Pierogi Boys
Restaurant · Ridgewood ·
Polish comfort food restaurant and specialty market
Polish comfort food restaurant and specialty market
"Started as a Polish food stand in the DeKalb Market Hall, this spot has grown into a full restaurant, cafe, and market in Ridgewood, where the focus is on a modern take on Polish food served in a welcoming, bright, cozy, and unassumingly stylish space. Pierogies are the clear stars: meat pierogi made from braised beef cheeks and pork butt come with meat gravy, dill, and chives; classic potato and cheese pierogi are pillowy and topped with caramelized onions, sour cream, and chives; and mushroom and sauerkraut pierogi are tangy and vegan-friendly, with each bite described as a warm, textural umami burst. The menu also features a soothing white borscht made from blended potatoes, sautéed leeks, and fermented rye flour, studded with sturdy kielbasa slices and finished with a soft six-minute egg, plus fresh, bright, and creamy cucumbers with farmer cheese, fermented garlic, and honey. Mornings are devoted to coffees and sodas, while evenings bring cocktails like a pickle martini made with vodka, a gin and tonic with a Polish spirit, wines, and large beer pours, alongside creative dishes such as deviled eggs with roe, salads, a Polish banh mi, and plenty of pickles. An attached market sells frozen pierogi and thoughtfully curated specialty items, from hard-to-find Have’A Corn chips to imported tinned fish, accessible either through a dedicated entrance on Onderdonk Avenue or via the dining room, and the larger space offers more seats and a relaxed atmosphere to hang out day or night, with dinner served Wednesday through Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m." - Nadia Chaudhury
"Inside a renovated funeral home in Ridgewood, Queens, this bright, stylish daytime cafe, nighttime restaurant, and in-house market reimagines Polish comfort food with a modern, lighter touch. The relatively spacious room is framed by windows and anchored by an enormous mural by illustrator Gosia Herba from Wrocław, a look that departs from the cavernous, wood-paneled Polish spots of Greenpoint. A bold, minimal menu draws inspiration from contemporary Polish chefs like Beata Śniechowska’s Młoda Polska and from Pittsburgh’s Apteka, which creates beautiful Polish flavors by smoking everything, yielding seasonal plates (heirloom tomatoes in summer, cold beet salads as fall turns to winter) and year-round bites like deviled eggs—bright yellow fountains crowned with trout caviar. A pork schnitzel arrives not with a plate of potatoes but with an endive-and-anchovy salad—“not gonna leave you in a food coma.” Afternoons bring a playful sandwich board from Matt Oliver, including a Polish banh mi that layers carrots and liver pâté with traditional Polish ham. Pierogis are a constant, shaped like miniature puffy hats of soft dough and filled with potato and cheese, mushroom, or a pork-and-beef blend. Drinks include the cocktail named szarlotka, after a traditional Polish apple pie, as well as a pickle martini made with a literal pickle, and the Pierogi Boys Market stocks favorite brands of mayonnaise, imported snacks, craft beer, and canned fish—part of a vision to represent Polish food and culture to non-Polish diners without the old-school trappings (like a flag) they say aren’t necessary." - Andrew Karpan
"Pierogi Boys got its start insideDeKalb Market Hall, and as of September, they now have a brick-and-mortar in Ridgewood. It’s part restaurant, part grocery store, so you can have some pierogies and schnitzel for lunch, and then pick up some fresh produce and Polish snacks at the attached market to take home." - Willa Moore
"A brick-and-mortar expansion of the DeKalb Market Hall favorite, serving a variety of pierogies alongside larger lunch and dinner plates, with a retail shop attached." - Tierney Plumb
"Recently, while in Ridgewood, I decided to stop for an impromptu solo dinner at Pierogi Boys, the new restaurant and specialty market that started as a stall in the DeKalb Market Hall . The restaurant side was warm and inviting, occupied by both families with kids and pairs of diners. I sat at the bar and ordered a plate of meat pierogies ($16). The dough was tender and light, and each dumpling was generously stuffed with a mixture of braised beef cheek and pork butt. A gravy of caramelized onions and a finishing touch of dill and chives balanced out the savory dish. It was a cozy, stick-to-your-ribs meal for a cold and blustery evening." - Nat Belkov
