Category: Poland

For the first time I’ve been here, Gdansk feels busy and that’s also noticeable with the increased hotel prices. Some of this seems to be couples coming to the city a week early for Valentine’s Day, and I’ve heard now several English speaking couples, the first I’ve noticed after my few weeks here. Despite the increased room rates, I was able to get a single room at the centrally located Kobza Haus for £25, which I thought was reasonable. The single rooms are often the last to go, which makes them quite price competitive. I decided not to pay extra for the breakfast on this occasion, as it was around £10 which seemed a little excessive to me.

The bed is wider than the photo suggests, as indeed was the room in general. This room is on the top floor, so high up that the lift doesn’t even reach there. It was clean and comfortable (the room, not the lift), with the wi-fi being fast, which is handy for my photo back-up to the Cloud that I’ve got behind on. The window arrangement was odd as it took all of my six foot of height to be able to open one of the windows, although perhaps they didn’t want guests fiddling with their set-up.

This seems mean-spirited to me, although didn’t impact me as I was only there for one night. This reminds me to comment that I’m not sure that I entirely understand the decision of hotel chains such as Accor who are currently offering £8 off every stay. That means if I stay for one night I’ll get £8 off, a free welcome drink and a welcome gift, whereas if I stay for five nights I’ll get exactly the same. I would have been disappointed to have been promised tea and coffee facilities during a stay which actually meant “tea and coffee just for the first night”. Anyway, my annoyance is for other customers on this occasion.

There were a few minor internal noise disturbances, but nothing from outside, so all was well. In terms of location this is ideal for anyone visiting Gdansk, and it’s a clean and comfortable option with friendly staff. But buy your own tea and coffee……

One of the advantages in my having been to Gdansk numerous times before is that I’ve visited just about all the museums and historic sites, so my stay is now much more leisurely without rushing around trying to complete the cultural opportunities. I’m running out of independent cafes and restaurants to visit now as well, although I’m pleased to see Gdansk’s vibrancy means that more are opening up. And with that spare time from not rushing about, I decided to try another chain that has been growing in popularity in Poland, but which I haven’t visited before. It’s located within the Forum shopping centre and the above photo is the view from their outside area.

It’s a Swedish chain which was founded in 1968 and which started to expand to other countries over the last decade. There are currently 16 Max Burger outlets in Poland and more of them are planned.

The set-up inside, with numerous self-service machines to the left just out of my photo and the counter ordering and pick-up visible above. It’s a large outlet, all bright and clean with plenty of space to wait and not get in the way of other customers.

The relatively extensive views of Gdansk from the windows, they’ve got a prime position here within the shopping centre. Opposite the frontage of this burger restaurant is the rest of the food court which has shared seating, so I imagine this set-up is quite an expensive one for the company.

This photo isn’t really of the huge pillar, although I accept that is in the centre….. I just liked the variety of seating types that they have inside, including the raised tables. During my visit at least it was a quiet environment which didn’t feel rushed or stressed. They’ve also got power points dotted around the place, which is another sign of a restaurant that doesn’t feel the need to have the sort of Five Guys set-up where the harsh design of the interior almost feels designed to get customers out as quickly as possible.

And the meal itself, I just went for their classic burger set and the cost of this is about the same as a Big Mac meal at McDonald’s, so they’re quite price competitive. The burger was meaty and juicy, the onion and gherkin adding texture and taste, with the cheese hard to notice but I’m sure contributed to the flavour. The drink was just Fanta, but the star of this little show was definitely the fries. These were better than those from their main rivals of Burger King and McDonald’s, thin, crispy and with quite a pleasant bite to them.

The venue is fairly well reviewed on-line, it seems that most of the negatives relate to the waiting times, although my food was ready within three minutes. It seemingly gets busy usually, although on the Saturday lunchtime that I visited it was fairly quiet. Given that the price point is competitive with McDonald’s, I can see that this chain will become more popular given that it’s something different and I’d say the standard is high and the restaurant seemed clean and organised. Admittedly it’s not fine dining (well, I think it is, but I accept no-one else does), but I’m pleased that I popped in……

I write frequently about craft beer and its growth around the world (well, it stops me from posting frequently about Greggs or something….), not just in countries such as the United States and the UK, but also countries such as Poland where new breweries and bars are opening at some considerable pace. This is a marvellous trend and it’s noticeable at https://ontap.pl/ not just how many bars are opening, but also the breadth of the beers that they sell.

In central Gdansk, I’ve found what I consider to be the best three craft beer bars, Pułapka, Under Beer and Labeerynt. Any visitor coming to the city who appreciates the delights of craft beer should absolutely visit all three as far as I’m concerned….

PUŁAPKA

I first visited here in January 2020, and it was one of my favourite pubs of that year, although of course a few weeks after I visited the world changed somewhat. A well balanced variety of beer options with friendly staff who were knowledgeable about what was available. The bar has been open for several years and seems to be popular with locals and visitors, with the atmosphere being laid-back and informal. It’s in the Old Town of Gdansk although visitors to the city probably wouldn’t just stumble across the bar, it’s something of a destination venue. The bar’s name meaning ‘trap’ in English, which is a good way to describe many craft beer bars, albeit welcome traps that I’m happy not to get released from too quickly. They offer basic food such as sandwiches and the like, along with a few bar snacks.

