ok, so i'm a big Polski. this place will make U wish you had a little Polish grandmother when U were growing up. the potato pancakes will make your knees buckle, the perogi are handmade and to die for (xtra sour cream please!) and the stuffed cabbage bring me back to a very happy place. an excellent offering of Polish and Chech beers coupled with gorgeous Polish waitresses make this place truly stand out. go very hungry, leave very happy. be warned the place is TINY and it can get cold near the door when the wind is blowing hard. read more

was hesitant to go for polish food but this place was fantastic!! service was stellar: daniel was the only person working front of the house and he was great; very efficent, very helpful. highlights: herring filet, pierogi, stuffed cabbage, goat cheese salad and the chocolate babka cake (to die for). oh yeah and the beer! a delicious porter (forget the name). ummm-mmm-mmmm! def will be back anytime i'm in boston. read more

With a warm and cozy environment, Cafe Polonia was a welcome retreat on a cold January night. The waiter was so friendly offering us bread upon arrival and being very timely with drinks, etc. The food was amazing and brought back memories of sitting in my grandmother's kitchen. I had the "polish plate" so I could sample all the wonderful options--the stuffed cabbage was excellent. You could tell the food was all homemade. I will definitely be returning, and probably sooner rather then later. read more

Fantastic! After reading the reviews and realizing that this place is a 10 minute walk from my apartment, I had to check it out. SO glad I did. My two friends/neighbors and I took a walk over to Cafe Polonia tonight after I blabbed to them how I was interested in trying this restaurant. One of the two is a true foodie while the other isn't so much, but loves pierogies. What we came to find was that, as many reviewers have stated was a cute, dining room ambiance and our Polish waitress simply could not have been any sweeter or more cute in her demeanor. To me that's 4 stars alone. And the food....we started with kielbasa twists, which were creatively sliced kielbasa with a wonderful mustard dip. The pierogi lover had fried potato and cheese pierogis which were so delicious (I'm used to the frozen kind from Shaw's). My other friend had the Polish combo...3 boiled pierogies, kielbasa, sauerkraut and stuffed cabbage...all delicious w/ the exception that I HATE sauerkraut, but he loved it. Now it's my turn, I had the gypsy pancake (love the name) which was 2 very ample sized potato pancakes with beef goulash in between them and topped with sour cream. All I can say is that my 2 friends agreed that it was the best dish at our table. I can only agree myself. This was my first time dining at a Polish restaurant and it will become a regular part of Brady's favorite restaurants. read more

If you have never tried Polish food before, this is an excellent place to get a taste. I went to Poland last September and was impressed with Polish food and deserts. Polish dinner (combo) is a great choice. And I would skip the black sausage. LOL. read more

Get a Polish cookbook and make your own dinner. I was so let down by this place. Tasteless white bread, came first. Waitress was pleasant but not easy to understand, and everything we needed, we had to call her for. We were one of two tables occupied. We asked for kilebasa plate, stuffed cabbage and potato pancake. Out comes two pancakes, medium in size, some stale potato chips (huh??) and a dinky portion of kilebasa. Then the stuffed cabbage. Overcooked, cabbage was almost nonexistent, filled with a meat that had neither flavor or texture, that's probably what my cat rejects when I crack a can for him. A plop of tomato sauce on top. Then dessert. Blintz filled with canned blueberry pie filling. This looks like Polish food, but believe me, it isn't Polish food. read more

Good food from central europe...especially liked the potato pancakes with smoked salmon, the sour pickle soup, and the herring...good service too....looking forward to coming back!! read more

Great little place that should not be missed. We shared several items all were great. Pirogies fabulous. Can't wait to go back for dessert. read more

I was staying at a nearby hotel, depressed by the food landscape of mall carts and Applebees, when I decided to yelp the area. Thank god for you yelpers- this turned out to be one of the best random dinners I've ever had. Friendly servers, unique drinks (cherry beer!), and delicious entrees- huge and filling. Thanks for helping me locate such a great find! read more

