On the trail of Gdańsk's perfect pierogi
A former Poland resident who has long been lukewarm about pierogi travels to Gdańsk to test whether the city's restaurants can finally win him over. After sampling several spots, he finds his favourite just outside town in Gdynia.
A writer who once lived and worked in Poland admits he has never shared his Polish friends' deep devotion to pierogi, the country's beloved dumplings. Friends repeatedly insisted his indifference simply meant he hadn't yet tasted a proper babcia's (grandmother's) homemade version.
To settle the matter, he travelled to Gdańsk, one of Poland's finest cities on the Baltic coast, and worked his way through several well-known pierogi restaurants.
A tour of the Tricity
At Gdański Bowke, he had a classic mixed plate of potato-and-cheese, cabbage-and-mushroom, and minced pork dumplings, served with sour cream and bacon bits. At a restaurant with panoramic views over the city's famous shipyard, he tried an unusual take: dumplings blackened with squid ink and filled with raspberry reduction and white chocolate, served as a main course rather than dessert. At Mandu, where dumplings are handmade on site from a menu of more than 40 varieties, he chose a baked option filled with beef, cheese, red onion and pickled cucumber. At Stary Młyn, housed in an old mill, he sampled a mixed plate of nine varieties, including beef rib and cod fillet fillings.
The winner, in Gdynia
His top pick came almost by chance in nearby Gdynia, at a Michelin-listed restaurant called Oberża 86. There, three small dumplings filled with broad beans and served with a shallot sauce and a local wine finally converted him. While the other restaurants scored between seven and eight out of ten, Oberża 86 earned the highest mark, nine out of ten.
