Poland

Lodz bloggers recommend – Best restaurants and cafes in Lodz

After an exhaustive post about the sights and attractions in Lodz, recommended by Lodz bloggers, it was time for a culinary topic, because, after all, not only sightseeing man lives ;)

As in the previous post, which you can read here (although you’d better not admit that you haven’t seen it yet! ;-)), you’ll also read the opinions of bloggers who have selected and recommended some interesting points on the map, where you should take a look and throw something on your tooth.

This time, we also took the liberty of selecting the most interesting suggestions indicated, which does not mean that we included every single answer. Take our word for it that there were really a lot of them, and the entry would drag on forever. Bloggers pointed out places to eat and drink coffee, but we decided to additionally include a category with ice cream (can’t miss it!).

Personally, we are not very picky, but we like to discover new food outlets, try new cuisines and explore more and more interesting flavors. Since we travel a lot, we have plenty of opportunities to experience these flavors at the source, at their best. However, this does not mean that in Lodz we eat only traditional Polish cuisine. It is precisely such restaurants that we go to the least often, and it is a pleasure to compare “away” dishes and their counterparts made in Lodz.

>>> Polecamy również naszą książkę “Łódzkie dla każdego”! W książce znajdziesz 268 stron pełnych inspiracji, opisów, proponowanych tras zwiedzania, naszych ocen oraz praktycznych informacji. Wyruszaj w drogę i zwiedzaj z nami centralną Polskę!

We couldn’t help but add our 5 cents to the places pointed out, but after all, we’re flesh and blood Lodz bloggers too, so we took the liberty ;)

Then what? Ready for a trip after which you’ll get really hungry? Traditionally, at the end of the post you will find a map with all the venues marked – nothing but to hit the road.

Table of contents

Where to eat in Lodz?

Let’s start with restaurants, where we can enjoy a nutritious breakfast, have lunch (or lunch as one prefers), and go to dinner in the evening.

In Lodz, many new places on the culinary map of the city are appearing every now and then, and we ourselves are a bit behind the changes. Places are popping up serving increasingly fancy and exotic dishes, There are more and more places where you can eat good vegan food and more and more family-friendly places with children.

To be honest, until the end we had a problem how to bite on this topic, because we got a lot of interesting suggestions for restaurants both in the strict center and in other districts.

We’ll start in the center, however, with an iconic site that is ranked at the top of TripAdvisor’s rankings ^[source]. We are talking about Pancake House Manekin, on 6 Sierpnia Street. Recommended by many bloggers mainly because of the atmosphere of the place, galant selection of pancakes, great taste and very pleasant prices. The portions served are really large and you can eat to your heart’s content. Unfortunately, for a long time Mannequin has suffered from a lack of seats and you have to expect to stand in line and wait for a free table.

The place where really interesting and good restaurants have appeared is certainly Off Piotrkowska – as confirmed by Dawid(Hegemon’s World) and Sonia and Adam(The Jarząbki Blog). It is here that you will find a large selection of restaurants especially recommended by bloggers: The Cooperative, ATO Ramen, and Drugstore Wine and Bread Store.

Lodz, Off Piotrkowska — by: colorovadush.com

Of course, we should not limit ourselves only to Off Piotrkowska, but also look for restaurants in and around Piotrkowska itself, where, in addition to Manekin, Breadnia, La Vende Bistro, Motywy and Niebostan are also recommended.

An example of a more exquisite restaurant is given by Monika, author of the blog Right Hand of the Boss, recommending the Quale restaurant, which is not cheap, but delights with cuisine served accompanied by exceptional drinks, and the artistic setting of the dishes further enriches the experience.

For those, however, who prefer to eat cheaply and still eat well, Izabela, author of the blog Pinch About Me, has a suggestion. It is the Eggplant, in the street. Garden Street, where you can enjoy home dinners at super prices.

Away from the center, and equally recommended, there are several other unique locations. An example of such a restaurant is the Thrusts and Longings on St. Wojska Polskiego with a great atmosphere and good food. Kasia from the blog Kasia Sarna writes about this place: An atmospheric place where it is not a problem to swap ingredients and adapt to the customer. I especially recommend their sweets and salads. They regularly organize jazz concerts.

Caucasian cuisine is worth tasting at the Lawash restaurant, recommended by Ula from the Galanta Lala blog, with a minor note: there are two restaurants in Lodz with a very similar name, so the one recommended by Ula is the one with a “w”, which is located on ul. Limanovsky, and the recommended dish is chinkali.

Ula also recommends the dumplings at Teremok restaurant, or more precisely, the two restaurants that can be found in Lodz. The story of the owners of these two establishments is a tale of the promised land. Here you should try everything on the menu. Another place where you can also enjoy very good, handmade pierogi is the pierogarnia Co ludzie powiedzą, recommended by Izabela.

Also those who are fond of spicier flavors, i.e. Indian cuisine, will find something interesting in Lodz, and suggestions include: the Ganesh restaurant, especially the one in Manufaktura, where Indian breakfasts have recently been launched (we personally recommend, delicious!). The second suggestion is Laxmi restaurant serving great quality dishes, plus you can ask the waiter for the original in terms of spiciness version of the dish. It can be a bit disastrous!, as Ula warns about :)

Jewish cuisine in Lodz is also worth trying, and where if not at Anatevka. There are two restaurants – one in Manufaktura and the other on 6th Street. August.