Blink and you'll miss it, this small restaurant seats no more than 30 people. Upon entering, my friend and I were warmly greeted by the host. They carry about ten different beers from Poland which was a delicious, well priced bonus. While we perused the menu, there were slices of rye bread accompanied by butter and a traditional pork fat spread (not unlike a bacon paté) to hold us over, though there wasn't much of a wait to receiving our food. I ordered the 'Polish Plate' which had it all: a hefty cabbage roll, three pierogi and a kielbasa sausage over a healthy serving of sauerkraut, all of which was delicious. My friend ordered the 'Breast of Duck' served with potato medallions, asparagus and cranberry sauce, which was also quite tasty. After nearly cleaning our plates we wrapped the meal up with an order of the 'Chocolate Babka Cake', similar to a lava cake topped with ice cream. Prices were reasonable and ambiance soothing. Recommend it and would return! read more

Tired of Italian and Asian we went here wanting something different for dinner. We hit the jackpot. When we first entered we loved the decor it was cozy and beautiful. We were seated very quickly as it was early (glad we came early it filled up fast). The waitress came and brought us this amazing bread and stuff to smear on it that you just have to try to understand. She was very informative as we picked out our dishes and no one was disappointed. The gypsy pancake was awesome, crispy pancakes with delicious goulash inside of them. The Polish feast was yummy, hunters stew,keilbalsa,stuffed cabbage and 2 kinds of pierogis. And the chicken Riesling with this cabbage side dish that blew my mind. This is rich food you do not want to eat it everyday but it is sooooooooo good. There was nothing we did not like about this place right down to the accordion player. If you are in the area make it a point to come here!!! read more

Phenomenal. Pure Polish and Hungarian food and atmosphere. Service was spectacular. I enjoyed Polish beer for the first time. I had the pierogi (half potato, half cabbage mushroom) with caramelized onion. Amazing. Next time I would asked for more onion. Potato pancake was great. Apple Crisp solid. Service was so good that (as a lone diner I was reading a book) my server asked if I wanted better lighting. Can't wait to return. read more

I'm a famed picky eater, always afraid to try new things, but I'm so thankful I tried Cafe Polonia! For an appetizer, I had the mushrooms and they were perfectly breaded, lightly fried, and came with (oddly) cold marinara. I could hardly decide between several amazing sounding entrees, but I ended up choosing the Hungarian goulash. It comes with a puff pastry on top, making it look like a giant mushroom. It's not! It's an amazing beef dish with incredible sauce and tastes even better with the puff pastry dipped in the sauce. Perhaps we were there late and they were out of mashed potatoes, but there were french fries scattered on top of the goulash. Untraditional, but it wasn't bad. For dessert, we had a chocolate babka. It was the best ten minutes of chocolate I've experienced in many years. I simply cannot explain the how good the food was. If I'm being honest, the reason I gave CP four stars instead of five is because I was charged $2 per diet coke - and I do mean per - I ended up paying $10 for diet cokes. Nowhere does it say "no refills" so just be advised. read more

Now that we have discovered Cafe Polonia, we don't have to wait for the holidays to have great Polish food. We shared a bowl of borscht and a Polish plate. The kielbasa was fresh, dumplings in the soup loaded with mushrooms, everything including the service and atmosphere were terrific. I will be a regular. read more

Wow, what a wonderful, authentic, Polish restaurant! Parking was quite easy, right out front. Small and cozy, the waiter was incredibly friendly and helpful. We started off by ordering wine and beer - great Polish beer selection. We were then given a basket of bread accompanied by lard with caramelized onions. I did not try it, but many people said it was delicious. I ordered the coconut shrimp, potato pancakes, and potato + cheese pierogis. Everything was awesome, and everyone else loved their dishes as well. The couple I was with, who are Czech/Polish and were there recently, said the food was quite good. The only suggestion i have: when you go, order you pierogis boiled, not fried. I assumed that theyd be better fried (what isn't??) and was wrong. Boiled were more authentic, apparently, and i thought actually tasted best. We ended with a strawberry crepe, which was quite good although the filling was a little fake-jelly-ish. Perhaps that's authentic, though?it was still QUITE good. High recommendations overall. read more

I like eastern European food on cold winter days. The food here definitely sticks to your ribs. A bit over the top was the pork fat spread for bread, but I could not keep myself from eating it. Pierogis and kielbasa were also pretty good. All in all a pleasant experience with good service and solid food. Worth a try if you have never had Polish food too. read more

Good food, good ambiance. The key is that this food is unique and cannot be gotten elsewhere in Boston. Very tasty and a lot of different options. The salmon potato pancakes were very good and the meals were very complete. Cherry beer good as well. Not a big place however. read more

