Vegan in Trójmiasto (Gdynia / Sopot / Gdansk)
I stayed a month in the Trójmiasto (Tri-City) area on the north coast of Poland. The three cities, Gdynia, Sopot and Gdansk, are connected by a handy fast train, or stunning walks along beaches or through the woods. There were plenty of veg*n places to eat, and I didn't get to try everything on HappyCow. But here's what I did try:
Gdynia
i Krowa Kala
A vegan burger bar right outside the SKM exit of the main Gdynia train station. I went there a few times due to convenience on my way back from the city center. It's open late, and has a lot of varied options. No English menu, however, and staff didn't seem keen on translating anything for me. Since it was all vegan, I picked at random.
There's wifi, but no power that I could see (I didn't look very hard) and not much seating. (I never saw it full though.)
I tried a seitan burger one time, and a tofu grill another time. Both pretty decent. Full of salad and sauces, and hard to eat. The bread is toasted, which doesn't help. They also offer pita though (and gluten-free bread). The fries were particularly good, seasoned with something a little spicy. On another occasion I got 'pierogi samosa', because I had to know... and they were neither pierogi nor samosa. More like mini deep fried cornish pasties stuffed with samosa vegetables? A big portion though, and they travelled well.
They have different desserts here every day, too. One time I got a really great jam-filled doughnut.
If I ever get back there, I want to try the pita with deep fried oyster mushrooms. They were out when I asked for it. I got a falafel pita instead, with distinctly non-traditional falafel, but still good (the next day, in Amsterdam).
Bio-Pierkarnia
A chain of eco-bakeries, with multiple branches in all three cities (though not all of the branches listed on HappyCow actually seem to exist). I mostly went to the one next door to i Krowa Kala, for obvious reasons. It's not all vegan, but about one third of their cakes, pastries and desserts are. The one by Gdynia station also has a wide range of vegan grocieries, and takeaway sandwiches and salads, some of which are vegan. Good prices.
My favourite cake was an amaranth chocolate slice, which I will continue to fantasise about for years. It's nothing special generally I think, I just have a special taste for that particular kind of cake. On other occasions, I had a fruit tart, chocolate orange muffin, ...
Bioway
A canteen-y sort of place in town, all vegetarian and the staff were able to tell me what was vegan. Pretty hearty and healthy stew-type options which were all pre-prepared. More stuff on the menu, but I was lazy to find out what it was. Not overly exciting, but good for want of anything else.
Veganica
I spotted this place in Gdynia; it wasn't on HappyCow. Felt pretty new, staff still seemed to be finding their feet. I'd just eaten, so I had a random smoothie. It was.. pretty bad. I saw her putting water in, which was an obvious red flag. So yeah, needs work. Maybe the food is better. (All veggie, not all vegan).
Tlok
A nice cafe for working, which always has one vegan cake on offer, and takes coffee very seriously. I spent a morning there.
Sopot
There's a GreenWay here right off the pier. A convenient location, but I never ended up in Sopot over a mealtime, so I didn't go there.
Kulki Anulki
An organic icecream shop with a few vegan options, not far from the beach. I asked for a recommendation and was told to try the banana and dark chocolate together. I never eat two scoops of ice cream of any kind, and I wouldn't normally go for banana. But I did as suggested, and it was incredible. The banana by itself was way better than I expected, and coupling with the bitter chocolate brought out some kind of amazing tang.
Gdansk
Vege Port
This was hands down my favourite place. I went there a bunch of times. On some occasions, I took the train all the way to the suburbu of Wrzeszczcdcd just to eat here, then left again. Or I looked for excuses to pass through Wrzezdzfsdf on my way to or from an adventure.
It's all vegan, and they have an exceptional pizza menu. There are also other dishes, a combination (not fusion) of Polish and Italian. The homemade lemonads are good too; one time there was rhubarb. They also have cake and ice cream.