Japanese cuisine? Here you go: Gabriela of the Colorful Soul blog highlights two establishments: ATO ramen and Sushi in the Hand – the best sushi rolls in town and outstanding ramen. Anyway, ATO Ramen is no.1 among Lodz bloggers when it comes to Japanese cuisine.

How about some other cuisine? E.g. Lebanese or Mexican? Zuza from the blog Boat You Taste It encourages you to visit two that specialize in these cuisines: Hamra – a Lebanese restaurant, where it’s best to order a Lebanese plate, which is a cross-section of most of the dishes on the menu (89 Piotrkowska Street, in the courtyard) and Señoritas – Mexican cuisine, on Wednesdays they serve the best burgers I’ve had so far (only you have to sign up for them first on FB – Moniuszki Street).

Hamra Restaurant, Lodz — by: lodzyoutasteit.blogspot.com

LaVende restaurants also come highly recommended, and we especially recommend the one in the vicinity of ul. Pushkin, or La Vende Rosso. Our pluses are collected for very good food, friendly service and interesting seasonal dishes (especially with fresh fruit).

For vegetarians and vegans, there is also a good selection of interesting places where you can eat quite well. An example of such a restaurant is Zjadliwości, recommended by Marta and Kasia. Kasia writes about the place: An intimate venue with vegan cuisine. Fresh, well-seasoned dishes that change from week to week. We also encourage you to look at the address of 217 Piotrkowska Street, where the Roots restaurant is located – the sizable portions and ingenuity in creating vegan dishes deserve your attention.

Marta from Fabryczna.in also adds veggie burgers to the list, which can be eaten at Papuvege – originally a foodtruck, but now they have a permanent location on Fabryczna Street. Sienkiewicz.

And if, however, you prefer real burgers made of meat, an interesting option will be Gastromachina Stacja – like Papuvege they started with a foodtruck, and now have a location at one of the better addresses in Piotrkowska Street (it should be added that here you can also try a vege burger).

Kasia adds Olive Pizzeria & Trattoria to the recommended restaurants, thin crust pizzas straight from the wood-fired oven. I recommend trying one of the vegan or fit pizzas on chickpea flour dough.

The best coffee in town

Without a good cup of coffee, not a move! Here are some suggestions for cafes that serve something sweet in addition to good coffee.

Let’s start with the city center. For coffee, check out The Brick Coffee Factory, located on ul. Piotrkowska Street, Owoce i Warzywa, on ul. Traugutta and to Grand Coffee on the corner of Piotrkowska and Traugutta.

Monika particularly recommends the iconic Cafe Verte, in the courtyard at 113 Piotrkowska Street, where you’ll eat the best apple pie in Lodz, and for a nut and a delicious hot chocolate, head to the Retro Cafe at ul. Moniuszki.

As you might guess, you’ll also enjoy a good cup of coffee at Off Piotrkowska, such as at the aforementioned Drukarnia or Co-op. Asia from the blog With a Cup of Coffee also recommends the Far Near café located here with good coffee cakes.

And where to get coffee as our city tour extends to other neighborhoods (which we highly recommend, by the way!)?

Caffe by the Street, which is located in three places in Lodz (Bałuty: Lagiewnicka Street, Retkinia: Kostki-Napierskiego Street, Górna: Rzgowska Street), is doing a furore.

Lodz, Cafe on the Street — by: colorovadush.com

We, for our part, recommend two more places that are additionally very child-friendly: Tubajka (in Park Źródliska) and Big Bang Studio – waiting for you here, in addition to delicious coffee, homemade cakes and snacks.

Tubajka also has ice cream on offer, and while we’re on the subject of ice cream….

And for ice cream…

They should not be missed on the culinary map of Lodz! Interestingly, as part of the coffee shop question, many bloggers preferred to write about ice cream instead of coffee, so there’s something to it!

Lodiarnia - Ice cream all around — by: lodzyoutasteit.blogspot.com

The most frequently recommended is Lodziarnia – Ice Cream Around, on Sienkiewicza Street. As Kasia writes, no preservatives, dyes or other enhancers are used in production. Well, let’s add that they taste divine.

Also recommended is the Fudge Meringue with not too sweet and delicious flavors.

You’ll also find Lód Miód stalls in many parts of Lodz, which are famous for their black caramel ice cream with Himalayan salt.

Summary

It’s hard to directly recommend one restaurant and cafe, because, however, everyone likes something different, and something that appeals to some will not necessarily appeal to the next. Therefore, we have gathered for you a lot of suggestions from which there is something to choose.

Personally, we have not been everywhere, and we have learned on our own about several unknown places that we absolutely want to visit.

We hope that both this and the previous post about Lodz, which was written in cooperation with Lodz bloggers, convinced you that Lodz is worth a look :)

And finally, the promised map:

If you’re still hesitant, which we don’t quite believe you are, check out our still subjective TOP 10 attractions in L odz and, as a reminder, the must-see places in Lodz – according to Lodz bloggers:)

PS: In this post we have included photos of the bloggers with whose cooperation the text was written.
The main photo is by Zuzy from the blog lodzyoutasteit.blogspot.com