Pierogi have always been a strictly annual affair in my family. On Christmas the whole household would be involved in the venture: dad would make the stuffing, mum would knead the dough, and my siblings would cut the dough into circles and before we would all fill and seal the dumplings. We would eat the fruit of our labour on Christmas eve and then not touch it for another twelve months. It seemed appropriate that we should treat ourselves to the meal only once a year, as it was far too good to be consumed on the daily.
Now that I live in London, surrounded by restaurant upon restaurant offering its take on the dish, the dumpling has perhaps lost some of its sanctity. I on the other hand, had become a true connoisseur of the dish, and, after many years of investigation, I am ready to share my findings on where to eat pierogi in London
Daquise
20 Thurloe St, South Kensington, London SW7 2LT
Open: 12–4pm, 6–10pm Monday- Friday and 12–10pm Saturday – Sunday
It would be inappropriate to begin this list with any place other than Daquise, London’s matriarch of Polish dining.
The tiny restaurant in South Kensington opened in 1947, initially catering to the Polsih military families who remained in London following the war. In the 1960s it became fashionable with London’s Eastern European visitors. Most famously it is where Christine Keeler and the Soviet spy Yevgeny Ivanov, stars of Britain’s most famous sex scandal The Profumo Affair, used to meet. ( Roman Polanski also used to make daily visits while filming Repulsion, but we don’t talk about that any more.)
Today, the restaurant has a romantic air about it of a distressed but chic aristocrat who can still entertain guests with wild tales of pre-war splendor and extravagance, as well as, of course, splendid pierogi.
Daquise offers three pierogi fillings: Cheese and potato, cabbage and mushroom (a Christmas classic) and wild boar. The first is a solid and safe choice, while cabbage and mushrooms are more of an acquired taste. Wild boar is a treat you will not get anywhere else, but as you can imagine, this kind of pedigree does not come cheap.
A portion of six medium sized pierogi is £12 (or you can get three for £6). The dish is intended as a lunchtime snack or a starter to a main meal like rabbit in thyme and mustard sauce (delicious) or poussin stuffed with apples and apricots (also delicious).
Mamuśka!
9 Addington St, London SE1 7RY
Open: 12pm – 11pm Monday-Sunday
If Daquise is the elegant aristocrat sent to the shores of Britain by winds of unforgiving war, then Mamuśka represents the new generation of Polish migrants, who moved to the UK for less dramatic reasons. Opened in 2014 it quickly became a hit with London’s Polish population, by offering large and hearty home-made meals with an unpretentious milk-bar aesthetic. Milk-bars – for those interested – were a staple of communist Poland which offered canteen-adjacent food at a low price. In the last ten years these establishments experienced an ironic hipster resurgence in Poland, the waves of which Mamuśka is hoping to ride in the UK, as evidenced by the faux-communist signage randomly scattered around the venue.
The portions at Mamuśka are large – personally I have never managed to finish a three course meal – and very reasonably priced. The pierogi is what makes the restaurant stand out, and it is the perfect spot for those who are looking for their first dumpling experience. The portions come in two sizes, six for £6 or twelve for £10, the dumplings are also a bit chunkier than their Daquise cousins. The dish can be ordered with a number of toppings including sour-cream, fried onion, and bacon (or a mix of two). For an extra pound you can have your pierogi fried, a tasty if not a healthy decision.
The choice of fillings is also far wider than at Daquise, but goat cheese and spinach, as well as beef are my recommendations.
With great food, cheap prices, and huge servings, Mamuska’s only sin is the bizarre music choice. While one time I did find the venue playing Polish 80s and 90s rock – an obvious choice given the stripped back, industrial decor – Mamuska’s favourite playlist seems to include eurodance tracks borrowed from the kind of nightclub that does £1 jäger bombs. Still, with a suitable amount of pints (Mamuska does have a lovely selection of Polish beer) and the right company you will easily be able to muffle the sounds of Cascada.
Folk house Zakopane
77 Westbury Ave, London N22 6SA
Open 11am – 10pm Monday – Friday, 10am – 10pm Saturday – Sunday
To compile this list, I thought I would try out some of the lesser known pierogi spots off the beaten track. This way I found myself in Hornsey at a Polish highlander restaurant, Folk house Zakopane.
The very small restaurant is squeezed between an electronics repair shop and a residential home. Inside, it is decked out with trinkets – including a novelty wooden penis-measurer – familiar to anyone who has ever visited a gift-shop during a skiing holiday in the Polish highlands. There is also a large TV, which during my visit was tuned into Channel One of Polish state television, airing a news piece on staffies attacking smaller dogs (graphic images and all).
The two staff members, with the general appearance of club bouncers, seemed rather perplexed by my presence at the restaurant, although to be fair I was the lone guest visiting in the early afternoon of a weekday.
I was hoping that the incredibly corny Polish vibe and the chutzpah of the staff would translate to very decent home-made pierogi. I ordered a portion of meat-filled dumplings at a banging price of £7, but I am sorry to say that my pierogi were a mushy and disintegrated disappointment served in a shallow pool of boiled water on a wooden tray.
That being said, pierogi are not the restaurant’s speciality, and I did see some very appetizing oscypeks (smoked sheep milk cheese made in the Tatra mountains) which I unfortunately did not have the time to try. While I would not recommend the spot for those interested in eating pierogi, it is the go-to for those who want to inhale some authentic Polish vibes without leaving zone 3.
Zima,
45 Frith St, London W1D 4SD
Open 5pm – 10:30pm Monday-Sunday
How else to end, if not with some controversy. Zima is a Russian restaurant, and in Russia you can ask for pierogi but you will be served a yeast-leavened baked bun. To get the dish commonly-known as pierogi you would have to ask for pelmeni, which is what I did.
Zima, by the way, is a charming venue in Soho tastefully decorated with folk and contemporary art. It acts as a restaurant, a bar, a picklery, an art gallery, and a cultural centre with its own Russian-language magazine. It is not, however, cheap, although it does claim that its caviar is the cheapest in town.
Having ordered a platter of zakuski – a sort of Russian tapas, each bite of which should traditionally be accompanied by a shot of vodka – a side of buckwheat and mushroom, and a dish of fish pelmeni in squid ink dough, I was worried I would be left hungry. A fear which turned out to be wholly unwarranted.
When I was served my pitch black pelmeni with fresh cherry tomatoes and salmon roe, it felt decadent, although £12 for seven small-ish pelmeni is not unreasonable. The dish would be perfect for any pierogi veterans who are looking to expand their pallets.