Never be fooled if a restaurant does not look that good from the outside as it's what is in the inside that counts. Originally this was a gathering place for Glasgow's Polish community dating back over 50 years, Restauracja U Jarka is somewhere between a social club and a Taverna certainly unique, with vintage features from the carved wooden chairs to the embroidered tablecloths make this a charming, quirky restaurant that serves up traditional honest cuisine. Chunky filled dumplings and breaded pork are the highlights, l settled with the beef and potato soup followed by the meat stew and potato pancakes then to top it off the tiramisu, one thing for sure you won't leave hungry. Beers at great prices with the option of staying longer in the adjoining bar where Poles young and old mix with locals in a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Our server was Klaudia who did a great job. read more

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Ever been in a Polish farmhouse kitchen? No, me either. Well that was until last night! On a dark street, down some steep rundown stairs you find what seems like a tiny little bit of Poland in Glasgow. TBH at first I was a little bit apprehensive, it did not look like somewhere I would pick to eat. It was old fashioned and quite strange, but as I sat longer I realised it was quite warm and homely. Like sitting in someone's kitchen for dinner. The food was amazing. To start I had delicious sour rye soup with smoked sausage and a boiled egg floating in it. Very unusual but lovely. Then we shared cheese dumplings. Not my favourite dumpling ever, but still very good. They were like fried batter with cream cheese inside them. For mains I had a brilliant pork roll with spinach in it and chips on the side. The portion was massive and the food was great, proper home cooked style and tasted awesome. This is like no where else in Glasgow. It feels as if your are stepping back in time or into another country. There are no frills here, think more bowling club or social club in terms of decor, but this all adds to the experience and if you fancy something different and a bit rustic, you will love this place. Add in that it's cheap. 16 pounds a head for loads of food and a huge beer. Plus you can go next door to the bar area and get two jaegers and a gin and tonic for 5.70! What's not to like? In sum. Experience something completely different. Have great food and it won't break the bank. I will be back soon. read more

U Jarka Restaurant - Polish Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

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If your after a big, warm hug from a plate of grub, a plate of food that tastes like its been honestly prepared with a big dollop of love (and butter), well this is the place for you! Food is traditionally Polish, big portions of meat, pierogi (and a special mention to the wonderfully stodgy and delicious pierogi ruskie) and fish available. Main dishes are served with a choice of potatoes and various cold pickles (cabbage, beetroot or similar). This really is comfort food at its most comforting. My big, big favourite here is the traditional sour rye soup with egg and sausage. I often like to try new things when I go to a restaurant, but when I visit this place, I simply can't resist its meaty soupy goodness. Aaah, the food memories it brings back! There are a variety of Polish beers available and often some home made cakes to finish you off (I mean that literally, in a you'll be totally stuffed kind of way). I should also add this place is exceptionally good value for money. People may be intimated to walk in, being in the basement of the rather old fashioned looking Sikorski Polish Club, but on my many visits I've always found it very friendly. The decor is interesting, but it adds to the Polish charm....and if your lucky they might be playing the latest Polish pop hits on their wee micro hi-fi. Lovely stuff. read more

I'd spotted this place years ago and vowed to pop in at some point... this point was last night... I curse myself for not doing it sooner. So here's the story. Forget how this place looks. Forget the fact that it feels a little bit like the dining room of a cheap hotel. Forget the fact that it's in a basement that you reach by walking through a random doorway and locate via a hand drawn sign with an arrow pointing down. Forget all this. Eat the food. Eat it. Now. Now the main reason we popped along here last night was the grub after a recommendation from our very on Rocco. He said order the soup. We ordered the soup. It was good. Oh man was it good. On top of the awesome soup I ordered the beef stew. Full of flavour. Nothing fancy or contrived. Just meat in gravy... with chips. The best thing? Well apart from the grub, the price. Starter of soup, main of beef stew and a weird apple beer (don't order it, it's really not that nice!) came in at just over a tenner. Sold. Go here. It's basic grub, but tasty as all hell. read more

U Jarka Restaurant - Polish Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

Hidden near Kelvingrove, this seems to be a restaurant that not many in Glasgow know about. Thankfully Rocco G shared up with us all, and organised a UYE (unofficial Yelp event!) for last week. It was like a mini holiday - a really unique place with a rustic, comfortable vibe. Our booking for 7.30 was somewhat delayed by a school group (?!) of 40 (??!!) dining in the restaurant. Thankfully they seemed to get fed pretty quick smart and we were seated not long after 8. We'd had a good look at the menu while sitting in the bar area (very cosy and cheap beers) so were able to order quickly. We'd decided to share some pierogi to share between us (two plates of cheese and two plates of meat between 9 people). I went for the beef soup to start and the potato pancakes with beef stew for main. In hindsight, these two dishes were super beefy and I should have mixed it up a bit! But they were both really tasty, in fact the beef soup was probably filling enough (with some pierogi) for a main. The real highlight for me though was the potato pancakes and the beef stew. The pancakes were almost like rosti, and had a really nice crispy outside. I would have preferred if the beef stew was on the side of the pancakes as they went soggy pretty quickly. I'd request this next time. The desserts (pancakes) looked really tempting but I decided I'd had enough. The meal came to around £15 each which is really good value as we all had starters, mains and pierogi; and some had pancakes and beer as well! Don't visit here expecting a fancy meal. It's a casual place that does Polish food and is great for guests. Service was impressive and couldn't be faulted. I can't wait to go back. read more

U Jarka Restaurant - Restaurant - Polish Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

