Kashubian€€€main-town
Restauracja Filharmonia in Gdańsk runs on Ołowianka Island opposite the Old Town, with chef Marcin Szlagowski cooking Kashubian: herring tartare on placki, mustard soup, roasted goose with golce dumplings.
Signature: Herring tartare on potato pancakes, Roasted goose with golce
Order: Roasted goose with golce, the dish from Szlagowski's family table.
Tip: Cross the footbridge from Długie Pobrzeże. The dining-room view back to the Old Town is the trip.
Pierogi€€main-town
Pierogarnia Mandu in Gdańsk Śródmieście rolls pierogi to order in dough styles from yeast to spelt. The international card runs ruskie and wild boar to khinkali and Korean mandu; salmon-and-dill anchors the room's fish side.
Signature: Salmon-and-dill pierogi, Pelmeni
Order: Salmon-and-dill pierogi, with a side plate of sweet pierogi for dessert.
Tip: Made-to-order kitchen; budget 25 minutes from sitting down to the first plate.
Pierogi€€oliwa
Pierogarnia Mandu Oliwa in Gdańsk is the chain's first room, the leafy-suburb flagship near the cathedral. Same fresh-to-order pierogi as the centre, calmer pace, parking outside.
Signature: Salmon pierogi, Sweet plum pierogi
Order: A mixed half-and-half plate: savoury salmon pierogi plus sweet plum.
Tip: Order via the QR card to avoid the lunch service crush.
Pierogi€old-town
Pierogarnia Stary Młyn in Gdańsk works a long-recipe oven-baked pierogi style off Św. Ducha Street near St Mary's. A second branch on Chmielna lets the Granary Island side queue too.
Signature: Oven-baked pierogi, Ruskie pierogi
Order: The oven-baked house pierogi, golden top, butter pooling out.
Tip: Lunch sets are 30 PLN; queues thin out by 13:45.
Polish brewpub€€granary-island
Brovarnia in Gdańsk runs the city's oldest active brewery inside a 17th-century granary on Szafarnia. House-brewed Złoto Brovarni pils, Polish kitchen classics, the riverside terrace in summer.
Signature: Pork knuckle in dark beer, Złoto Brovarni pils
Order: Pork knuckle braised in the house dark beer, with a Złoto Brovarni pils on the side.
Tip: Sit in the high-beam main hall; the brewery's copper vats are visible behind the bar.
Modern Polish€€main-town
Czerwone Drzwi in Gdańsk hides behind a red door on Piwna two blocks from St Mary's. A tight Pomeranian-Polish card with a fish-of-the-day and a goose plate locals book ahead.
Signature: Pomeranian goose, Baltic fish of the day
Order: The Pomeranian goose if on; the fish of the day if not.
Tip: Around twenty seats only. Book a 19:00 slot, or wait at the small bar.