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Gdansk Poland eating out 🍽️ Much more than traditional Pierogi

Eating Out in Gdańsk 🥟🍲 🍻 Poland

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Poland’s Baltic port city of Gdańsk is clearly trying to impress, with its seafood straight off the docks and pierogi that could make a grandmother proud.

Whether it’s a historic beer hall or a trendy bistro pushing the boundaries of Polish cuisine, the city ensures you’ll never have to suffer through bland food. From hearty soups to delicate pastries, every corner of Gdańsk seems determined to prove it knows how to feed people.

So if you were hoping for a monotonous dining experience, you might want to reconsider.

Highlights

 

Recommended Restaurants

With just 4 days to spend in the historic old town, we did a little preparation to ensure that our Gdansk eating out experiences would be both enjoyable and cost-effective.

Gdansk Poland Eating Out

Gdansk Eating Out

From a dozen or so promising candidates we made a shortlist of 5 restaurants and cafes that ticked all our boxes, together with a couple of pubs to refresh ourselves in the afternoons.

All of the places we chose are centrally located and easy to reach by foot.

A La Français

Tasty breakfasts at A La Français

The Rekawiczka Restaurant

The Rekawiczka restaurant is located close to the Brama Wyżynna (Upland Gate) – the main entrance into the Old Town. The restaurant is associated with the Liberum hotel, and offers a 15% discount on all food items for guests staying at the hotel.

The <em><strong>Rekawiczka</strong> </em>Restaurant

The Rekawiczka Restaurant

We decided to have our first evening meal at the Rekawiczka.

For starters, we shared a portion of traditional Polish Pierogi (a kind of large ravioli or filled dumpling) served in a cheese sauce with a salmon filling.

This was followed by mains of Duck fillet with green gnocchi, roast apple & red current sauce and beef cheeks with potato, veggies and champignons.

Gdansk Poland Eating Out

Eating out at the Rekawiczka Restaurant

Together with a bottle of Chilean red wine and a 15% food discount our bill came to 174 zł (€42).

The food and service was good and the atmosphere very cozy.

Wednesday night in Gdansk seems to be music night. Every Wednesday at the Rekawiczka restaurant they have a pianist who plays classical music while you’re dining: A nice touch.

A few days later we also tried the excellent and varied buffet breakfast at the Rekawiczka. The set price was 35 zł per person, for a total of €17 for two.

Cafe Libertas

We had our first breakfast at Cafe Libertas close to the Basilica of St Mary. We sat in the back room of the cafe, which is quite homely, and almost feels like you’re sitting in someone’s living room.

We both opted for the full Libertas breakfast with coffees – I think the picture speaks for itself.

Breakfast at the <em><strong>Libertas Cafe</strong></em>

Breakfast at the Libertas Cafe

We paid 71 zł (€17) for our 2 breakfasts, which is little more expensive than both the Rekawiczka and A La Français. However, we liked it so much we had breakfast here twice.

They serve breakfast until around 2 pm, so you don’t need to hurry to get there early!

Unfortunately, Cafe Libertas is now permanently closed.

Restaurant Literacka

Before coming to Gdansk we had already decided to spend one night splurging out on a posh restaurant. The place we chose was a more up-market restaurant and wine bar called Literacka (‘Literary’).

In addition to the fine dining, the main attraction of Literacka was the game meat on offer – including deer and wild boar. The restaurant is located in Gdansk old town.

Gdansk Poland Eating Out

Baltic Herring tartare

Apart from one other couple, we had the place to ourselves. For starters we took the Baltic Herring tartare and the Beef Tenderloin Carpaccio.

For mains we ordered the Wild Boar tenderloin, served with creamy rosemary-mustard sauce, potatoes, roasted cauliflower puree and forest mushroom fricassee and the Saddle of Venison with cherry sauce, cauliflower puree, vegetables and parma ham crisp.

With so much temptation on the plates, we shared all our dishes. The food was impeccably presented and well cooked.

Gdansk Poland Eating Out

Wild Boar at Literacka – Are you game?

