Bar Mleczny Neptun

Bar Mleczny Neptun is a milk bar on Dluga, the main pedestrian street of Gdansk's Main Town. A milk bar (bar mleczny) is a plain, self-service Polish canteen, a survivor from the subsidised cafeterias of the postwar decades. Neptun keeps to that formula: you queue, you order at the counter, you carry your own tray. The food is honest Polish home cooking and the prices are among the lowest you will find in the old town.

The menu runs to the staples: pierogi, soups and cutlets. Pierogi come filled and boiled, soups are ladled by the bowl, and there are fried cutlets with potatoes and simple salads on the side. Portions are generous for the money. The card changes with what the kitchen has cooked that day, so read the board at the counter rather than expecting a fixed list.

This is a functional canteen, not a sit-down restaurant. Expect a short queue at lunch, shared tables, and quick turnover. Service is fast and no-frills. It suits anyone who wants a filling Polish meal without the mark-up of the tourist terraces a few doors away.

Neptun is the obvious stop for travellers on a budget, families feeding several people cheaply, or anyone curious about a genuine milk bar. Cash is handy for small transactions, though you should check current payment options at the counter.

You will find it on Dluga in the middle of the Main Town, on the line of the old Royal Route. The Neptune Fountain and the Long Market are a couple of minutes east, and St Mary's Basilica is a short walk north. For a sit-down alternative in the same quarter, try Pierogarnia Mandu. See the Gdansk guide for how the old town fits together.

Neptun is the best-known of Gdansk's surviving milk bars, and it works out of an old two-storey building on Dluga rather than a modern unit. Beyond the pierogi and soups, look for potato pancakes served with goulash and pork knuckle among the daily plates.

It opens early, with listings putting the doors from mid-morning, and locals will tell you the choice thins out as the day goes on, so arrive earlier for the full spread. Hours and the day's dishes shift, so confirm current details on arrival or via the bar directly.