offering was risotto made from Polish groseran cheese, a long-aged cheese reminiscent of parmesan. This dish is full of flavour, but it’s also worth noting that it’s very salty, so it pairs excellently with the wine. The savoury courses concluded with duck and sea buckthorn spaghetti, accompanied by another intensely flavourful sauce.
After such a feast, we moved on to desserts, beginning with a portion of local cheese and a pre-dessert of rhubarb sorbet. The next offering was a honeycomb – honey cream with various honeys from Warmia, laid on a crisp wafer. The dessert itself is delicate, but the honey flavour is unmistakable, and it’s a bit of a shame that it’s over so quickly. But you have to save room for one more dessert, inspired by the Wadowice cream cake (called kremówka) but playfully called a “creamówka.” The dessert is based on almonds, cocoa, and butter. It’s sweet, crunchy, yet refreshing thanks to the sorbet. Exactly how a dessert should be. At the end of the meal, we were served pralines filled with notes of bison grass, seaweed, and forest mushrooms. But by this point, there’s usually no room left for them, even though they are delicious.
We also opted for the wine pairing at Arco. You could easily write a separate story about it, but to keep this review concise, we’ll just say that the wine pairing at Arco is perfect. Each wine pairs beautifully with the dish. Every one is exceptional, even if you don’t choose the “exceptional vineyards” version. Each wine is carefully presented – you’ll want to hear even more. It’s a safe bet.
Finally, a few words on the service. In fact, it can be summed up in two words: it’s flawless. Nothing more to add, nothing to take away.
The entire experience is worth every moment spent in the restaurant. The dishes are beautifully presented, imaginative, and exceptional. Is it worth visiting Arco? It’s a must. Another star for this place is only a matter of time.