Together with a bottle of red wine our bill at Literacka came to 345 zł (€83). Although this was the most expensive meal we had in Gdansk it was about the same price we would pay for a standard steak restaurant back home.

A La Français

Our third breakfast venue was A La Français, located across the bridge and on the island between two arms of the Motlawa river.

We came here specifically for their seafood breakfast and an original Croque Monsieur. It was late morning when we arrived so we had the place pretty much to ourselves. We paid 57 zł (€14) for our very tasty breakfast.

Note that they are closed on Mondays.

Pueblo’s Mexican Restaurant

Pueblo’s is a Mexican restaurant close to the center of the old town. It’s a bright and colorful place with good food at very reasonable prices.

It’s quite big inside so suitable for groups, or for just dropping in without a reservation.

Eating in Gdańsk

Eating in Gdańsk – Pueblo’s Restaurant

We paid 123 zł (€30) for a couple of main dishes – including a large sea bream – and a bottle of wine. Well recommended.

Luckily enough, we included plenty of walking around during our 4 days in Gdansk so were able to march off most of the calories.

Eating in Gdańsk

Eating in Gdańsk – The Libertas Cafe

Many of Gdansk’s main attractions such as the World War 2 Museum, the European Solidarity Center and the Maritime Museum are within easy walking distance.

The furthest away is the Solidarity Center (around 20 minutes from the old town).

All Hotel Deals in Gdansk

Gdansk Pubs!

You can’t visit Poland without sampling their home ales.

The Piwnica is a self-styled Irish pub located down a narrow alleyway right next to the Brama Wyżynna. From an outside entrance that resembles a small toilet block you descend down a flight of stairs to a Beatles-style brickwork cavern.

Eating in Gdańsk

Piwnica Irish pub: A bit like Dr Who’s Tardis

It’s a very snug place on a cold night, and we had a couple of rounds of drinks for 2 for 64 zł (€16).

The other alehouse we tried was the Bruderschaft pub close to the Liberum hotel.

This is another cavern-like underground converted bomb shelter, with some quite unusual local beers on draft. They often have live music here, and the atmosphere is warm and friendly. We paid 71 zł (€18) for a couple of rounds.

Gdansk Poland Eating Out

Drinking at the Bruderschaft pub

Unfortunately, Bruderschaft is now reported as being permanently closed.


If you enjoyed Gdansk Poland Eating Out, Agness from Etramping has a really useful article on things to do in this beautiful city. You may also like:

 

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  • 4
Dubai Stopover

A Short Dubai Stopover 🛩️🐪

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If you’re passing through Dubai and think it’s just a city of shiny skyscrapers and endless shopping malls, congratulations—you’ve scratched about 2% of the surface.

A short stopover here offers a whirlwind introduction to a city where you can snowboard indoors, ride a camel outdoors, and have afternoon tea at the world’s tallest building, all while questioning your life choices.

Buckle up for a UAE layover that’s more action-packed than most vacations.

Highlights

 

Why Take a Break in Dubai?

Since most Emirates South-East Asian flights involve a transit in Dubai en route, a stopover in the city seems to be a great addition to your vacation. In fact, for many travellers this is often where the holiday begins (or ends).

For us, this came at the end of our trip to the Maldives and Sri Lanka. Our Emirates return flight had a change in Dubai, so we decided to treat this as a stopover and spend a couple of days there.

Dubai Layover Visa Requirements

Note that although most nationalities are allowed to pass through Dubai in transit, some nationalities (Russians for example) require a visa to leave the airport and visit Dubai. However, this can easily be arranged online by purchasing a UAE visa online.

The cost for this service when we applied was $63 per person, although this may have changed in the meantime.

Dubai Stopover

If you fly with Emirates and your flight necessitates a Dubai stopover in excess of 6 or 8 hours, then like Turkish Airlines, Emirates will provide free transfers and hotel accommodation for 1 night.

However, there really has to be no other flight options available to you for this offer to be valid. In our case, we paid a small supplement to break our journey in Dubai, and searched for our own accommodation.