LABEERYNT

I visited here a couple of weeks ago, adding that it was the first time that I had been to this cellar bar. However, I noticed that an early post on my blog shows that I have been before a few years ago, which was actually half the reason that I started this blog, as I get muddled up with where I’ve been. Anyway, that confusion aside, there’s a very acceptable range of beers available across a wide variety of styles, all cleared marked up on the blackboard. The staff member was friendly and helpful, with the bar being clean, albeit it slightly dark because of its cellar arrangement.

UNDER BEER

And my favourite craft beer bar of them all is Under Beer, an understated and quite charming arrangement. They are relying on their cans and bottles which are in the fridges, but the selection is excellent and I like that the set-up almost requires them to engage with the customer. This adds to the whole warmth of the venue and so it feels more welcoming. I was so surprised and delighted with the range of beer options that I took some away with me as well, something that I can’t recall doing for some years, but I’ve discovered just how good Funky Fluid are now. The bagel I bought was also much better than I expected, it was served as a large portion and tasted quite delicious. A comfortable environment, excellent beer and welcoming staff, all really rather lovely.

And thanks to Untappd’s app for helping me find these venues, I think an absolutely essential craft beer finding tool. My account is at https://untappd.com/user/julwhite.

After another busy morning (well, I thought so anyway), today’s lunch stop was Pikawa which is centrally located in Gdansk and is more sizeable than its frontage might suggest. This leads me off on another of my random general meanderings, but this venue is absolutely clear what it is, it’s a cafe which verges more into a bar in the evening. Venues in Poland seem to have a clarity I rarely experience in other countries, although Google helps enormously here by marking a venue as a cafe, a bar or a restaurant which makes matters much easier. There are some countries that I’m endlessly confused in, not least most of the southern European countries. Anyway, I digress.

The surroundings are comfortable and modern, there’s a very laid-back atmosphere here. It was moderately busy at lunch-time, I just took the photo during a quiet period. Customers wait at the door to be seated and then table service is offered, which is slightly unusual for a cafe, but the process is made clear here.

I might have given myself a sugar overdose with this, but it was very enjoyable. I decided to opt for a carrot for lunch, which came in the form of a cake with cream, but I think that still counts. The hot chocolate with cream is a bit like a fruit smoothie, just served with chocolate instead of fruit. I think overall I’d claim this to be healthy. As for the food and drink, the hot chocolate was suitably rich and decadent. The carrot cake was moist and served as a bigger portion than I probably needed, but it seemed fresh and tasted of a very good quality. I probably didn’t need that much whipped cream, but life is all about learning from mistakes.

The element I liked most here is that I was able to read a book on my phone with no disturbance or hurry from the staff to leave. Indeed, I had to ask for the bill in the end, which was easy enough to do, but I liked the slow pace of this cafe. Some locations seem hard-wired to get customers in and out as fast as they can, but here the service was slow although still orderly. The staff were friendly and helpful, knowledgeable about the menu and personable in the way they dealt with customers.

I liked that they had a selection of different beers here as well, although I didn’t have one on this occasion, but I’m pleased that this is becoming ever more common on menus. The prices were moderate, and I entirely enjoyed the ninety minutes or so that I was in the cafe for. All professionally run, clean, organised and I’d remember just how laid-back and comfortable it all was. I’m liking the slow pace that Gdansk offers so readily, in what remains a modern and vibrant city.

Well, more late evening than night, but anyway. Just photos in this post, of varying quality, but this is a beautiful city and that’s just as evident in the evening.

Ostro is a well-reviewed relatively small pizza restaurant overlooking the river in Gdansk which prides itself on the authenticity of their Neapolitan pizzas.

When I entered I was given the last available table downstairs and I think it was full upstairs as well. There is an external seating area for when the weather is more temperate, which it is most certainly not in early February. There’s a well stocked bar and then four tables downstairs, which are placed relatively close together. I was given a table for four and it would have been difficult if there actually were four of us as there wasn’t a lot of space.

There was a few beer options, I hadn’t had this Bock beer, Kozlak, from Browar Amber before and it was entirely acceptable. I think it’s positive to see that restaurants seem to be routinely offering a selection of bottled beers now, this whole situation is definitely getting better. There was a wine menu as well though for those customers who prefer that option.

There are a number of rules that have to be followed in sourcing ingredients to claim an authentic Neapolitan pizza, particularly with regards to the cheese and tomatoes used. This restaurant shows how they meet those rules and they also offer some guidance to customers on how to eat the pizza, although I noticed that most people in the restaurant seemed to ignore their suggestions. I liked this place-mat, it’s a reminder of how difficult it is to get right the requirements for an authentic pizza of this style.

And the pizza, yet again made smaller by the wide angle of my phone, but actually quite a generous size. The quality of this was well above average, the richness of the tomatoes was perhaps the strongest element, but the crust was light and fluffy as well. Some heat from the jalapenos and flavour from the bacon, a really quite delightful pizza that was at the appropriate hot temperature.

The staff in the restaurant were friendly and engaging, with the service being pro-active and polite. Despite the clear need for this restaurant to turn over tables quickly given their relatively small size (the restaurant, not the tables), I was never rushed and I thought that the atmosphere was suitably comfortable. I read a chunk of a book on my phone during the meal and there are some pleasant views of the river, although my table wasn’t best placed for that.

Anyway, I’d merrily recommend this restaurant, and I think that they offer takeaways and deliveries as well. I suspect this restaurant is difficult to get into during the summer months when tourists flock to the city, but it’s worth the effort to get a table.