This place is in front of a very nice parking garage in the middle of the shopping(??) district. The restaurant was STREET themed with polish TV playing. We ordered
pierogies - ok, maybe more meaty?
sauerkraut - ok, need more filling!
chicken cutlet with cheese - ok, slightly dry
pork ribs - very good, falls off the bone
potato pancakes with stew - good, loved the contrast
the food was good but smak tak is better!
It was a cool 63 degrees outside today but when I walked into the place it was about 15 degrees warmer. That should have tipped me off for what was to come but the reviews had been pretty good so I decided to stay.
The server was freindly and helpfully answered my questions about some additional items on the menu that, as a non-pole, I could not decipher.
Food was good but priced a little on the high side given the surroundings. The place looks like it may once have been a pizza joint (booths with wooden tables), polish soaps on tv and the aforementioned lack of ventilation.
Put down my credit card to pay the check and was informed that there was a $25 MINIMUM for credit card payments. Really? When entrees go for five to ten bucks that means that even a party of four might not hit the magic number, which is of course purely arbitrary.
So congratulations Barbakan, you saved money today by keeping the HVAC turned off in addition to the fifty cents or so in credit card fees by making me pay cash. But I won't be back because I have paid less for as good or better in much more pleasant sudroundings.
And note to Yelp, I think that this place should be tagged cash-only.
Let me preface this by saying I am Polish. Â I grew up with Polish parents and grandparents, eating authentic, home cooked Polish food my entire life. Â
This, my friends, is not good Polish food. Â I swear, everything tasted like it was previously frozen then fried. Â I came here with my grandma for her 90th birthday (as well as my g/f and my Uncle). Â She had a nice chat, in Polish, with the waitress. We wanted a family style meal for 4. Â Busia asked the waitress to bring us out the best they had, served family style. Â
Waitress refused. Â No. Â We MUST order everything a la carte. Â Fine. Â We ordered 1 thing off each section of the menu... Â pierogi's, blintzes, a chicken dish, a pork dish, and a beef dish.
Where do I start?
The "beef" was nasty. Â Seriously, it looked like something you'd get in a 99 cent Banquet frozen dinner. Â And that's how it tasted.
The chicken was basically a breaded chicken kiev. Â Again, 99 cents in your local Jewel freezer. Â Gross.
Breaded pork was not bad, blintzes were pretty good. Â (The only reason this is not a 1 star review)
The pierogi's were fair. Â No seasoning whatsoever.
My Polish grandma took one bite out of each thing, and refused to eat any more. Â We packed up the leftovers for the dogs, begrudgingly paid, and left.
Price for 4 people, NO drinks, over $60.00.
Go to Paul Zakopane Harnas Restaurant or White Eagle.
Hell, even the buffet at Red Apple is better than this place.
Epic FAIL Barbakan.
Went here for an authentic Polish meal and that's exactly what I got! Â The food was delicious and the pricing was great!! Â I was a little disappointed with the service as there was one waitress for the entire restaurant and everything was super delayed. Â The atmosphere is somewhat dark but relaxed. Â I would definitely come back here again!
Review Source:So far these are the best pierogies that I have found (aside from my grandmothers, of course). Â We all left here quite stuffed. I had their potato and cheese piergoies (vegetarians - be aware you need to order without bacon!!) and sampled some of their blueberry pierogi as well. Yum! Â Others in my group had their cream of mushroom soup, and some sort of meat entrees that looked like they were quite good, even to my vegerain eyes. We had some of their jam blintzed for desert - tasty! I'd go again for sure.
Review Source:Barbakan is one of those places that turns out to be a gem once you get over the interior.
The prices are very reasonable and the portions are huge. The food is gooooooooood, hearty Polish food. Probably the best in town. The soups are amazing!
They also offer meal passes where you basically pre-pay for a full week's worth of homemade dinners.
Despite a pretty fancy website, the interior looks like a dive bar in a Polish college town, but it's a clean, friendly dive bar with fantastic food.
7pm on a Saturday night wasn't busy at all, just a few groups of polish men and a couple hipsters. The menu isn't very descriptive, and the waitress was friendly and the service was good, but she had a hard time describing the dishes in more detail. They offer 5-6 different soups daily, we tried three and they were all great. The pierogies were perfect, and all our dinners were good, but the potato pancake stuffed with pork stew is definitely the star of the show, I could eat that every night for the rest of time.
