It was a coworker of Polish descent who told me about the new Mama’s Pierogi cafe on Gawler Place. I’ve heard of the name before, as they have an outlet somewhere in the suburbs as well as a stockist in the Central Markets. Keen to experience some Polish cuisine, I decided to give this place a visit. Mama’s Pierogi is a long narrow store with dual entrances. The cafe is basically decorated with a few modern touches. The venue itself seats about 25 people maximum.

There are basically 6 types of pierogi on offer:
1. Cheese & Potato
2. Mushroom & Sauerkraut
3. Beef, Pork & Sauerkraut
4. Chicken & Herbs
5. Beef & Pork
6. Spinach & Feta

On top of that, they have 4 types of sweet pierogi, a range of hot dishes, salads and soups. What’s even better, the pierogi, cabbage rolls, stews and salads are available as take home packs. Ever since it opened, this place is notoriously busy, so to beat the lunch time rush, I decided to come here for brunch. The staff members were friendly and welcoming, and the service was exceptional. As I was the only person here, the atmosphere was pleasant and relaxed.

Today, I ordered some of their Savoury Pierogi with caramelised onion, bacon and sour cream toppings. The staff member behind the counter was nice enough to allow me to sample each of their pierogi in my order. The Chicken and Herb pierogi wasn’t available at the time so I had two of the more traditional Cheese and Potato. The meal arrived after a 10 minute wait and was nicely presented.

My first impression of the pierogi was that they were rather small. The pierogi skin was perfectly cooked, although I did notice some pierogi had more chewier textures than others. My favourite out of all the savoury pierogi was the Beef and Pork which had a well balanced flavour. The Beef, Pork and Sauerkraut was my next favourite with the sauerkraut being less prominent as I thought it would be. The other pierogi were vegetarian so I’ll just leave it at that.

The cafe is probably not big enough for large groups but it is a great place to go for healthy home style Polish food. I will definitely be back!

WHERE: 96 Gawler Pl, Adelaide