Hotel Gdansk is a short stroll from the old town on the opposite bank of the Motlawa River. The building is a beautifully restored granary that now houses a micro brewery and two options for diners. Downstairs the food is pub grub – ribs, steaks and plenty of beer – while upstairs is all white linen and candles.
The downstairs was heaving on the Saturday night – we were left at the door for a while, initially unaware that we should have proceeded straight upstairs to the fine dining restaurant. Eventually we made our way up and were sat at a pristine table where we received friendly and attentive service all evening.
The menu was short but appealing. An appetiser of a pretzel served with smalec (something akin to lard with bacon bits) went down well and was followed by mushroom soup and a crayfish stew with garlic toast. The soup was excellent, but the stew was superb – full flavoured sauce, deliciously meaty crayfish, perfect garlic toast and a generous portion to boot.
The main course menu was dominated by fairly traditional Polish fare. The duck is the ’signature dish’ of restaurant and demonstrated that Hotel Gdansk is far ahead of rivals such as Goldwasser. The duck was well cooked and moist with a sweet and tangy sauce and marinade. The potato bread-esque ‘golden dumplings’ were a pleasure, served on a bed of red cabbage slaw.
The star course however, was the beef. Although a simple combination of fried potatoes, pink peppercorn sauce and a slab of meat, the steak was sublime. Cooked to perfection. Nothing else on the plate mattered, this is now the benchmark for Gdansk eating.
Unfortunately we were too stuffed for dessert, but that is just an excuse to get back there. A pleasure from start to finish, the price was good too – 164 PLN (£35) including a couple of beers.
5 random lemon decorations out of 5
Hotel Gdansk
ul. Szafarnia 9
80-755 Gdansk
