Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: Cukiernia Sowa

Monday : Siedlce to Mokotów Holiday Inn Express via Warsaw Bars

Continuing this story of a soggy Siedlce railway station…. The railway station was constructed in 1866 and, to be honest, it probably needs a bit of modernisation in the way that similar locations are being transformed across Poland. The original buildings were burnt down before the Second World, replaced with rather functional post-war structures and then modernised a bit for when the Pope visited. Handy arrangement that, get a new railway station by the Pope visiting, perhaps he could pop to a few places in the UK that I think need one.

Same sort of train as I got to get to Siedlce, operated by Koleje Mazowieckie. On time again, very reliable.

And not at all busy. Spotlessly clean again.

Back into Warsaw Śródmieście railway station, which always feels Russian to me.

I mentioned in a previous post that there’s only one track here and the railway carriages can be accessed from either side, it’s a bit more obvious in this photo.

I hadn’t been to Hoppiness in Warsaw on this trip, so I treated myself to a decadent and suitably rich beer, the Fruit Machine from Browar Monsters, including passion fruit, white guava, pineapple and vanilla. Very healthy and nutritious.

I couldn’t resist a little trip to Cukiernia Sowa either, one of my favourite Polish chains that I frequently mentioned. I can’t claim great entertainment of new places to write about here, since this is another repeat visit, but quality deserves checking on again and again.

The Siedlce rain reached Warsaw and so I panicked and rushed into a pub for safety. I sat with this beer in PINTA for over an hour, not because it was annoying me somehow, but because it was so rich that it deserved to be savoured slowly. Oh, and it was still raining outside, so I wasn’t going anywhere. And what a beautiful beer, another from PINTA themselves, as this is their taproom, and I had several in this range of imperial stouts at the Warsaw Beer Festival a few months back. This beer was no less delightful, being smooth, rich, velvety, coconuty and a perfect drink for when it’s wet outside. Or indeed when it’s dry outside. That reminds me, I must go back to the Warsaw Beer Festival next year.

There’s the outside of PINTA when it’s not pouring down with rain.

Another tram journey as I was heading towards a hotel I had never stayed in before, the Mokotów Holiday Inn Express.

I may have mentioned before, indeed on several occasions, that I’d like to see more tram services in the UK. They’re much better than buses, they’re easier to board and usually quicker.

I popped to Lidl for two things and they have self-service checkouts, which I’m not sure whether or not is a thing in the UK ones. Anyway, I was third in the queue, and the woman in front of me said to go ahead of her as she had about fifteen things, then so did the woman in front and then the woman in front of her, so I didn’t have to wait very long. I kept trying to say no, as I wasn’t in a rush and hate queue jumping, but I admire the Polish style about these things. It’s a warm feeling about humanity in general. Anyway, there’s a nice bridge to cross the road with.

And the view from above the road, with the tram lines sweeping through. A thoroughly modern city, but I’ve mentioned that about Warsaw before.

My abode for the night, the Holiday Inn Express.

This is one of the best rooms I’ve had in a Holiday Inn Express, not least because the air conditioning worked and the windows opened. It was rather lovely listening to trams clanking on by, I like that sort of street noise, but I could have shut the windows if I didn’t want to hear it. The room was clean, the staff member at reception was friendly, I very much liked the whole arrangement. Unlike the UK, where the night-time street sounds are added to by about 15 groups of drunk groups shouting and smashing things, Poland doesn’t have anywhere near the same problem.

Looking back the other way, I quite like that desk arrangement, it’s a well thought out room, I’d happily stay here again. It was good to be back in Warsaw for one night, but I don’t think anyone who reads this blog would have expected me to write anything different. There was a new week ahead and I was on the move to Katowice.

June 28, 2022
Gdansk – Cukiernia Sowa (Ulica Długa)

This is the first day in Poland on this trip that I didn’t have breakfast at the hotel, so I thought that I’d pop to my favourite Polish chain that is Cukiernia Sowa. This is a substantial sized shop on Ulica Długa, the city’s main street, and it stretches across numerous properties.

Just as I thought I knew Cukiernia Sowa and their set-up, I realised (well, was told by a polite staff member) that there was table service offered and the counter service was for take-away customers only. I was reassured though to note that from a few on-line reviews and customers in the shop that others were also confused. The usual tempting display of cakes is visible though, all looking beautiful and well presented.

I had a pleasant seat by the window. The staff member took a few minutes to come over but he was helpful, although seemed moderately surprised that my order was limited to a hot chocolate. They do more substantial meals here to an extent that I haven’t seen before in this chain, the cheese and meat platters looked interesting, but I was saving myself for my lunchtime pizza that I had been planning elsewhere.

And here’s the entirety of my order, the hot chocolate. I might have been tempted (as I set the bar quite low here on being tempted by an eclair or something) to get a pastry with it if ordering at the counter, but I couldn’t be faffing with that for table service. It’s a rich hot chocolate that you can stand a spoon up in, always a delight, and it costs around £1.70, which I think is a bargain for such decadence.

As usual, the environment here is calm and comfortable, quite a cosy little arrangement. It took me a few minutes to get the staff member’s attention to get the bill, but it wasn’t an excessive wait. I can see why they’ve switched to table service here, as most customers probably want something a little more substantial and that’s more difficult for the staff members to deal with at the counter in a busy environment. I’m sure one day that will be replaced with ordering via an app, which is always a handy option for me. Anyway, I recommend the hot chocolates here, very delightful.

February 6, 2022
Gdansk – Cukiernia Sowa (Madison Shopping Mall)

It’s always worth quickly popping into one of the Cukiernia Sowa outlets when I see one, in this case inside the Madison Shopping Mall in Gdansk. The service was polite and engaging as usual, all very friendly. There was the usual wide selection of cakes, pastries, ice creams and the like, all neatly presented and suitably tempting.

