A lovely Polish restaurant with delicious food and stellar service. We came for a birthday dinner and the staff was so accommodating. It made the dinner so much more special, and I can see why my brother is a regular here.

Food was tasty. Service was ok. In mid of meal someone come over and ask if all is OK. I think it was manager. Water with lemon was free. Place didn't look to Polish designe way. Kids' meal was really big.

Really tasty home-cooked proper food! Very reasonably priced for the amount too! Me & my friend shared 2 main courses which was perfect. It felt very authentic but I am not that familiar with Polish food but it was certainly a bit different for me! Beautiful flavours & presented well. A friendly waitress & the interior & setting of the restaurant was also perfect. I would like to try some other dishes another time X ♥️

Every dish we ordered was delicious and prepared with care and great ingredients. The dishes tasted authentic and the staff was really nice, so we enjoyed our time at the restaurant.

Me and my girlfriend ate here on our first day of a 3 day trip in York. We came back again on our last night because it was so good. Top class service, brilliant food and lovely atmosphere. Wish we caught our server's name, she was wonderful. Next time we are in York, we will certainly be back!

First time eating here and certainly won’t be the last. Delicious, wholesome and quality food. Pierogi’s were so moreish! Staff were all lovely and service times were spot on. I even brought some cheesecake home with me to enjoy. Lovely place!

Great atmosphere and amazing food! The service was quick and really polite. The food was great - but I wish I wouldn’t choose the pork belly as it was a bit too much for me in sense of fattiness, but it was great nevertheless. The starters were amazing too. The atmosphere is really cozy. Definitely a place to visit when in York.

My first time in a polish restaurant and I have to say that it didn’t disappoint me: flavoursome food and smiling service. I wished there were more dumpling units because they were delicious! Definitely coming again.

Food was so good we went back twice. My polish fiancée approves, so can't go wrong. Classy venue. Bigos highly recommended

I highly recommend Blue Barbakan. The food is extremely delicious, I've always had friendly service and it's got a lovely, unique ambience. Pictured is the Bigos Hunter's Stew, I'd also recommend the cabbage leaf stew and the pancakes. Full of flavour and with authentic, filling Polish food you can't find in many places, it's a must visit for anyone living in York. Also, leave room for pudding as the cakes and coffees are splendid!

After lots of travels around Eastern Europe, I'm delighted to find a great restaurant slightly closer to home. We had a wonderful meal in Blue Barbakan in a lovely atmosphere with excellent service for a great price. I'm a fiend for stuffed cabbage rolls, known elsewhere as sarmale or gołąbki here and these ones were excellent and a really generous portion. The same goes for shashlik (szaszłyk here) for my wife who similarly enjoyed her meal thoroughly. If ever in York again, we'll be back.

Wonderfully friendly, helpful staff. Nice atmosphere and the food is delicious. ALSO come here for afternoon tea and cake, the cakes look delicious! We opted for Betty's Tea Room in the afternoon, and queued. Wished we'd come here instead!

Plus for the puppy being allowed in the restaurant ☺️. But 1. Scrambled eggs were soggy 2. Pancakes nothing like american ( please chef try another recipe) 3. Brioche ordered , given toast 5. The fact that I couldn't get omelette just with spinach and cheese is annoying. They said spinach has garlic inside. Location nice, atmosphere nice And they had free sanitary napkins for ladies in the bathroom 🔥

Had the best brunch at this place. Cozy, filling, generous portions and delicious. Friendly service and away from the tourist-bustle.

Outstanding restaurant. Came here for an early birthday brunch with my other half. The staff are so attentive and friendly; they’ve really made our trip memorable and wonderful. Delicious coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice; food is all beautifully homemade and you can tell love has gone into this food. The breakfast is fantastic (eaten previously) and would highly recommend the pierogi and lamb stew. I’ve never had such a delicious beetroot purée, or such fresh tasting sour cream. Portions are very generous - hearty, authentic Polish food. Desserts are delicious, well balanced, homemade cakes. The baked cheesecake was outstanding. The restaurant itself is cosy, homely, and very airy. Well worth the money (we ate like kings, and sensibly skipped breakfast!) Can’t wait to come back and try more :-)

Visiting York for the week and this is my favorite breakfast place! The atmosphere is calm, the prices are fair, and the food is amazing. We had the breakfast sandwich, Shakshouka, and full English. Strong coffees! It’s a nice change from the hustle and bustle.

Lovely place lovely food. Would be a 5 all round if they could bring a dish without bacon. My wife doesn't eat meat, ordered the veggie shashuka. Which they now don't do. Then ordered poached eggs. It came with bacon, so we sent it back. They brought it back with the bacon still on and a side of salmon. Not quite what we was expecting for a solution.. 😅

Absolutely delicious food, really tasty and great portions- good value for money. The staff were very friendly, smiling and interacting with my 2 small children. A lovely atmosphere and overall experience. We will definitely be back!

Really good atmosphere, very tasty authentic Polish food. Would definitely visit again!

Probably the best Polish restaurant in Yorkshire 🤩 The food was very tasty and the portions really good size. The cakes not exactly Polish and not exactly to my taste but otherwise was amazing!