Wescott Plaza Hotel Apartments, Bur Dubai

We chose an apartment hotel in Bur Dubai, close to the center, and paid €78 for a 2-person apartment for 2 nights. We also arranged an airport pick-up (Dhs 60) and drop-off (Dhs 40) from the same hotel.

The place we chose was The Wescott Plaza Hotel Apartments.

They provided us with a spacious, clean and well-equipped apartment. We had a comfortable living room with TV, and a separate bedroom and kitchen. The apartments are cleaned every day, and the towels changed unless you request otherwise.

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The hotel has a large reception area on the ground floor that is staffed 24/7, and is always available for help. Not far from the hotel there is a metro stop for easy access to the city. Beyond the metro stop there is a wide boulevard with plenty of shops, supermarkets and even a few restaurants.

Although we didn’t have the time to try them, the Wescott offers complimentary use of a gym, sauna and swimming pool. They also offer a free shuttle service to and from the Dubai Mall, running 2 or 3 times a day.

All Hotel Options in Dubai

What to do with just a 3-day Dubai stopover

So, you’ve got just 72 hours in Dubai and think you can tackle it all? Good luck!

Between the gold-slinging souks, towering architectural feats that scream “Look at me!” and malls that are basically cities with air-conditioning, your itinerary is going to be more packed than your suitcase.

From indoor skiing in the desert (because why not?) to soaking in the views from a building that scrapes the heavens, Dubai’s got enough over-the-top attractions to make your layover feel like a whirlwind audition for “The Most Luxurious Life You’ll Never Afford.”

Let’s dive in.

Take a Desert Safari

The activity that was a “must-do” for us was the evening Desert Safari. Since we had 2 nights in Dubai, we booked this for the 2nd evening.

There are a number of different companies that offer this activity, all with variable TripAdvisor reviews. After a lot of research, we chose Desert Safari Dubai. Having read the bad reviews as well as the good we decided to just take it as it comes, and do our best to enjoy whatever they had to offer.

As it turned out, we had absolutely nothing to worry about (see Dubai Desert Safari).

Dubai Stopover

An evening in the desert is not to be missed

We booked our Desert Safari online several weeks in advance to ensure we’d have a place. There was no payment upfront, simply an exchange of details by email. Payment is made by cash or credit card when your guide picks you up from your hotel.

You can book Desert Safari Dubai from here.

Shop Till You Drop at the Mall

Of course, we were understandably keen to check out the biggest and best shopping experience on the planet. The Dubai Mall is the world’s largest shopping mall based on total floor area.

The mall also includes a Gi-normous fish tank: The 10-million liter Dubai Aquarium tank, located on the ground level of the Dubai mall, is the largest suspended aquarium in the world.

It houses thousands of aquatic animals, comprising over 140 species. More than 300 sharks and rays live in this tank, including the largest collection of Sand Tiger sharks in the world. There are numerous ways you can experience the main Aquarium tank, which measures 51 meters in length and 11 meters in depth. One of these is to hire some scuba gear and take a swim with the fish.

Dubai Stopover

Burj Khalifa Fountain during the day

Burj Khalifa Lake & Tower

We also had to check out the daily aquatic fountain & light show. Set on the 30-acre Burj Khalifa Lake, the fountain shoots water jets as high as 500 ft (150 meters), equivalent to that of a 50-storey building. The fountain is 900 ft (275 meters) long and has five circles of varying sizes and two central arcs.

The beam of light shining upward from the fountain can be seen from over 20 miles away, and is visible from space making it the brightest spot in the Middle East, and quite possibly in the entire world.

Speaking of the largest things in the world, Dubai also boasts the highest man-made structure. Standing at 829.8 m is the iconic Burj Khalifa. The tip of the spire can be seen from 95 kilometers away.

Dubai Stopover

Burj Khalifa: It’s……. big

So we also arranged an appointment to travel up to the top of the world (well, the top of the tallest man-made structure in the world).

For more details on this, check out Burj Khalifa.


If you enjoyed Dubai Stopover, check out our Short Breaks & City Stops. You may also like:

 

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