Głodomory, or Polish-style dinner

If we had a survey on what Poles tend to have for dinner on Sunday, we’d get chicken soup, pork chops or meatballs served with potatoes, and fresh cucumber and sour cream salad, and sometimes with beetroot salad. That’s as sure as eggs is eggs, or I’m not a social researcher 😉 A typical, homemade Sunday dinner… We had a similar dinner today, however not at home, but in Głodomory in Żoliborz, close to Plac Inwalidów.

We’ve already mentioned that restaurants, cafés and wine bars have been lately springing up on Żoliborz – we’re constantly jealous of our friends living in this neighbourhood, because they have every possible cuisine, including the only Cuban restaurant El Caribe close to their homes. However, we’ve decided to spend a traditional Sunday… with chicken soup, pork chops, beetroot salad and compote 🙂

We were rather hungry (we’re going to Głodomory, which translates as starvelings!) so we couldn’t wait and took a look at the restaurant’s menu at home. It’s very simple and clear.

They have the most typical Polish soups – chicken soup and sour soup (PLN 12-13), traditional starters, such as herring, tartar, pate, sausage and potato pancakes. And finally main courses – those from the potential survey on the typical Sunday dinner 🙂 – pork chops, meatballs, and pikeperch, duck, beef scallopini (prices vary between PLN 23-35). Do you know what I really like about the menu? The way it describes the dishes – with just one word: pork chops, meatballs, duck. Without any overlong descriptions and redundant beautifications. I also like the fact that the guests choose their own extras, and that most of them costs PLN 3. The extras are also traditional: potatoes, buckwheat and potato dumplings (kopytka), and vegetable salads: hot beetroot, cabbage, the fresh cucumber and sour cream salad I’ve mentioned before, or carrots and peas. The menu also offers a few types of dumplings and pancakes

When we had gotten to the restaurant and had parked the car in front of it, on Mickiewicza St. we got a little worried. It was 3:30 pm on a Sunday and the restaurant was FULL. Thankfully our companions had foresaw the situation and booked a table 🙂 phew! After we sat down, the crowd became less disturbing… it was full, crowded, but pleasant. The place is a bit too crowded for children but thankfully Maks was napping in his buggy and the other little one is not mobile yet.

We started with compote. Delicious and traditional… We were choosing our dishes. Except for the menu, Głodomory also offers courses off the menu, presented on a vast blackboard – dishes of the day have a bargain price – 50% off. It’s an interesting option and I was tempted by the goulash soup for PLN 9, but we finally went for courses from the menu…

Let’s start with the traditional Polish sour rye soup – it’s filling, with a lot of sausage, tasty but not creamy enough. Followed by a pork chop – large, with a bone, in a crispy batter. Served with the mandatory fried beetroot salad, and for me also with potato dumplings – and this is the best part of my meal, because it’s a rare opportunity for me to have potato dumplings and I like them a lot. Everything is decent, tasty, and enjoyable… but it doesn’t bring us to our knees 😉 Maybe the meal resembles a homemade dinner a bit too much? Well, that’s the idea of Głodomory…

The fact that the restaurant didn’t bring us to our knees doesn’t mean that we’re not planning to come back. I would really like to return on a weekday for lunch for PLN 21 that includes soup, main and compote. It’s a bargain for such good cooking and décor!! Unfortunately it’s a bit too far for me, but I recommend it to everyone who’s near by during lunchtime!

I really enjoyed the décor in Głodomory – it’s minimalistic, with white walls, black modern (almost designer) lamps, cracking decoration made of painted plates, a vast blackboard with the menu. It’s something new, I don’t think that I’ve seen Polish cuisine mixed with such décor! I fancy it, it’s definitely to my liking.

To sum up: Głodomory offers delicious Polish cuisine… resembling your mom’s or granny’s cooking. Is it a good spot for a Sunday lunch? Yes and no. Yes, because the atmosphere is relaxed and cosy, it’s a good place for a meeting with friends, children can be noisy without the risk of offending anyone 😉 No, if you’re looking for peace and quiet on a Sunday afternoon, because the place is rather small and the number of veeery hungry people is overwhelming.

Is it a good spot for a family dinner with a child? Again, yes and no 🙂 Yes, because there’s an easy-going, relaxed atmosphere, and dishes that children like – chicken soup, meatballs, potatoes, pancakes. No, because it’s a small and crowded restaurant so if your child wants to show how much energy (s)he has, you’ll have a problem 🙂 So, you should decide yourselves what you’re looking for on a Sunday afternoon and if you have a child, how much energy (s)he has. However, I’m absolutely sure that Głodomory are perfect for lunch and I’m really sorry that the restaurant is so far away from me 🙂

PS. you can order food to go! Here’s the phone number below! 🙂

Practical info:

Głodomory