Prices are more than fair for good portions. Everyone but me got the small portions and was happy, I ordered the large and could have eaten two more, but most people will feel guilty after eating the large, ha.
There's what appears to be a free parking garage for neighborhood businesses across the street, we didn't notice that until we'd fed the meter, which may explain why there were plenty of metered spaces right outside the door.
I wish I could say 4.5 stars, I'm reluctant to give anywhere a 5-star review but this place comes darn close.
I went here as part of a small neighborhood tour I put together. Â We were mostly vegetarians/vegans in this group and so we had the pierogis. Â The blueberry ones were especially good. Â The price was definitely right, as I got a good portion for $5. Â The place had vintage video games like Ms. Pac Man for entertainment. It's cash only.
Review Source:The food here is really good and really authentic. Â Even if you aren't that hungry, order the small plates and a soup and you will be stuffed! Â
For a small 5 dollar plate of pierogies, you still get like 10 of them.
Service was the only thing bad. Â Our waitress seemed to be the only one working .. she had like 10 tables. Â She wasn't a bad waitress, they just should have had someone else helping out.
I would definetely come back here for authentic really fabulous Polish Food.
We were very pleased with the food and the service. I had the white borscht soup and veal cutlet which were excellent. Most entrees are available in small or large portions. If you're going with some soup and pierogi I suggest the small size because the portions are generous. Four of us ate for $45, not including drinks. Soft drinks are only $1.00.
If I lived in the area I would get their $55 meal pass for seven meals good for 30 days.
I hate driving into the city and trying to find (and pay for) a parking spot and I haven't yet had to figure out those new parking boxes. But, GOOD NEWS, there is a free garage directly across the street from Barbakan! I may go there again just for the parking!
Ever get sick of paying too much for OK, find it at any restaurant food? Then head to Barbakan my friend. Great Polish food in a nice atmosphere. Â I started with the sorrel soup which is to die for. Â Then I had the veal cutlet which was amazing. Â And everything is ridiculously cheap! Â Great Polish beer too!
I'll definitely be coming back.
I would never have come in here except that Grota no longer has their buffet and we already paid the meter.... Â Well, with a name like this, I thought it was Greek ,like Barba Yiannis and walked by. Â Then, I looked more closely at the signs and saw it was Polish.
FABULOUS cannot describe this place well enough.  Everything comes in either small or large plates, so order small plates and try a ton of items!  We got  one stuffed cabbage, which came with mashed potatoes, cucumber salad and red cabbage on the plate for like $5.  We also had the meat pierogi, a bowl of chicken noodle soup (they have like 6 rotating soups each day), and the fried pork tenderloin plate (with same sides as the stuffed cabbage) plus two sodas.  All of this feast, with tax came to $23.00.  Amazing value and wonderful flavor on everything.  I cannot wait to go back and try more things - like the blintzes and cheddar/potato pierogi.
The place is small, but has a constant flow of people coming in to eat and picking up take out. Â They are also open into the wee hours of the morning on weekends - something like 3:00!!
This place should be on Check Please immediately!!!
There must be many "Babcias" working their little tushes off, back in the kitchen....the food is THAT authentic!
This is THE place for Polish Comfort Food!
Came here for lunch and was stuffed for the rest of the day, but in a good, satisfied way.
Pure yumminess!
We started with the soup. The Borscht, DEFINITELY homemade, and delicious!
I ordered the Pork Stew wrapped in a huge, thin potato pancake.
Did I say wrapped? I should say...."hugged."
The meat was so tender, it just melted in my mouth. The potato pancake...thin, not greasy....perfect
My lunch partner had "Boiled Beef in a creamy, horseradish sauce" I had bite, or two, excellent.
Although, I know she was having Potato Pancake envy.
The menu is in Polish, with English descriptions.
The decor...well, just remember you're not going for the decor.
It did have nice, tall, old, wooden, comfy booths.
Very good service.
I will definitely be back on a chilly afternoon.
SECRET TIP....they have a coupon in The Entertainment Book!
If you are looking for authentic delicious Polish food then look no further. Â I have eaten at Barbakan countless times over the years and never had a bad experience.
The soups are fabulous, and some personal favorites are the Jadlo Drwala (Lumberjack Meal), Placek Po Wegiersku (Potato Pancakes with Gulash).
<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.barbakanrestaurant.com&s=2180f226e34934ccb8f36e73357306d3c7f35e9e942b776a6db0a1d0105fbb63" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.barbakanresta…</a>
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