Targ Rybny - Fishmarkt in Gdańsk works the historic fish-market square the city was named for, with chef Patryk Domachowski running a Kashubian-Mediterranean menu of smoked eel, oysters and whole lobsters.
Signature dishes: Whole-cooked lobster, Smoked Baltic eel
Must order: Smoked eel from Hel to start, then a whole-cooked lobster as the splurge main.
Tip: Open to midnight every day. Window seats upstairs face the Hilton across Targ Rybny.
Address: ul. Targ Rybny 6C, 80-838 Gdańsk
Cała Naprzód in Gdańsk crowns the Maritime Culture Centre on Tokarska with a fourth-floor terrace beside the medieval Crane. Kashubian herring, Baltic salmon, pike-perch pierogi and the best Motława view in town.
Signature: Kashubian herring, Pike-perch and smoked-trout pierogi
Order: Pike-perch fillet with spinach and cauliflower, or the pike-perch and smoked-trout pierogi.
Tip: Take the museum's central glass lift directly to the fourth floor.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