As an aside, it’s hard to know where to sit at the moment in some places as every other table in many locations has a sign saying not to use, but then people sit at that one anyway and confuse the system of social distancing. The Polish seem to be more guilty of not reading things than not wanting to comply with things. Anyway, that dilemma aside, the environment in this shop was peaceful, despite its shopping mall location, and everything was clean and ordered.

The very rich and decadent hot chocolate, something I’d rather Pret introduced in the UK to replace their current more lacklustre offering. And the chocolate eclair which was light and chocolately, and probably containing a large number of calories.

There’s probably not much more I can add to previous things I’ve written about this chain, although it reminds me that I forgot again to go to their new outlet in London. I’ll try and remember for next time. All really rather lovely and moderately priced.

January 23, 2022
Warsaw – Cukiernia Sowa (ul. Grochowska 207)

One of the reasons for this little blog is to help remind me where I’ve been, which is important when trying to visit all of the outlets of Cukiernia Sowa in Poland. I have to some way to go as there are in the hundreds and I’ve been to under ten, but it’s good to be aspirational. I also keep forgetting to visit the couple of branches that the company has recently opened up in London, there’s one in Ealing and another in Sutton at the moment.

This outlet is in a shopping centre and it’s only got a couple of tables, which makes getting a seat quite challenging. When we visited it was a little awkward as the seats were taken, but a friendly Polish man said that we could sit with him and he was leaving soon anyway.

The sole staff member didn’t speak English, which is a little unusual, but we were outside of the central tourist area and she was endlessly helpful with Richard’s requirements.

Richard went for some cake and a very decadent hot chocolate, which looked very appetising. I went for my standard order of an eclair and a latte, all carefully presented and as tasty as I remember. This remains one of my favourite Polish chains, with the environment being clean, the service friendly and the food and drink of an excellent quality. Indeed, looking at this photo is making me miss Poland….

December 6, 2021
Warsaw – Cukiernia Sowa (ul. Chmielna)

And back to an outlet of Cukiernia Sowa….. I’ve posted about other visits to this chain over the last couple of weeks, so I won’t repeat the concept behind the operation. But, I very much like their friendly staff, comfortable cafes and the cheap prices, they are my Polish Greggs.

Big smiles from the staff member, a lovely clean cafe and a comfortable seating area, all that I expected from the chain. I’m consciously now seeking outlets of this chain out, a little slice of calm. The food and drink is excellent and there was a mixed clientele, although they all seemed to be locals rather than visitors to the city. The staff member brought the coffee and cake over to me, whereas they normally call out the order, but there’s always counter service which keeps things nice and simple.

February 4, 2020
Bialystok – Cukiernia Sowa

I went to the Kielce outlet of this national chain last week and couldn’t resist quickly visiting one of their two outlets in Bialystok city centre.

Tasty looking doughnuts and the staff member was impeccably polite and helpful. The prices are reasonable and lower than some of the other international coffee chains that operate within Poland.

A chocolate eclair, with plenty of confectioner’s custard inside, with a large coffee which had a rich and decent taste to it. The cafe was clean and organised, with a relaxing and comfortable atmosphere. This chain really is becoming my new Greggs in Poland…..

January 31, 2020
Kielce – Cukiernia Sowa

Cukiernia Sowa have over 150 outlets in Poland, and I have been to their location in Gniezno which was very pleasant. They are becoming a little like the Polish Greggs, but I only realised a few weeks ago that this chain is now opening up outlets in the UK. They’ve only got a handful, but they seem well reviewed, so we’ll see how they perform against the mighty Greggs…..

They sell ice creams, cakes, coffees and the like, but no sausage rolls or chicken bakes. And certainly no vegan sausage rolls yet, but their time will no doubt come.

I ordered a doughnut and coffee, both of which were very lovely, with the coffee having a suitable richness of flavour and it wasn’t served at a ridiculously hot temperature. Their serving process is slightly inconvenient, as food is handed over at the counter and then the drinks have to be collected from what I consider to be a marginally obscure place. However, the staff guided me on what to do, so all was well.

Obviously, it’s not quite as good as Greggs, but they have set the bar very high. The prices are good though, it was £2 for the coffee and doughnut, which is competitive for Poland. Everything was also clean and comfortable, with the food all looking rather appetising.

January 25, 2020
Gniezno – Cukiernia Sowa

This was one of the better rated coffee shops in Gniezno and since Poland doesn’t have Greggs (yet), this was the lunch option for me. Located at ulica Rzeźnicka 1, this is part of a national chain which has around 150 shops in Poland.

OK, so they’re not chicken bakes from Greggs, but the cakes do look rather lovely.

Well how lovely, colourful and appetising.

Incidentally, and entirely irrelevant to anything, I like when coffee shops and restaurants place the cutlery like that. It’s far more common in Poland than in the UK, but I think it looks tidier. Anyway, I went for an eclair and it was full of crème pâtissière and it occurred to me that Richard would have been impressed with it.

I really wanted another eclair after finishing the first, but I didn’t want the staff to think that I was greedy, and anyway, if I’d had a second I’d have only wanted a third. Coffee was above average as well with a rich flavour. Total cost of the coffee and eclair was around £2.20, but this coffee shop did have a premium feel to it.

And, as for the service, it was impeccable. The server prepared my order behind the counter and refused to let me carry it, she wanted to bring it over on a tray (she probably thought I was an idiot and would drop it on their clean floor). I didn’t want to cause any diplomatic incidents (although I suspect it wouldn’t have got that far) so I didn’t resist. Friendly and engaging service, with the environment being clean and comfortable. There seemed to be a lot of ladies at lunch during my visit… All rather lovely.

January 6, 2019