Gdansk Restaurants

Possibly furnished with furniture stolen from an Ikea cafeteria, Bioway restaurant is exactly what an Ikea cafeteria would be like if they didn't serve Swedish meatballs. They've got soups, salads and hot entrees like pastas and mock meat products served cafeteria-style by friendly staff. They also have a kids' menu, desserts and fun beverages like fresh juice and smoothies. Customers can also access a computer terminal in the restaurant if they need a quick email check. The location in Gdansk is very close to the train station and is a good place to grab a healthy meal before your train ride. Highly recommended over the lesser Green Way.

Vegetarians are probably best served by packing their own trail mix when they visit Malbork (an easy day, or half-day, trip from Gdansk), just in case. When lunch rolled around my tummy started grumbling I realized that pretty much my only vegetarian option was fries and a milkshake at the local McDonalds. However, since I'd already had that exact meal for breakfast (don't ask!) I couldn't bring myself to double up on Mickey D's. Instead I headed back to the train station in hopes of catching a train back to Gdansk... and learning the next one wouldn't depart for almost two hours.

I wasn't going to die of hunger in Malbork, no siree! If worse came to worse I would just get a lot of calories from beer, so I headed to a little cafe-bar on the road beside the train station. Jazz Club looked like a makeshift shack decorated with granny's undusted, rusting antiques but seemed to be a proper restaurant (people were eating!). I asked if they had anything vegetarian. The waitress looked very confused. She told me to sit down.

I sat for a pretty long time. I wasn't sure if I was going to get food. People were looking at me strangely- clearly they'd heard the rumors that an honest-to-goodness vegetarian was in their little town! I may have been in the newspaper the next day, just saying...

Finally, the above plate arrived. Oh. My. God. I've eaten a potato pancake before, and I've eaten fried potato concoctions that actually changed my life (see my Sighet Marmatiei tips!) but these were something else. Mashed potato cakes deep fried, topped with a little drizzle of cream... AND SPRINKLED WITH SUGAR. Potatoes with cream and sugar! Why had I never thought of this? Basically the three best foods ever, all combined into one dish! These were devoured in about ten seconds and I'm pretty sure I left a thousand-zloty tip because my life could only go downhill from these potato pancakes. Best restaurant-in-a-shack surprise ever!

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The Mexican is located in Sopot rather than Gdansk, but as you might be there on a day trip I'm posting the information here.

I'm a glutton.

I'm also a glutton for punishment.

While I felt the pull of a fancy-looking Thai restaurant in resorty Sopot I had to go back to my (tenuous) Mexican roots and punish myself with a meal at The Mexican. I knew it wouldn't be good but I couldn't restrain myself. I wanted to know how bad cheap Mexican food in Poland would be. I was rewarded with one of the worst meals of my life (and a feeling of validation!). It was also the most expensive meal I ate in Poland, clocking in at 50 zloty (half of which I believe was due to my ill-advised margarita order).

Gross, gross, gross. If you want all the grease of Taco Bell but none of the flavour in a fly-infested environment with scantily-clad waitresses who have rolls of fat emerging from their miniscule costumes then The Mexican is the place for you. I had a vegetarian burrito which was full of questionable vegetables, topped with something that looked like- but definitely was not- guacamole, and served alongside a dill-flavored slaw. My margarita was about 75% water, 20% lime juice and 5% tequila.

I wouldn't be surprised if Poland declared war on Mexico just for inspiring this restaurant. I feel like Mexican narco-traffickers should be sentenced to a lifetime of eating here. I actually cut my tongue off after dining here as I was turned off food for like (okay, that last one is a lie).

AVOID.

Carte d'Or isn't exactly a local, niche ice creamery. Rather, it's a huge international chain owned by Unilever and with ice cream shops around Europe. However, Carte d'Or and similar Eastern European chains hold a special place in my heart for their tiny little scoops of ice cream that allow me to try different flavours without feeling like a glutton. I'm a sucker for anything pistachio or coffee-flavored, and the Carte d'Or location on ul. Długa satisfied my nutty, caffeine-y ice cream cravings while also allowing me to escape from the rain (yeah, I eat ice cream in the rain!). Their selection is huge and unlike gelaterias in Italy where you have to buy a fancy, schmancy concoction to eat at a table, you can get one measly little scoop of plain vanilla ice cream and still enjoy it seated at a table here. Rest your feet and cool your tongue at Carte d'Or!

