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Cuisine(s): German, Polish, Russian
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturdays; and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays
Price: $$
Serving: Lunch, Dinner
Reservations: Not Necessary
Parking: No Parking
Payment Types: All Major Credit Cards

Houston Press Insiders

Polonia Restaurant

1900 Blalock Rd.

Houston, TX 77080

713-464-9900

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Real Polish kielbasa, homemade sauerkraut, kwas soup and three kinds of pierogi are the irresistible lures that bring Houston's Eastern European community to this schmaltzy little Polish restaurant. Don't even bother trying to get in on Sunday when the after-church crowd packs the place.

Full Review: Polonia Restaurant (11-02-06)

show/hide reviews (4) Please log in to write your review

Overall:

The people who work here are rude and do not speak English very well.
Review by Dan
Overall:

Polonia rocks in my opinion...I agree with both Robb Walsh and Alison Cook that this place is a hidden gem, selling stuff you can't find elsewhere in Houston, at prices that are way too cheap. I love the Polish market right next door: sausage, smoked hams and loins, pickles, herring...if only they moved to midtown! Thank you Polonia from a Chicago transplant and lover of Texas sausage, and heritage foodstuffs!
Review by piotr
Overall:

A must recommend for your readers:

North of I 10, it�s a short drive up Blalock (third traffic light), to the lovely Polonia Restaurant. You could as easily have just driven the Tatra Mountains, Masurian Lakes, Biebrza River Wetlands or Baltic Coast of Poland�and not have been able to find a better Polish restaurant. So, enjoy your good fortune!

The kitchen staff makes great use of traditional Polish dietary staples, like cereal grains (think dark breads and dumplings or pierogi), vegetables (usually boiled; think cucumber pickles, boiled potatoes, and beet soup or borscht), and meat (think meat hunter�s stew or bigos, and meat and rice stuffed cabbage leaves or golabki).

The food is very hearty; thankfully for my diet, the Polonia Restaurant only serves two of the traditional four Polish meals � lunch or second breakfast, and dinner or obiad (though they may serve a late dinner, as well).

There is usually at least one meat dish, boiled vegetables or salad, some form of potatoes, soup, and a grain dish or dumplings (pierogi). The Poles like both their meat and vegetables cooked until they are very tender�and, delicious!

And let�s not forget the Polish sausages or kielbasa, fish or ryba, and potato pancakes or plaki.

Finish with grandmother�s (babci) cheesecake and spiced vodka or krupnik, and you are ready for the rest of your evening!

Houston is home to many great ethnic restaurants, and Polonia Restaurant is one of the best! The staff contributes greatly to the enjoyment of your meal. Typical Polish friendship and joviality pervades! And don�t miss the adjacent deli/food store � the best this side of Chicago.

Jim Prendergast
Review by Jim Prendergast
Overall:

Being born and raised in Chicago and having grandparents from Poland, I was a bit skeptical as to how authentic this restaurant would be. For those of you unaware, Chicago has the second largest population of Polish people outside of Warsaw, Poland. We're well represented. I have recently moved to Houston and was mildly interested when Houston Press recommended Polonia. Well, as soon as I was asked if I would like any of the handful of Polish Vodkas they had available upon arrival, I knew we were in a good place.

My girlfriend and I ate at Polonia on a Saturday night. Our adventure to the restaurant took us through some neighborhoods that were at best sketchy, but the people celebrating a family function in the parking lot of the strip mall made me feel just fine. When we walked it, it felt as if we stepped into a different country. Just like the full review says, this place is pretty straight-forward...about 12 tables and a fairly dark atmosphere. Our server (whose English was serviceable) was very friendly and courteous, as were the other people in the restaurant.

We started our meal with a mug of the on-tap Pilsner. While it was too bitter for my tastes, my girlfriend raved. We split an order of the Sour Rye soup, which contained chunks of Kielbasa, half of a hard boiled egg, and a delightfully fermented flavor. We ordered the combination platter for 2, which included a salad bar. The salad bar, had normal salad items, but also had pickled beets, a carrot salad, and other unique items. The carrot salad is sweet and I have to say that it was the first time I ever had raisins accompany carrots. My girlfriend though the pickled beets were amazing, and a lady told us she can't get enough of them, and she normally hates beets.

Our combination platter was incredible! Served on a griddle-sized platter, there were at least 5 different meats...I was in heaven. There were also 6 pierogis (which also contained meat) and two little scoops of mashed potatoes. An authentic Polish stew rounded off the platter. Everything was very tasty. The glumpkis (I can't spell the cuisine all that well) while very good, had more pepper in them from what I was used to (my grandma's). The pork and gravy was okay and the chicken legs were pretty good. The stars of the platter were definitely the pierogis. Stuffed with meat, potatoes, cheese, or other goodies, I can almost guarantee they were made fresh and to-order. The meatloaf was also outstanding, full of garlic just like grandma's. I had never had the stew-type dish before, but I'd recommend it. It's a mix of sauerkraut, cabbage, mushrooms, and some kind of sausage. It had a sour taste, but wasn't overwhelming. Good stuff.

Surprisingly, I found the kielbasa to be pedestrian at best. Maybe it was because of the other, more complex items I ate. Maybe it was because the sausage was smoked, and I prefer my kielbasa fresh. There was something about it that didn't make me go "wow!" unlike most of the other things in the combo platter. Oh, well. Maybe the store next door sells fresh kielbasa.

We decided to get 10 cherry pierogis for dessert. The cherries were very tart, which was a plus. However, after the initial bite, I found the cherries couldn't compete with the doughy flavor of the pierogi. The dish of whip cream they came with helped, but not enough for me, even though I still ate more than half of them.

Overall, this place reminds me of home. No one makes Polish food like my grandma, but that's okay. Polonia is an authentic Polish restaurant with a surprising amount of variety in a rather basic style of cuisine. The staff is friendly and the prices are reasonable. I will most definitely return. In fact, we will be visiting the store to pick up some goodies for our Thanksgiving feast!
Review by Jon

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