Saska Kępa
Aperitivo in Saska Kępa: the Italian ritual at ul. Francuska 24
Saska Kępa
For Italian aperitivo in Saska Kępa, come to Bottegas at ul. Francuska 24. The bar is open daily from 12:00 with a full Italian list, alcohol-free classics included, and Taggiasca olives come with your glass. The drinks card is at the table.
The word aperitivo comes from the Latin “aperire” — to open. The idea is to open the appetite before dinner. In Italy it's the moment between work and food, usually early in the evening: something bitter in a glass, lots of ice, a slice of orange and something small to nibble. You stand at the bar or sit for a while with friends. Nobody rushes.
For us, aperitivo is about the taste and the hour, not the alcohol content. That's why the list starts with Italian classics that have none, and we treat cocktails as a continuation of the same ritual. On Francuska the bar is open from midday, so aperitivo can start right after lunch and end at dinner.
The bar is part of our Italian restaurant in Saska Kępa — you can order pizza from the oven with your aperitivo.
Bitter alcohol-free aperitivi are in every bar in Italy, and they're as much a part of the ritual as cocktails. We serve them the way they do there: a small glass, lots of ice, a slice of orange, and Taggiasca olives on the side.
If you'd rather have something longer, the card also has alcohol-free versions of cocktails and Sicilian citrus sodas. Staff will tell you what we'd pick today.
A bitter taste is the base of aperitivo. Italians say it opens the appetite better than anything sweet — hence the herbal red aperitivi, the ice and the orange peel in the glass.
If you don't know where to start, tell us whether you like it more bitter, more citrusy or softer. We keep the drinks card on the table, not online — it's easier to choose in person anyway.
Sicily is citrus country: IGP blood oranges, lemons and late mandarins from around Palermo. That taste — fresh, a little bitter, clearly Sicilian — often comes back in what we serve at aperitivo and after dinner.
On Francuska we have a full Italian bar, from the simplest aperitivi to something to end the evening. We don't list it here — at the table it's easier to ask what goes with your food.
Aperitivo often turns into dinner, and at dinner many guests choose wine — by the glass or a bottle for the whole table.
From Lombardy and the Veneto to Sicily — a short list, but every bottle comes from a different corner of Italy. Staff will bring the wine card and help you choose for pizza or for fish.
Plenty of guests prefer beer with pizza, and we understand. There's beer on tap and an alcohol-free option too — the details are on the card at your table.
Aperitivo without food is just a drink. Every seated guest gets a small piece of hot, tall focaccia with a drop of olive oil, on us. If you want more, order the Focaccia della Casa (16 zł). Among the antipasti, the best fits are Sfizi di Mozzarella (29 zł), Arancini della Bottegas filled with our 4-hour ragù (32 zł for three) and Polpette al Sugo, meatballs braised in San Marzano DOP (42 zł for three). For two, the Tagliere Bottegas: Italian cured meats and cheeses, Taggiasca olives and focaccia (79 zł).
Aperitivo easily turns into dinner. A Margherita (39 zł) cut up in the middle of the table is the simplest snack there is, and the Mortadella pizza bianca with pistachios (55 zł) goes well with a bitter aperitivo. The full food menu is in the Bottegas Saska Kępa menu.
In Italy dinner ends with a small glass of something to help it settle, or an espresso. Here too: a small glass, no hurry. Ask at the table what we're pouring tonight.
The bar in Saska Kępa is part of the restaurant, not a separate place: you sit at a table or on the terrace, and staff take your order. There's more about the venue on the Bottegas Saska Kępa page, and about what an Italian restaurant in Warsaw means to us on a page of its own.
The bar at ul. Francuska 24 is open daily from 12:00 to 22:00, Fridays and Saturdays until 23:00. In Italy aperitivo is the time before dinner, but here you can start whenever you like.
Yes. Italian alcohol-free aperitivi come with ice, orange and Taggiasca olives, and there are zero-alcohol cocktails too. The full drinks card is waiting at your table.
Yes, Italian wines by the glass and by the bottle. You'll get the wine card, with prices, at the table.
For aperitivo usually not, but for dinner it's worth it. Book online or on +48 780 465 194.
Yes, dogs are welcome — inside and on the terrace.
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