Despite the fact almost 700,000 Poles now call the UK home, Polish cuisine has seemingly failed to make the same kind of impact on our high streets as the traditional cooking of other incomers to our communities.
A quick online search for Polish restaurants in Kent does not throw up an abundance of options. Which is a shame, because at its best this food is hearty, wholesome and good for the soul.
This plate of pierogi – traditional Polish dumplings – proved a big hit
My wife and I are lucky enough to have been introduced to the food of Poland through a close friend, one of those thousands of Poles who have made Britain home, both at her dining table here in Kent and on hugely enjoyable visits to her homeland. Now it is hard to imagine a life without knowing the joys of a steaming plate of pierogi.
So when I stumbled across a post on Facebook alerting me to the presence of a Polish restaurant in Deal it seemed obvious we should rope in our friend and head down to the seaside town for lunch. After all, who better to judge whether the food on offer was the real deal or not?
A glance at the menu online revealed that Engel’s Paradise, a short walk from the town centre on the corner of Cannon Street and Golf Road, operates a ‘bring your own booze’ policy. So on the walk from the railway station we made sure to duck into a corner shop for a four-pack of Tyskie, a popular Polish beer.
Engel’s Paradise is tucked away a short walk from Deal town centreA starter of sledzik – herring served with a creamy sauce and dark bread
Stepping into the bistro’s small front dining room from the bitter cold outside, it felt like being welcomed into someone’s home, a feeling only enhanced by the warm greeting from co-owner Slawomira Engel, who runs the restaurant alongside her partner Przemyslaw Kononowicz.
The couple made their first foray into the food and drink business with a stall at the town’s Saturday market, before opening the doors at their bricks-and-mortar base back in 2022. After initially testing the waters with weekend opening hours, now the restaurant is proving such a hit that it is open all day, six days a week.
Diners are presented with a pretty concise menu, which is to be expected given it is a two-person operation. On weekdays there is an all-day breakfast, a selection of starters and classic Polish delicacies of pierogi and kielbasa sausage. At the weekend these are supplemented by various other traditional dishes, which Slawomira confessed will largely be determined by what she herself fancies eating that particular day.
The interior of Engel’s Paradise is like being welcomed into someone’s homeThe pork cutlet was a highlight of the meal at Engel’s ParadiseReporter Rhys Griffiths paid a visit to Polish restaurant Engel’s Paradise in Deal
To kick things off we shared the sledzik (£4.50), a dish of herring in a creamy dressing served with dark bread, and a plate of six pierogi (£7.50), classic Polish dumplings filled with a mixture of potato and cheese.
The pierogi were an instant hit, with our Polish dining companion making appreciative noises and bluntly hailing them – with a turn of phrase that crosses any language barrier – as the “proper s***”. The dough was finely rolled and fried to a golden crisp, and the filling was smooth and creamy. These dumplings are clearly a labour of love for Slawomira, who quipped: “I call them ‘bloody pierogi’ because I make pierogi every bloody day!”
I could have eaten the sledzik all day long, happily shovelling down the plump pieces of herring with the sauce studded with pickles giving a note of sharpness to contrast perfectly with the oily fish. But I was glad we split the little pot between us, because we definitely needed to leave room for the magnificently generous portions of the weekend specials that were to follow.
All the main dishes came with a fresh salad and mashed potatoGolabki – cabbage leave stuffed with minced pork – came served with a rich tomato sauce
After some to-ing and fro-ing with our host over which of the traditional treats were on the menu that day, we ended up choosing three pork dishes: the golabki, kotlet schabowy and kotlety mielone (all £12). These came served with salad, excellent dill-scattered mashed potato made fresh, a garlic sauce and a helping of beetroot and horseradish.
Golabki sees a mixture of minced pork, onions, rice and buckwheat encased in boiled cabbage leaves and served with a rich tomato sauce. Kotlety mielone, which roughly translates as ground meat cutlets, are hefty meatballs which are breaded and browned. And finally, the kotlet schabowy is a breaded cutlet that we would probably more commonly know as a schnitzel.
All three dishes were good, but the kotlet schabowy was the star of the show. The meat pounded out nice and thin, and the coating was light enough to allow air to get in between it and the meat encased inside, just as you would hope it to be. In fact, I’d happily say it was a far better dish than the chicken schnitzel for which I parted with £20 at The Ivy in Canterbury back in November.
The Polish restaurant operates a ‘bring your own booze’ policyCold cans of Tyskie, a popular Polish beer, were picked up en route to the restaurant
By this stage we were well and truly stuffed, enjoying the feeling of contentment that comes after a home-cooked meal prepared with love and attention by hosts who put their all into feeding their guests.
A meal at Engel’s Paradise feels like being welcomed into a Polish home and nourished with cooking that comes from the heart.
Slawomira and Przemyslaw have created something lovely here on the Kent coast, and if you are yet to be exposed to the flavours of Poland then you should be beating a path to their door. Just remember to pick up some cold Tyskie on the way.
Ratings out of five:
Food: This is traditional cooking done really well – you can almost taste the love that’s gone into it ****
Drink: There is the usual selection of non-alcoholic options, but for a small corkage charge you can bring your own booze ***
Decor: The front dining room is an intimate little space, like you’ve been welcomed into someone’s home, and there is also a terrace to the rear ***
Staff: I don’t think Slawomira and Przemyslaw could have been any more welcoming – their warmth is part of what makes this place special *****
Price: Three of us dined heartily for about £50 and it is hard to find value like that these days *****