I've mentioned that I was a bit ill when I was in Gdansk, and my overall gloominess was compounded by the cold, rainy August weather. During one afternoon downpour I just wanted a warm bowl of soup. Moments later I saw a sandwich board sign on the main tourist street for a place called Amsterdam Cafe, claiming to offer soups, salads and... BAGELS. Bagels are a carb-laden indulgence that I rarely allow myself back in Canada, much less in Poland. In other words, exactly what I needed!

I found myself in a relatively empty bar-style restaurant. There were a few other people who I thought were customers but who actually turned out to be either off-duty or half-assedly-working employees. Their menu had a few combinations that reminded me of a strip mall cafe in Canada- soups, salads, sandwiches and beers in all manner of combinations.

* Interlude: In Poland, "bagel" is spelled BAJGLE! *

Anyways, their online menu is only in Polish, but photographic evidence suggests that I had a combo with a sesame bagel, sun-dried tomato cream cheese, tomato soup (hidden under the bagel in the photo) and Greek salad. Note the three-dimensional serving platter in which objects are organized horizontally and vertically! This was also accompanied by a bizarre tea drink served with about four different components in little dishes for me to combine and pour hot water over.

Amsterdam Bar also has a big selection of imported bottled beers. I believe that there is often evening entertainment as well.

Although Green Way is one of Poland's most popular vegetarian restaurant chains I was unimpressed by my meal here. Vegetarian fast-food is made early in the day and kept warm in buffet-style heated cases. I chose a vegetarian "layer cake" that came accompanied with three salads. With an added (pre-made) fruit smoothie the total cost of my meal was 20 zloty. Overall th meal was a little bland and the ingredients incongruous- I wasn't sure what overall flavour or texture profile they were going for. Additionally I found the service a bit awkward. I accidentally arrived about twenty minutes before they closed. They didn't make their pending closing time very obvious and instead just treated me with a bit of hostility, hoping I'd leave I guess? I didn't figure out why they were so rude until I was leaving... at least a minute or two before their "official" closing time. There are definitely better choices in Gdansk (Bioway near the train station, for one).

Likes: A big plate with all different kinds of vegetarian perogies. Loves: A big plate with all different kinds of vegetarian perogies, artfully garnished with crispy-fried pork. Sometimes you've just got to laugh!

U Dzieka dedicates itself to perogies (and taxidermied boars). I asked for their mixed perogy plate to be served with some of their meatless choices, like "cottage cheese and potato", "cabbage and mushroom" and "cottage cheese, raisins and peach". Yes, I made it very clear that I am a vegetarian. And ss you can see I did receive a plate of eight perogies, all vegetarian... and topped with crispy pork! I just laughed, moved the pork to the side of my plate and dug in! Yum! With minimal dissecting I could identify the sweet perogies and save them for last- enjoying the woodsy wild mushrooms, creamy cheese and savory potato fillings before trying out berry-stuffed versions. My meal cost 21 zloty, which works out to about six US dollars.

I was stuffed with eight perogies but amazingly I noticed two teeny, tiny old Polish ladies at the table beside me eat TWENTY perogies- EACH! Oddly they both only drank half of their glasses of milk... I guess they were hydrated enough with all the melted butter on their plates! I'm not sure how many perogies you'll need to stay full, but I'd start with no more than eight per person!

When I arrived in Gdansk I was a bit under the weather and needed some healthy food to help my body get back in gear. I walked up and down the main tourist streets looking for something healthy and finally found Dwadzieścia Cztery Dania Bistro & Bar, which was serving up lots of internationally-inspired dishes on their cute outdoor patio and inside their trendy bar. As you can see I went for an Epic Vegetarian Salad- leafy greens, chickpeas, lentils, sundried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes and sprouts, with a nice balsamic vinegar. Finally, nutrients! Instead of accompanying my salad with a radler I went for a mug of warm herbal lemon-ginger "tea" with an orange slice. It soothed my sore throat and gave me a hit of Vitamin C, which I also needed! This restaurant has good options for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike, the patio offers good people-watching and the food is solid. If you're done with perogies, give it a try!