NYC’s best Polish food: Greenpoint’s still a destination, if you know where to go

Farideh Sadeghin is a writer and recipe developer based in Brooklyn. In this series, she explores New York City neighborhoods through their food and histories.

I lived in Greenpoint for about two years with a couple of friends down by McGolrick Park. A Polish family owned our six-unit building, and we lived in the only unit that wasn’t occupied by members of that family.

But the family’s matriarch passed away while we lived there, and within four months, the family decided to sell the entire building, which left my friends and I looking for new housing. Since we were no longer able to afford Greenpoint ourselves, we decided to leave the neighborhood.

That was about 10 years ago now and, since leaving, I’ve seen the neighborhood continue to change. Bars and restaurants that were favorites among my friends and I have since shut down. One of the bars that I was going to hit up for this very adventure, Irene’s Place on Manhattan Avenue, suddenly closed up shop after over 44 years in business.

I decided to explore Greenpoint and what was left of its Polish offerings with someone who not only knows the neighborhood, but also knows Polish food and could highlight some favorites.

My friend Agatha Kulaga, co-founder of Very Good Hospitality and the former CEO of the popular bakery Ovenly, has lived in Greenpoint for over 20 years. She grew up with Polish immigrant parents in New Britain, Connecticut, and moved to Greenpoint precisely because the neighborhood was Polish and she could speak the language.

Kulaga has witnessed the neighborhood’s steady changes over the past two decades. The number of Polish residents in the northern Brooklyn neighborhood has shrunk dramatically in the last 20 years. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, from 2000 to 2010, the number of Polish-born Greenpoint residents had decreased from 13,660 to 7,873, and that number keeps dropping.

While gentrification and rising housing costs are significant factors in the decline of Greenpoint’s Polish community, community leaders told the New York Times one of the biggest reasons was Poland’s admission into the European Union in 2004. Kulaga’s dad immigrated from Poland to the United States in 1973, but moved back to Poland around 2002 when he retired. He returned to be closer to Kulaga and her brother in 2022.

There are now more people in general (tourists and residents), more diverse businesses, and more high rises compared to when Kulaga first moved to Greenpoint.

Starting with sweets

As I surfaced from the G train at Nassau Avenue on a frigid, snowy afternoon, I noticed the bustling neighborhood is a dichotomy of old and new. was meeting Kulaga at Syrena, a bakery on Norman Avenue between Humboldt Street and Russell Street, not far from my old apartment.

Syrena has been a neighborhood staple since 1993. The building stands on the corner and its bold, red-and-white striped awning, wooden double doors, and stained glass sign greet you as you enter. Inside is a bakery case filled with numerous cakes, donuts, and cookies, as well as a rack lined with multiple varieties of bread.

Customers point and order in Polish while the women grab the orders. Kulaga orders us a slice of jablecznik (a gooey apple cake with a thick crumb topping), makowiec (a poppy twist), and paczki (a prune-filled donut). I grab us a loaf of country rye and we huddle in the corner, tearing into our snacks. The bakery is crowded and we’re giggling while we shovel the treats into our mouths, excited to be out of the cold and lining our stomachs with our first foods of the day.

From Syrena, we stop at Star Deli on Nassau Avenue, between Humboldt and Diamond streets. The unassuming cash-only spot has the vibe of a bodega, but the shelves are lined with Polish goods. A variety of fruit syrups from Bacik, a Greenpoint-based wholesaler that specializes in Polish products, is in the window. Kulaga tells me that they typically add a splash of the blackcurrant syrup to beers in Poland and it’s the only way she can drink them now. Inside, there are snacks such as Cracovia gingerbread (chocolate-covered stars with plum-flavored filling), Sliwka Naleczowska (dark chocolate-covered plums), and Ptasie Mlecsko (chocolate-covered vanilla marshmallows), along with tons of mustards, pickles and pates. I snag some of the chocolates and marshmallows, as my sweet tooth knows no limits.

Kulaga speaks with the woman helping us, the man next to me pushes me to try their pastries, noting that the Napoleon and babka in the window are forever stocked in his home, and his children get angry if (God forbid!) they run out. His young daughter stares at me and nods in agreement as he tells me this. Evidently it’s the best in Greenpoint, so I ordered a Napoleon and a cream puff for good measure. The pastry chef pops out to say hello and when Kulaga asks if he is the baker, he smiles and answers in Polish: “The ovens are.”

Soups, pierogi and ‘the best spice in the world’

We’re excited to try our desserts as we leave, but decide to save them for later in the day. We continue to Restaurant Relax around the corner on Newel Street between Nassau and Driggs avenues.

Restaurant Relax has been open since 1997 and has an old-school vibe, with murals painted on the walls and wooden tables lining the space.

We seat ourselves, and notice that all the tables have plaques reminding customers to “place your order and pay at the cash register.” In smaller print underneath, the plaques go on to explain: “to keep our costs down and your portions big, we do not have table service.”

Kulaga orders us the sour pickle soup, white borscht, pork chop cutlet, and a mixture of pierogi, traditional Polish dumplings. We opt for the Ruskies — filled with potatoes and cheese — and the sauerkraut and mushroom. We sit and Kulaga notices the bottle of Maggi on the table. Curious, she texts a photo to her dad, who explains that Poles use it as a flavoring for soups and jokes that “it’s the best spice in the world.”

