MELBOURNE | Polish-born and raised Dominika Sikorska, and Guy Daley, an Australian, met and fell in love in London. When they moved to Australia, they started pop-up and food truck Pierogi Pierogi, introducing Melburnians to the famed Polish dumpling. 10 years later, they’ve realised their dream of opening a bricks and mortar restaurant.
Eat Pierogi Make Love is a contemporary Polish restaurant, that’s already proving to be a hit with locals since opening five weeks ago. The old G-Grill and Lukumades spot is unrecognisable. A long bar and open kitchen on one side and booths on the other extends to the rear of the space. Out the back, a simple, small courtyard for outdoor dining.
Showcasing the cuisine that Dominika and Guy love, the duo have created a restaurant offering classic Polish dishes with contemporary flair. It’s a menu that traverses Poland’s diverse regions, showing how the country’s turbulent history has influenced its cuisine.
The menu is sorted into ‘food for vodka’, small plates, mains, and pierogi. Śledź, spelt bread topped with pickled red herring, onion, fennel, parsley, red peppercorns, and red currants is a great way to start. Pair it with a shot of one of the 14 vodkas on offer.
Kaszanka, Polish blood sausage, is baked with red onions, apples and horseradish. It’s a savoury, sweet, delight. Also delightful is the Gzik. It’s a twarożek (Polish cottage cheese dip), served atop a bed of smashed fried potatoes, topped with radishes and chives. Be sure, too, to try the karkówka – slow cooked pork skewers covered in sticky blueberry sauce, served with spring bigos (cabbage-based hunter’s stew).
You can’t visit Eat Pierogi Make Love without ordering pierogi. There’s five types on the menu, with the Ruskie being a favourite. The filling of potato and twaróg cheese, and topping of dill and sour cream is something special.
To drink it’s vodka of course, along with Polish and local beer, mostly local wines, and fun cocktails. Try the szarlotka. It’s a cocktail that riffs on the Polish apple pie of the same name, combining vodka, apple, and cinnamon.
Eat Pierogi Make Love
161 Lygon Street
Brunswick East
Victoria 3057
Australia
Telephone: 0431 905 559
E-mail: [email protected]
Website
Open
Thu: 5:00pm to 11:00pm
Fri – Sat: 12:00pm to 12:00am