Answers: A, B, and C
Business dinners normally take place in late evening and are hearty meals. They are usually held in luxurious restaurants and generally do not include spouses unless the visitor has been a guest in the home. As a form of business entertainment, companies also sponsor theater events, concerts, and the like. Business entertainment in the home is uncommon, except perhaps for large parties at the holidays.
Business breakfast meetings are popular in some of Warsaw's major hotels that provide lavish buffets, but business breakfasts are uncommon otherwise. Cafés are popular places for casual business meetings.
Poles generally do not discuss business outside normal business hours. However, feel free to do so if your host introduces the topic.
In a restaurant
Although traditional Polish and Polish/Austrian restaurants predominate, new restaurants are becoming available in the major cities offering international, Greek, Indian, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, U.S., and Kosher cuisine. In the major cities, elegant and sophisticated and sometimes historic restaurants can be found.
The person who extends the invitation to a restaurant is generally expected to pay.
Polish hospitality extends to restaurant hours: many restaurants do not list closing hours, but instead are open "until the last guest leaves."
Night-time entertainment
In the cities, particularly Warsaw, live music, dancing, nightclubs and casinos abound, accommodating all tastes. It is best to seek recommendations from colleagues. Be aware that a number of the more exclusive nightclubs select their guests at the door.
Excerpted from Living Abroad's Poland report/Business Entertaining.
Written by Michael Cadden, SGMS-T, VP International Operations