Our order arrives and both the borscht and pork chop arrive alongside two perfect ice cream scoops of mashed potatoes. The mashed potato with the pork chop is smothered in gravy and also comes with a cucumber salad. Both of the soups are creamy and filling (note to self: go back and eat only the soups) and the pork chop is crisp (the perfect bite has a bit of pork chop, mashed potato, and cucumber salad on it). The pierogi are deep-fried, which Kulaga finds disappointing, but something that has begun as a necessity for many places serving pierogi these days. It’s a faster way to serve them, she explains, although her favorite way is pan-fried (with caramelized onions and sour cream, of course).

As we continued down Nassau Avenue and crossing McGuiness Boulevard, we arrived at the unassuming Pyza, located just off Eckford Street. The menu is filled with homestyle favorites, such as soups, cutlets, and pierogi, and we order naleśniki (cheese blintzes). The light crepes were filled with farmer’s cheese and topped with applesauce (and more on the side), then dusted with confectioners’ sugar. They were also lightly deep-fried, which is not typical for the dish, but they were still great. The room is quiet and sparse, with simple framed paintings on the walls, and we try our best not to fill up on our own little Saturday afternoon treat before we head back out into the cold and to our next spot.

Pierozek, on Manhattan Avenue between Nassau and Driggs avenues, is a newer restaurant and feels very modern as we walk in and are seated towards the back. Pierozek specializes in pierogi, and its menu proudly boasts that it’s the Michelin Guide’s only Polish restaurant in the United States. (The spot has a “bib gourmand,” which Michelin awards to “good-quality, good-value cooking.”)

We order the pierogi Ruskie again (it would appear it is now our mission to try them at every stop), as well as the pierogi Tatarskie — which are named for the Tatra Mountains that mark the border between Slovakia and Poland. These dumplings were pan fried and filled with potatoes, eggs, dill, and scallions and garnished with crisp bacon.

For fun, we order the Paulie Gee pierogi, a collaboration the restaurant is currently doing with nearby pizzeria Paulie Gee’s. These dumplings are filled with soppressata, tomato sauce, mozzarella, and pecorino, then drizzled with hot honey. The restaurant also sells pierogi teethers for infants and there is a pierogi-shaped pillow on the bench behind Kulaga. Pierozek definitely has a theme and is sticking with it.

Kielbasa and kabanos

A couple of blocks down from Pierozek on Manhattan Avenue between Meserole and Norman avenues is Polka Dot. The space is bright and fairly open, with homemade prepared foods smiling back from their spots in the deli case.

Polka Dot has been around for about 27 years — initially as a Polish butcher shop, but then as a restaurant starting in 2003, once Marzena Parys took over the space when her husband died. The lettering of the name, which is scrawled across the windows, looks as though it has been written by hand, adding to the homelike vibe. We sit in orange plastic chairs around a wooden table as we nibble on carrot salad, sauerkraut and mushroom croquettes, and spicy dry kabanos (a long, thin pork sausage). We wash it all down with homemade kombucha tea before heading out.

We pop into Biedronka, another Polish grocery store, on Manhattan Avenue between Greenpoint Avenue and Calyer Street, mainly because I just really wanted to check out their jarred pickles and snacks. (Reader: they had a lot, in all the varieties.) The shop had farmers cheese, pickled beets and mustards galore, and all were reasonably priced. We quickly walk through before hurrying out and past Polonia Bookstore (a couple of doors down), but don’t stop, as we’re on a mission to get to the butcher before it closes at 5 p.m.

Scurrying down Manhattan Avenue and crossing Greenpoint Avenue, we reached the Nassau Meat Market, a Polish butcher shop that has been open since 1982. Kulaga orders me some kielbasa and kabanos.

We stand outside on the sidewalk and bite into the kabanos, which is smoky and snappy. I remember I still have the Napoleon and cream puff, so we bite into those as well. The Napoleon from Star Deli is one of the best bites of the day and I instantly regret not buying another to take home.

Finishing with lard (yes, lard) and other specialties

Our final spot was Karczma, a restaurant on Greenpoint Avenue between Manhattan Avenue and Franklin Street. Walking into Karczma is like walking into another world; it’s cozy and lively, with wooden beams on the walls and ceilings and big wooden booths to sink into. The clientele are a mix of Polish people, hipsters and local families, all drawn here by the homestyle cookery Karczma has become known for in the last 15 years.

I order the Szarlotka, a cocktail of Polish vodka and apple juice, which I learn is another name for the jablecznik, or apple cake. It comes with a cinnamon stick and I’m pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoy it and how easy it is to sip.

We also order the lard plate, which comes with sticky rye bread and pickles. I can’t stop eating it, even though we’ve been eating all day and this is literally a plate of lard.

A plate of Polish specialties lands on our table and I am forced to cease all lard consumption. The plate comes with a variety of pierogi, potato pancakes, kielbasa, bigos (also called hunter’s stew — a mix of sausage, spices and sauerkraut), and gołąbki (stuffed cabbage). The bigos are very tomatoey, the kielbasa juicy, and the gołąbki filling, but the potato pancakes are what surprise me the most. They’re fluffy on the inside and crisp on the edges. I find myself making bites using the pancakes, rye bread, lard, and pickles and it is an absolute delight (even though I secretly need to unbutton my pants and wish I had worn a pair with an elastic waistband).

I leave Kulaga satisfied and full, and take the hourlong walk back to Bushwick as I breathe in the cold evening air and kick myself for not buying just one more Napoleon.