I was born and raised in Poland. It was a pleasure to learn that there is a Polish restaurant in Boston where I often travel. I ate some of the best Polish food I have ever had at Cafe Polonia. I sampled a few dishes and all were freshly made, delicious, and authentic. I absolutely loved their unique take on the potato pancakes which they serve with smoked salmon. The atmosphere unpretentious, service very attentive. I might add that the restaurant appeared very clean and so was the restroom. Certainly a great place to eat for a serious foodie. read more

Amazing Polish food. The restaurant is very small, it only holds about 30 people max. For an appetizer I tried the potato pancakes. There were 4 small pancakes that came with some sort of an apple paste and sour cream. The combination of those is amazing. For dinner I had the Polish Plate. It came with 3 pierogów, 2 pieces of kielbasa, gołąbki and a sauerkraut stew with pieces of kielbasa. Everything exceeded my expectations. If I had to choose one part of the meal I did not like it would be the dessert. I tried the chocolate babka cake. It was good but not as good as some other parts of the meal. The price is pretty cheap considering it is the only place in Boston you can get authentic Polish food. read more

Our family took my Babcia to the one on Washington/Essex streets in Salem, MA for her 90th birthday January 8th 2011. Let me tell you it was fantastic. There were 30 of us and they brought out all the apps pretty much all together and the main course were brought out within a few minutes of each other. Great services. Polish Polka with one man on the accordion. The food was awesome almost as good as my grandma's. It was so good we went there again on Feb 6 for my B-Day. read more

This place is honestly the best representation of Polish food I've found in Boston. You can bring just about anyone here, from vegetarians to picky eaters, and they will be sure to enjoy whatever they order. If you're new to Polish foods I would STRONGLY recommend the Polish Plate on the traditional section of the menu which is a sampler of traditional polish fare like pierogies (cheese and potato-filled dumplings fried in butter), globki (pork and rice filled cabbage rolls covered in a tangy tomato sauce), and wonderfully grilled kielbasa sausage served on a bed of hunter's stew (sauerkraut stewed with chunks of pork and bacon which tempers the richness of the pork fat with the light sourness of the sauerkraut to absolute perfection). If you're a more adventurous eater, try the blood sausage (kishka) appetizer served with pickles and bread slices (sooo good). I would recommend ordering an Okocim or a Zywiec beer to pair with dinner as the maltiness of Polish beer nicely complements the rich pork and sour pickled flavours of the cuisine. The service is great and very attentive all in an atmosphere of a traditional Polish cottage. Prices are great and the amount of delicious food and beer you get seems like a steal so take a trip out to Dorchester and try Cafe Polonia out, you won't be disappointed! read more

Dined at Cafe Polonia last evening. Excellent service. Delicious meal. Niece had the Gypsy Pancake and loved it. Husband had pierogi. I had the Polish Plate with the very best cabbage roll. Ever! Highly recommend this place. It's small; wasn't busy at 5:30. Hope they got busy later in the evening. We had an event later in the evening so ate dinner early. read more

Unhealthy polish food. ;-) nothing bad, but too heavy for me.

I remember going to Cafe Polonia with my family and my sister's new boyfriend for my fourteenth birthday. My 20th just passed, and my sister's boyfriend has stuck around, and I guess Cafe Polonia is the great love of my early life, 'cause it stuck around for another six birthdays, too. I got six family members to look at the online menu and come up with a list to call in an order for pick up. This thing was freaky long -- everybody wanted to order at least two things so there were something like twenty-one dishes on my list before I even picked up the phone. Called and got the waiter. This dude was so Polish, and so patient. He seemed bashful and nervous that I was crank calling him since the list was so long but I told him it was my birthday and he was giggly and excited for me (love). I thought it'd be a miracle if he got it all right -- and he did! We went in a half hour later, had to wait something like 20 more minutes for the food (understandble, they had a few customers and we ordered like half the things on the menu) and he packaged and labeled EVERYTHING PERFECTLY -- each dish had its own little perfect-for-transit-package with hand written labels in Sharpie like "asparagus (for breast of duck entree)." We were also kindly seated by the same waiter as we waited and he gave us bread and lard to go with our order. The packing job he did took us all the way to Quincy with no spills. I enjoyed my Pickle Soup and Mushroom Soup in perfect birthday bliss. (By the way, if you've never had pickle soup before, and it's the soup of the day, totally get it -- briny from pickles and starchy from potatoes, dill & sour cream?-- SO. GOOD.). I've never been let down by this place. Their typical Polish stand-bys have always been great. The Hungarian Goulash is also a trip.. if you have time, they'll bake a bread bowl over a clay pot of goulash for you and bring it out like a little hot air balloon for you to rip off and feast from. If you don't like the decor I don't know what to do for you. Pine everything. And it works so well. I'm making a yelp account just for you, Cafe Polonia. 6 years strong! :* read more

