Polish food in Toruń
The main culinary pride of Toruń is and always has been piernik – you can find all the variations of this delicacy here. Restaurants often include it in a dessert menu, but also add it to coffee, meat and naleśniki (Polish crepes) regardless of season. However, finding Polish cuisine’s “biggest hits” like tripe, pierogi, porkchops and tartare is not a problem either. And even though Toruń does not have as strictly distinctive local food tradition as some of the representative cities of Silesia or Podlachia, you can still find a few unique dishes.
We’d like to introduce some of them, along with some details about restaurants and bistros that serve them. We hope you’ll find something that suits your taste. Enjoy!
Goose meat
Kuyavian-Pomeranian voivodeship is famous for its goose meat, a delicacy that is closely related to celebration of St. Marcin’s Day on November 11. Toruń prepares culinary events for that occasion – workshops, cooking shows, banquets etc., where you can learn some history and tradition of goose meat in the region.
The meat itself is rich in fat and because of its particular taste it’s often paired with fruit or, as it was the case during Independence Day celebrations in 2017, with roots and gingerbread. The most prominent menu appearances of this dish are these of, among others, Gęsia Szyja Tavern and Jan Olbracht Old Town Brewery.
Baked dumplings
There are two places exclusively that serve these delicious, baked pierogi with fillings in both sweet and sour version. Stary Młyn i Stary Toruń give you a lot of possibilities to try some traditional taste compositions in a new form – as a filling, you can choose game, dried mushroom, fruit or even Polish cheesecake and piernik. It’s a good idea to try many of them – the restaurant makes it easier by offering “mix sets” of five or three different dumplings. Highly recommended!
Regional craft beer
Three Toruń locales make brewing and serving region al craft beer their specialty – Krajina Piva, Jak Olbracht Old Town Brewery and Carpe Craft on Theatre Square. Even though each of them has a different atmosphere, all of them have and impressive collection of not-so-obvious flavours and kinds of beer. Be sure to ask about pils and root beer!
Naleśniki
Continuously popular Manekin restaurants took a traditional Polish crepes’ concept and made it better in a surprising way. The restaurant did so well that it expanded beyond three locations in Toruń and currently, you can spot Manekin’s logo in Poznan, Gdansk and Warsaw too. Crepes are served sweet or sour with different fillings and, what is worth mentioning, they rarely cost more than 20 zl.
Milk bars
First-time visitors in Toruń often ask about modern milk bars, which you can find four of in the Old Town area alone. One of them, Miś, is dedicated to dishes from communist Poland era. If you’re looking for the iconic pea soup or tartare, you’ll find it there.