My favourite pizza was one with not-chicken, pickled cucumber, and crispy onions. Pickles on a pizza! Revolutionary. The cheese was delicious and melty always, and the more ordinary pizza toppings were perfectly cooked. They have a range from very simple to fairly unusual options. I also tried gnocchi bolognese and 'rollo', a not-chicken wrap.
Atmosphere is nice (wifi, power), it was rarely busy, and the staff are super friendly (maybe because they saw me so frequently). Once I stopped by just before closing and they were cashing up, but they still made me a pizza and let me stick around another 20 minutes to eat it.
I took a non-vegan local on one occasion, who subsequently return without me, with other non-vegans, who were similarly impressed.
I think this may be a tie for my favourite ever vegan pizza, with Vegazzi in Budapest.
Avocado
There are two branches of Avocado that I went to, and whilst definitely the same mini-chain, they had quite different menus. I went to one at dinner time and one at lunchtime though, so maybe that was a factor. Both good.
Within walking distance of Brezno beach is a large space, with a really big and varied dinner-type menu. I ate creamy coconut tofu and fresh spinach curry, and a really fantastic cake. I picked the cake for it's fluffy coconut exterior, and to my surprise and delight the inside revealed itself to be layers of chocolate and sour cherry. I could be convinced that this was a magic cake that adapts to the desires of the eater.
The other Avocado is in Wrezzscdcdd. It's on the same street as the vegan supermarket, and Fukafe, and the other side of the station from Vege Port. Location is top, but the space is much much smaller. I ate deep fried pancakes, stuffed with lentils and spinach, with a really good side salad. The cakes looked good too, but Fukafe next door has a wider range of fancier ones, and was calling me.
Fukafe
A wide range of fancy cakes and coffees. Not cheap, but quite spectacular and unusual selection, so worth it. A nice atomosphere (wifi, power) to hang around for a while, too. I tried an iced latte, and a spinach cake. On another occasion I went in for a cookie but they had none, so I took a coconut energy ball to go instead. It was the only thing that would travel well, though I wouldn't normally go for that as they are so often disappointing. This one however, even after a day of sitting in my backpack on buses, was really great; moist and rich.
Spozyvczak
An all-vegan supermarket in Wrszzzccc. It has all the usual stuff, at all the usual (highish) prices. I stocked up on Vego, and they also have a freezer full of great looking ice creams, though I never got one (having always passed by after stuffing myself at Fukafe or Vege Port).
Atelier Smaku
A gormet vegan gluten-free foodtruck. I finally got vegan pierogi from there; they weren't great, but they were cheap and filling. You can also buy them from the vegan supermarket to cook at home. No English menu, but it is on the website.
Guga Spicy
Guga Spicy sits beside Guga Sweet, by the river in Gdansk. Guga Sweet is a bakery, and was closed when I stopped by, but on request they ran across to fetch desserts from there in Spicy. It was really expensive, and clearly in a generally expensive area of the city. I passed by chance on the Long Night of Museums, surprised to find them open after 10pm. I ate summer rolls (on the menu as spring rolls, which is misleading... I love spring rolls, I only like summer rolls). They were good anyway. I followed with a giant bowl of udon packed full of vegetables, seaweed, and tofu. I took a coconut 'bounty' cake to go, which was fantastic for breakfast the next morning.
Manna68
A nice fairly formal restaurant, close to the touristy area of Gdansk, I was randomly wandering different streets on my way to the train station (to go to Wrzscscs for Vege Port) when I passed this place by chance. I'd seen it on HappyCow, but not felt inspired to seek it out. But since I was there, I stayed. It's not cheap, but not unreasonable. I ate mole chilli, which was not spicy, but quite chocolatey. They have a brownie on the menu which can get you a free coffee if you guess six ingrediants.. I was tempted, but went with a chocolate mousse instead. It was disappointing! It had good toppings - almonds and pomegranate - but should have been darker and richer. The espresso was ridiculously tiny.
Oh also for some reason in the the bathrooms the audio playing was a Spanish language learning tape (phrases repeated in English then Spanish) but with really bizarre sentences. Couldn't tell if real.
If you want to know what I did in Poland when not eating, try my posts from May.