Weekend 10/11 June we decided to spend in Boston. We stayed in one of the Financial District hotels, but knowing the flavors of Polish cuisine, we decided to find a Polish restaurant. It turned out that there is only one tiny restaurant in Boston: Cafe Polonia. On Saturday we ate there: I had cucumber soup, wife soup with noodles, then ordered Royal Duck. The dessert was apple pie with whipped cream and ice cream. The result was a table reservation for Sunday lunch. On Sunday we ate a roasted trout with a set of salads. Heaven in the mouth! For dinner after returning to New York we took a beef tripe. We know good Polish food, but the food at Cafe Polonia was delighted. We express our gratitude to the chefs. Service extremely nice and attentive. The only drawback of Cafe Polonia is the small room, which makes you have to wait on the street for a free table. I do not know if I will ever be in Boston, but I will remember the taste of these dishes for a long time. read more

Before coming here, I ignorantly wouldn't have put Poland and culinary in the same sentence. Now I find myself wistfully saying things like "oh I'd love to do a culinary tour of Poland." It's that good. Let me qualify my assessment by saying that I eat a lot of food. When you tell me about that excellent restaurant you ate at last weekend, at the end of your gushing, I ask, "but can I afford to feed myself there?" And while it would be convenient if I preferred quantity over quality, sadly, I only derive satisfaction from the happy marriage of both. In my most recent visit, I devoured half of a Polish Plate (which has Polish sausage with caramelized onions and mustard, stuffed cabbage, and potato dumplings), half a Gypsy Pancake (two Polish potato pancakes stuffed with stew), a Chicken cutlet platter (with some deliciously pickled sides), and 1.5 slices of cake. And the bread, which comes with a lard spread that I asked for seconds of. I'm not really sure where that all went, but it was so good that I just kept putting it away. Absolutely everything, even the sides and sauces, were delicious. Nothing was overlooked. Usually even at a great restaurant and a great meal, you feel something didn't shine as bright as some of your other choices, but literally each component of every dish held to the same scrumptious quality. This is the kind of restaurant where you could close your eyes, poke decisively at random spots on the menu, and do fabulously. The prices, while not keeping within my preferred single dollar sign category, don't feel overblown. It's solidly a $$ venue, but your money goes a long way. I know I said I ate all those things, but the average person will be stuffed upon finishing even one of those dishes to themselves. I also really enjoy the atmosphere (once you get inside and off the street) and the service. I've always been treated warmly there, and always somehow end up sitting cozily by the window on a sunny day. Finally, if you ever have company in the city who you feel might not appreciate some of the more colourful eating options that you yourself usually prefer, this is the kind of restaurant that can safely accommodate grandparents while not boring your inner culinary adventurer. And, after careful consideration, I do believe this is my favorite restaurant in Boston. read more

A small charming cafe with a wonderful variety of food. Excellent goulash and peirogis...and the service is amazing! Highly recommend this gem! read more

Small, quaint, comfortable, unassuming restaurant. Service was very quick but unfortunately "The customer is always right" is not their mantra. Ordered my dish and was brought the wrong meal. When I asked the waiter he quite loudly countered, saying that was indeed what I ordered. (It definitely was not). The entire restaurant heard his the awkward interaction/reaction so I just went with the flow and ate what he brought. Luckily, it was delicious. My boyfriend's meal got his approval, as well. Nonetheless, the poor service leaves a more sour taste in my mouth than the food left a delicious one. Hopefully this is a rare occurrence because it's a yummy change from the typical American food! read more

Amazing, satisfying, homestyle food. I wish this was my neighborhood restaurant.