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Tucked away off the busy streets of Finnieston, you will find this little gem of a place. First impressions - have I stepped into a family restaurant in a small village in Poland? Small and cosy. Straight to our table we order some polish beer. You know a place authentic when 1. The only serve the local drinks (polish beer and some sort of berry juice) and 2. Everyone dining is polish! Time to order some food. We all went for the Rye soup for starters. Beware this is massive. Full of flavour and served with a cheeky wee boiled egg in the middle. The only this that was missing was some bread. We also ordered a starter side of Pierogi cheese style. 9 delicious soft cheese dumplings fried in onions. Stuffed you say? Out comes our mains. I went for the potato pancakes with 1/2 beef stew, if this was the half portion I'm scared to see what the full portion is like. So tasty and rich in flavour, thee beef melts in your mouth. I would highly recommend this dish. I was lucky enough to try a little bit of Austen M's dish and I get the feeling that there is no such thing as a bad meal in here. No deserts as fullness had well and truly kicked in. The staff were friendly but also left you too it. Which was good. Now you cannot leave without have a drink in the only ( that I know of) polish social club. 2 jäger with ice and a G&T - £5!!!!!!!!! This place is amazingly cheap, the full night for under 50quid. Good atmosphere, great food and awesome prices. U Jarka is a must! I will be back very very soon. read more

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When I walked into the Restauracja U Jarka, I thought I was in the wrong place! Upstairs resembles a run down social club. It's only when you go downstairs (where there's Polish beer a-plenty!) that you get that homely, authentic Polish feel. I swear I could have been in a little cabin bar in Poland! We were greeted by the most sweet and well-mannered Scottish Polish girl who told us, very apologetically, that we would have a wait until the restaurant was free since they'd had a large booking previously. Not a problem, it gave us time to sample the lovely Polish beer! If you're looking for extravagant luxury food, U Jarka is probably not the place for you. But, if you're looking for a genuine authentic Polish experience with real homely food, then you'll love this place! In terms of Polish food, I've only tried bigos before and it was delicious so I was expecting good things. We were in for a treat! I had the sour rye soup with egg and sausage to start and it was like no soup I've ever had before. - So wholesome, filled with flavour and, of course, with an egg! I then had the potato pancakes with beef stew which was just as tasty. The pancakes were just the right sort of crispy and the beef stew was perfectly flavoured. We ordered some meat and some cheese dumplings to share and they were lovely too! (I have to be honest, I did not envy Martyn's de-boning of the fish!) Unfortunately, I didn't have room for dessert and had to catch the last train home, but the desserts looked just as good as everything else I tried! To sum it up, the food is great, the portions are generous and the prices are jaw-droppingly cheap! (Soup for a £1, you say?!) It was a shame that they didn't have a few of the dishes available that we'd wanted to order but, all in all, I commend the food and the experience. For a real Polish dining experience, Restauracja U Jarka hits the spot! I will be back! Thanks for such a great recommendation, Rocco! read more

If one day you were to wander just off Argyle Street and walk for a bit, come across a Polish club's headquarters, wander in, wander downstairs and turn right - you'd find Restauracja U Jarka; one of the only, if not the only, Polish restaurant in Glasgow. You wouldn't be faulted for not even knowing this place existed; I got lost coming in and was thrown off by no one speaking English, but once you head downstairs to where the bar and restaurant are, it's all good. Last night, Rocco's Yelp Glasgow International Food Club landed us here for the first event, and what an experience it was! Unfortunately we were seated much later than we were supposed to be, as a much larger table came in right before us, but I suppose that couldn't be helped. When we were taken into the restaurant, it honestly felt like Poland. I sort of have holiday blues today being back in Glasgow even though I never left. The food on offer here is so basic, as Polish cuisine is, but so delicious and filling. The menu only has things like soups, beef, stews, fish and their famous pancakes and dumplings. Such simple things but so well made. I had the sour rye soup with egg and polish sausage to start, which was gloriously good, but my main was a bit on the intimidating side. Not that having to fillet a fish is a difficult process, or debone it, but when you're expecting a nice fillet to come in front of you, getting a whole fish (with olives for eyes!) was a surprise. Luckily Donald was across from me and his chef skills told me I did well (despite the fact I kept picking bones out my mouth...). I finished most of it though, and the small ratatouille of veg that came with it was delicious. For dessert I had the ever so filling but delicious Nutella filled pancakes - the chef even wrote the name of the restaurant in cocoa powder, which was a lovely touch. The only reason my review isn't higher is because of the substantial wait and the trout was a bit too fiddly to enjoy fully, but I'll definitely be back. If only the steak tartare had been available... read more

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Married to a Polish woman this review should really be written by her, that said this is a little gem of a place. Great food, great portion sizes and cheap beer it's a winner on so many levels. Add with it the polish hospitality and utter friendliness of the staff and completely welcoming attitudes to both individuals, groups and family's this is a touch of traditional Poland in the heart of Glasgow read more

U Jarka Restaurant - Polish Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

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When my boyfriend first told me he was taking me to a polish social club for dinner, I was rather sceptical, but can wholeheartedly say that it was an unexpected pleasure. There's nothing pretentious or fancy about this place- you might even walk by it if you didn't know it was there, but the character inside certainly makes up for it, it oozes atmosphere which so many modern restaurants lack. The food itself was brilliant- cooked with love and very flavoursome. My boyfriend had beef soup as a starter which came inside a huge edible bread roll! The desserts are all home made and the waitress was more than happy to talk with us and tell us about their history and how they make everything by hand. the cakes, well, wow! Possibly the best chocolate sponge I have ever had. Again, nothing fancy but just cooked really well, reasonably priced, and good sized portions. The charm, eccentric character, friendly owner and staff as well as the little finishing touches and little extras make this an absolute must place to eat. Oh and cheap beer!There was a polish wedding taking place in the functions area upstairs, adding to the experience. Would definitely recommend! read more

The staff is amazing! Great food, cheap polish beer, good value for money. Definitely recommended!!