What to eat in Gdańsk
Gdańsk eats the Polish menu with a speciality of its own in a glass — a liqueur with real gold flakes in it, as old as the port itself.
- Lunch
- A milk bar, a hot meal for €3–6
- Pierogi
- Beef and pork
- Żurek
- Sour rye soup with sausage, €8.22
Gdańsk eats what the rest of Poland eats — pierogi, żurek, a set lunch at a milk bar — but it also has a drink tied to the port itself: Goldwasser, a liqueur with real flakes of gold floating in it. A hot meal at a milk bar is €3–6, and a plate of pierogi €9.58–10.04.
Lunch as the rest of Poland eats it
A milk bar (bar mleczny) is a self-service canteen with a daily menu, a leftover from when the state subsidised a cheap hot meal — and it's still the cheapest way to have lunch downtown. Order at the counter, pay upfront and sit wherever there's room; a meal runs €3–6.
Dinner
Dinner moves from the canteen to a proper restaurant plate. Beef and pork pierogi come as a plate of ten, €9.58–10.04. Żurek, sour rye soup cooked with smoked bacon, white sausage and a quail's egg, is €8.22 for a 200 ml bowl — at the Goldwasser restaurant on the Motława it sits on the menu right next to the liqueur that gave the place its name.
The gold-flake liqueur
The restaurant from the previous paragraph borrows this same name, but the liqueur itself is poured all over the city, not only there. It's clear, spiced, with real flakes of gold actually floating in it — a recipe centuries old, tied to Gdańsk's trading past. A 40 ml pour is €5.48.
PG4
Anyone who wants something less sweet after the liqueur turns to beer. The PG4 brewery makes its own beer and pours it on site; a half-litre glass is €5.25. Unlike the milk bar and the pierogi, this is an evening stop for a drink, after dinner.
Zapiekanka
For a quick bite between meals, no table or waiter is needed. Zapiekanka is half a baguette topped with mushrooms, cheese and ketchup, baked until the cheese melts — Poland's answer to a quick bite, cheaper than either the pierogi or a restaurant. A small or large one runs €2.28–4.11.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Can anyone eat at a milk bar, or is it only for locals?
Anyone — the self-service canteen is open to all, order at the counter like any local; a hot meal is €3–6.
Where is Goldwasser best tried?
At the Goldwasser restaurant on the Motława, which took its name from the drink; żurek sits on its menu right next to the liqueur. A 40 ml pour is €5.48.
Which is cheaper, pierogi or zapiekanka?
Zapiekanka — €2.28–4.11 against €9.58–10.04 for a plate of ten pierogi. Pierogi is a proper meal; zapiekanka is a snack.
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