I went here for lunch because I'm trying to find a place that serves good German food, and it was really good. I head what was basically two potato pancakes with goulash sandwiched between them and it was delicious. The pancakes were crispy and fresh, definitely real potatoes here, not crap from a bag. And the goulash was thick and flavorful, not watery, with real chunks of juicy tender meat. It was a big meal too, I felt completely stuffed when I was finished. The service was polite and quick as well. My only complaints were that the spread that came with the bread clearly had just come out of the fridge and was still cold instead of room temperature, and that I did not have a lot of leg room at my table, but those are minor inconveniences. read more

One of our favorite restaurants in Boston! Every dish is prepared perfectly. The potato pancakes are to die for -- try them with mustard or horseradish if you ever get tired of having them with sour cream, applesauce, or goulash. They really care about the quality of what they're serving here. read more

Cafe Polonia was my first foray into Polish food, and I must say, I can't believe it took me so long to try a pierogi. The food was absolutely delicious, and while it is quite heavy on the stomach (and the calories), you won't be thinking about any of that after scarfing down your stuffed cabbage and pierogis, and finishing it off with one of their delicious desserts. Now, this place is very popular, and also very tiny, so don't be surprised if you're turned away because of how busy it is. This has happened to me before, and I was shocked the first time because I had never been told to "Come back tomorrow" by a hostess at a restaurant before (those were her actual words). I can understand why though, as the food is delicious, and the environment is very cozy. It really feels more like you're eating in some Polish family's kitchen as opposed to a restaurant. I definitely think everyone should check this place out at some point or other. It's less than a 5 minute walk from the Andrew stop on the red line. read more

I've been to a few polish grocery stores but never a sit down polish restaurant. The food was wonderful. I had the polish plate and pickle soup. I was hesitant to order the pickle soup but it was recommended by other yelpers, and it was fantastic, very unique flavor with dill: very delicious and hearty. Everything was good. Would like to try the polish pancakes next time. Will definitely come back if I'm in the area again. Entrees seemed a tad expensive but the food tasted very authentic and was well presented. I had a cheese filled crepe for dessert which was tasty as well. read more

The restaurant itself is ok, nothing special. I was in many Polish restaurants so I know what I'm talking about. The food was good and the price was fair. Our waiter Matthew was excellent. He was alert, precise and very polite. From time to time, he asked us if we need anything else. He got all our orders right. This inteligent young man was attentive to our needs. read more

I don't claim to be an aficionado of polish food, but if this is the best than wow. I had the polish plate, Hungarian potato pancake,and the borscht. It was all amazing. I went there with a friend who is polish and has a babcia from Poland. She said this was very authentic and she loved it too. We will definitely be back. read more

Took Mom for some Polish food. She was thrilled with its authenticity. I now need to bring her back each time she visits. Borsch, tripe soup, bigo, kielbasa, and pierogi were all great. Super polish beer too! They had to warn me it had a 9.5% ABV. This place is small and caters to a niche crowd. You can find a table. Come here to experience the cuisine without having to travel or get some variety in the midst of the standard Starbucks crowd. Run by a Couple who were very humble and attentive. I highly recommend for a day you want to "mix it up." read more

White borscht and sour pickle soups. Damn straight.

The food was very good. We had the Polish plate which offers a nice variety of various authentic Polish dishes. The restaurant is small (only 6 tables) but clean and welcoming - very European. The service was very good and the waitstaff was friendly. My only complaint was that the temperature in the restaurant was very cold. It was in the 40's outside but felt colder in the restaurant. We were at a window seat, so that may have contributed to the chill. read more

Great potato cakes, salad, borscht, sausage! Really enjoyed trying this place! Good service too!

Absolutely amazing!!!! We take a good friend to a different ethnic restaurant each month for the last couple years and this was by far or favorite place. She is an incredibly picky eater and we were pleasantly surprised. Started with the polish plate as an app. It was a combo of kielbasa, pirogi and stuffed cabbage. All super tasty. Then we (my fiance, my dinner tour buddy and myself) shared the stuffed cabbage, gypsy pancake and boneless pork chop. The stuffed cabbage comes with either a tomato based or mushroom based sauce. Both delish, but I have to give it to the red sauce. The goulash in the gypsy pancake tasted like a delicious beef stew and the potato pancake was cooked perfectly, crispy around the edge, amazing. The pork chop was perfectly crispy. The stuffed cabbage with red sauce and gypsy pancake are a must try. So glad to have leftovers to eat tomorrow!!!! Oh and let's not forget dessert. Babka!!! Perfectly baked chocolate cake with a warm gooey chocolatey middle, topped with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Best chocolate molten cake I have ever had. Can't believe this place has been around for 14 years and I had never been until tonight. read more