Pączki (Polish doughnuts)
Photo: myself (User:Piotrus) · CC BY-SA 3.0

Yeast-raised doughnuts filled with rose-petal jam, plum jam or vanilla cream, deep-fried in lard and dusted with sugar or glazed. The single-day national obsession on Tłusty Czwartek (Fat Thursday).

Pączki are pan-Polish but the Fat Thursday (Tłusty Czwartek) tradition is national, observed the last Thursday before Lent every February. Cukiernia Paradowski in Gdańsk Wrzeszcz, open since spring 1945, runs the city's most-photographed queue every year. The pre-war recipe came with Stefan Paradowski from Warsaw's Ziemiańska pastry shop in 1945, and the bakery still fries them in the original rendered lard. Rose-petal jam is the canonical filling; the modern menu rotates plum, custard and advocaat.

3 editor picks for Pączki (Polish doughnuts) in Gdańsk, ranked by editorial score. All Gdańsk signature dishes · Pączki (Polish doughnuts) across every city.

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Cukiernia Paradowski ★ 4.6

$Bakery

Cukiernia Paradowski in Gdańsk Wrzeszcz is the city's oldest active confectionery, opened spring 1945 by Stefan Paradowski. Son Andrzej still runs the shop.

TipOn Fat Thursday (Tłusty Czwartek, the last Thursday before Lent), the queue stretches down Wajdeloty.

Cukiernia Le Delice ★ 4.5

$Bakery

Le Delice in Gdańsk Wrzeszcz works a tight cukiernia-piekarnia format on Partyzantów. Croissants out of the oven about 09:30; the chocolate ones go fastest.

TipCroissants out of the oven about 09:30; the chocolate ones go fastest.

Pellowski Piekarnia Cukiernia Kawiarnia ★ 4.0

$Café

Pellowski in Gdańsk runs a cafe counter inside the Długa branch of the family bakery, fresh bakes paired with serviceable coffee. At ul. Długa 40.

TipLight breakfasts run until 12:00; the till queue spikes at 09:30 on weekdays.

Learn to cook it, or eat it with a guide

Pączki (Polish doughnuts) makes more sense with someone from Gdańsk explaining it. These are the classes and tours we have checked, with booking links.

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Gdansk: 4-Hour Polish Food Tour★ 4.9 (39)

Guided tour · 4 hours

Gdansk: 4-Hour Polish Food Tour

Savor the flavors of Poland on a food tasting tour of Gdansk. Discover what “gołąbki” and “żurek” are. Hear fascinating stories about the Poles and their relationship ...

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