borsch, vodka & tears

soul warming. an absolutely delicious, rustic journey through hearty polish cooking. hits you straight in that tender love region. lovely, stews, soups, small things, big things, anythings. great for coffee. lovely for summer or winter. actually. suited more perfectly for the colder months, with heaters outside and meaty homemade encapsulatents, warming you to your bones. i'd recommend thisplaceto anybody. for any occasion. simply. yummy.

some consider it a chapel street institution; a stalwart that has withstood the test of time and numerous intoxicated patrons after they indulged upon the niceties of their extended vodka list. many consider it aplaceto get hardy polish-inspired food (and other morsels from that countries neighbours) however i think of borsch, vodka & tears  on chapel street as a funplacethat you really can't take too seriously. not in the sense that the food or anything is a joke per se, but because it is a fun atmosphere that doesn't try to exude an attitude or be something that they are not. a heavily stocked bar with vodka from both poland and the general area around its borders greets you before service tends to. most of the time you are left to choose a table to your liking however it is a small dining room so the few choices by the window will either be already taken or dirty, which was the case when i turned up on a recent visit. a seat was happily taken in the rear of the restaurant which

breakfast. i didn't even know thisplacewas open for breakfast! i was really pleasantly surprised. the food was amazing. inside is not a very breakfasty environment but outside is fantastic.reasonably priced too.

favplaceon chapel street.. awesome coffee, even better breakfast.

would be amazing if they made hollandaise sauce on weekdays.

had always overlooked thisplaceand gone to dukes next door, we were so missing out! genuine and friendly service, great tasting coffee. the food, simply amazing. i don't think i'll be going back to dukes anytime soon

my mum talked of thisplaceback when it was run by the original polish couple. she's been coming here for almost 30 years for what she calls 'fab famous borscht'. we decided to return and see what it's like now for mother's day last weekend.
we ordered the polish borsch and the krok madame which was absolutely beautiful. the brie was melted perfectly into the waffle topped with a perfectly poached egg. i would highly recommended. the beetroot soup was authentic, flavoursome and just how my mum remembers it 25 years ago while the dumplings were absolutely delicious with a wonderful combination of herbs.

we also decided to do the three vodka tasters, we selected:
- sobieski karmel (smooth and butterscotch-y)
- zozworówka ginger
- wiśniówka nisskosher (dark cherry)

the best by far was the smooth and butterscotch-y which is a must try for any people wanting to try the vodkas here (which you should). the three types in taster glasses was a great way to try a few of the extensive range of vodkas on offer.

we booked a table for two at the last minute. the online booking form wouldn’t let us book. however, you should try calling the restaurant anyway since they still take phone bookings if there are tables available.

we got the
• baltic sea tasting plate
• mushroom and sauerkraut dumplings
• sautéed green vegetables
• lamb goulash
• vegan strawberry cheesecake

all were very nice and quite hearty. we were both extremely full but we couldn’t stop eating!
we also got 3 different cocktails and a mulled wine between us. the cocktails were fantastic but the mulled wine was average at best so probably skip that.

not much to complain about here. a couple of the dishes were a quite slow to come out, to be expected on a busy night i guess. and it can be a little bit loud sitting inside.

definitely recommend giving thisplacea try if you are in the area. you cannot go wrong here.

delicious food and amazing drinks delivered with great customer service, i mean come on! borsch, vodka and tears was my go to when i used to live in the area. theplaceis edgy, always filled with a large gathering of uber cool crowds. i had no experience of polish food prior to bvt, but man i was utterly impressed by everything on the menu. i highly recommend their sharing dishes, the more the merrier! i can not fault thisplaceon bit, highly recommend!

ps: don't forget to visit their sister restaurant - after the tears in elsternwick. tha bomb!

i came here for dinner w my partner and a friend. i’ve wanted to come here for ages now and i keep missing out so i was really excited.

initially i started w a flight of 3 strong vodkas and whoa they certainly warmed me up. the first one was fine until a few mins later hahaha, happy days!

my partner and friend ordered a vesper cocktail w gin, vodka, vermouth and this took my breath away hahaha! phew, it was strong.

food wise we ordered cabbage rolls which were good, but the cabbage leaves were thick and tasted a little undercooked for me.

we shared some dumplings, one beef and chicken and the other one was porcini mushroom and sauerkraut and they were both delicious. they were really moorish and filling. they came w different sauces and this was a highlight.

the sticky cranberry vodka glazed pork belly was fantastic, the pork was cooked really well, it was juicy and the sticky sauce was like toffee. yum!

we then shared a platter called a farmers zakuski which consisted of vodka cured kangaroo “tartare” and lamb croquette, venison & smoked duck terrine, devils on horseback (what was that? lol), old fashioned salami,ham hock fritter and rich mans butter.

the farmers zakuski was delicious, i really enjoyed the different elements to this dish and the various flavours. even the rich mans butter tasted good, it was almost like lard w meat pieces. i am not sure what the devils on horseback was but everything tasted really good hahaha.

this was a really fun night and thisplaceis definitely worth a visit.

came here on a saturday night with my husband. highly recommend trying thisplaceout. both food and service was great. we ordered 7 dishes to share and each of it was very tasty. their starters especially was delicious. will definitely come here again.

charming! this was a lovely little gem which served comfort polish food. their bar is well stocked but i went for the gluhwein- perfect for the cold, rainy melbourne day we were having when we dined at this establishment. i was looking forward to
the dinner menu but they don’t start serving that until 2:30pm. so we had to go with the breakfast/brunch/lunch menu. i highly recommend the borch soups, pierogis, polish gnocchi, reueben sandwich and hungarian sausages- yes we ate all of that between 3 of us! wish they had a dessert menu for lunch- after all it’s european food- dessert is a must to finish off a meal. definitely aplaceto try when here in melbourne! i’ll be back.

i had heard great things about thisplaceso was quite excited to see what all the hype was about. it was dimly lit with warm red hues with quite an extensive bar menu. overall, we had a fantastic time at borsch, vodka and tears. the waitresses were personable and made us feel at ease. the food was fantastic and we were very comfortably full and definitely happy with our food choices. i am excited to go back to try their other dishes and maybe a tasting platter of vodka...or 2. it is definitely worth a visit to satisfy your polish cravings or experience this cuisine for the first time.

a charming littleplaceand something a little unusual even for prahran. the polish borscht with dumplings was moreish and blintzes are a must to have on the side. shall be coming back to try to white borscht & vodka cocktails.

a niceplacefor drinks on a saturday night. not too crowded and a huge drinks selection to choose from. cocktails are also not too pricy here. i really liked the apple pie cocktail 😊 tasted like apple pie and was a generous serving.

beautiful and interesting eminence inside which transforms you to eastern europe the minute you step inside the restaurant.
we ordered 10 different vodka tasters to share. the chocolate infused vodka was my favourite. the straight ones, distilled 3-6 times were quite strong for me but really smooth!!
vegan platter had all the popular dishes but the standouts were the mushroom crepe, cabbage roll and falafels.
zucchini flowers had thick batters that prevented us tasting the vegie.
vegan chicken was made of cauliflower and again the batter was too thick.
service was excellent. although it was difficult to get attention as the waiters were super busy most of time, they were always super friendly and smiling upon serving.
thisplaceis overall 3.5 stars.
apparently more vegan food will be added to the menu after it’s increased popularity since its conception 3-4 years ago.