A truly HORRIFIC experience with a rude owner and inedible food! I’m very honest with all of my reviews and I’ve eaten authentic Polish food in Poland, so I do know that culturally their food can be super tasty. However, this food was quite literally offensive to my taste buds and it is one of the first times I’ve been unable to eat less than 10% of any meals I’ve been served in ANY restaurant and on any of my travels. I’m also a very adventurous eater and there’s very little that I won’t manage to get down, even if it doesn’t quite hit the spot, so this was a pretty big deal for me. - The icing on the cake is the utterly revolting owner who showed zero compassion or empathy towards our dissatisfaction and became aggressive and rude to the point I asked her to call the police when she refused to discount our bill at all. Now look, please understand that this wasn’t a bah humbug attempt at some free food… after all we ate less than 10% of it!!!! I even offered her £40 when she became unwilling to even listen to me and tried to hold my wife hostage in her restaurant. At this point there was simply no reasoning with her and she just kept referring to her excellent online reviews, so we were left with no other option but to stand our ground and leave on a matter of principle. Oh dear, our romantic evening in York will be remembered for all the wrong reasons as she shouted foul language down the street at us in public 🤦‍♂️. Honestly, I despair when business owners don’t have common sense and try to defuse situations. I had the Polish perogies and an attempt at eating the stew which I failed miserably at because the 4 perogies were served in a litre of revolting acrid battery acid and the stew was bone dry and couldn’t be eaten as it contained so much salt. I have no idea how this place has such good reviews based on our experience…. it truly, truly baffles me. AVOID is my best advice.

Staff managed to.get us a table even though we didn't book before Everyone was super friendly and helpful. We visited on a busy Saturday afternoon and although the service was great our food was just ok. It was lukewarm which probably was the issue, as food itself had potential to be really nice if starved hot. Staff speak both polish and English if that is important to you. The lady who served us even prepped a little note with shots names (we have fried different flavours of vodkas - highly recommend). Nice experience overall. Some interesting decorations as seen on the picks haha

Amazing little restaurant with delicious food and friendly staff. We went early and participated in the multi course special. So glad we did because we were able to try more things! I only wish I lived closer because I want to try everything on the menu!

We had a lovely and full dinner here. I’d come early on the weekends to avoid being turned away if you didn’t book. They gave us complimentary warm bread and dip which was delicious. Huge portions and I would recommend the potato pancake with beef goulash, the beef was very tender and the potato pancake were crispy. The beef dumplings were a bit salty but it was still pretty tasty. I’d give the dessert a miss unless you’re craving something sweet.

Amazing food and service. They've left us stay after 4pm with no pressure to leave as they were temporarily closed to prepare for dinner. Mushroom soup one of the best soups I ever had, amazing. Mulled wine was also very good. No dilution like elsewhere, and not overly sweet with good amount of spices. Cosy and relaxed atmosphere with plenty of space between the tables. I don't live in York, but if I did I'd be coming back many more times. Well done team 👍

Do yourself a favour and get in here to experience wholesome, homecooked, fresh & delicious dinner! We had booked for the early bird weekday special however we unfortunately had issues with transport and arrived after 7pm so we were given the regular menus. This is our own fault but it ended up costing us about £15 difference on the bill. The bread and dip on arrival is fresh & crisp. It is divine! Between us we ordered the potato & cheese perogies & fish cake starters. The fish cake was delicious however the servings seemed a little unbalanced, as there was only 1 fish cake but 3 perogies. I understand the cost difference of the menu items but just noting our thoughts on it all. For mains we ordered rabbit & goulash. Again, both were delicious and I left probably half of the potato & gravy from the goulash on the plate. The veal options were unfortunately not available, which was what my husband would have ordered so that was disappointing. We did order desserts, which looked delicious however they were unfortunately underwhelming, so from our experience, I would suggest 2 courses - entrée & main. We left extremely full and really satisfied with the service and quality of food. Highly recommend!

I was advised to go to this place and have the perogies and the beef cheeks, horseradish mash and vegetables. It was a decent size portion but unfortunately unless you like brown sauce flavour to over power the entire dish as that was the sauce. The beef cheeks were really tender but that's not everything about this dish. I open to try all new foods but nothing unique about this, the other dishes might of been better to try, but unfortunately I don't think I'll be going back again. I would advise before order you ask to try a spoon of sauce otherwise if you don't like it you're throwing £22 down the sink.

I can’t accurately attest to the authenticity of the Borscht, but what I ate was delightful. The staff were friendly, but not overbearing. The atmosphere was perfect. A homely feel to which the wooden floorboards, tasteful decor and patchwork tablecloth contributed. For what it’s worth, the coffee was great too. All this at a value price. Would definitely return.

It was very good. We tried alst everything on the menu. They were all good. The omelette had a crispy edge with a fluffy centre. Pancakes are fluffy and with a uncharasteristc crispy edge - very interesting interpretation of an American Hotcake. The Duck Rumo(u?)r the French Brioche toasts - All good, although maybe they should put the Raspberry compote on the side for the French Toast.

Excellent service. Authentic mouth watering traditional Polish food served piping hot.

Went in without a booking and were made very welcome. All 4 of us were very pleased with our choice of food - hearty portions and very tasty! Would definitely go back

Honestly one of the worst dinning experiences in york I've had yet. I went there for breakfast and the staff seemed like they didn't care, about the customers. Coffee and water took 15 min to come out and then my omelet was burnt and brown. The food lacked seasoning of a basic nature. Maybe the lunch dinner menu is better but I don't think I'd go back and try it.

Authentic, tasty, filling Polish cuisine, and we sat in the rustic basement, which actually reminded us of a place in Krakow. Couldn't be more happy with the food, surroundings, and friendly customer service. The pork loin, and the potato pancakes are excellent!

Loved it all, from the plates and bowls to the food it was all amazing, the beef cheeks were great and so tender, i wanted a pudding but sadly I was to full, I will be back for another visit when in York

Amazing little gem hidden away in an unassuming street but this has to be the best food I have tasted in years. Absolutely blew me away. The flavours were so intense and the scallops were to die for. The pork belly was delicious and if I could have managed it, Im certain the desserts would have been delicious too!

Super tasty traditional polish dishes and the waitress was lovely. The atmosphere is superb. The downstairs used to be a middle ages brothel and it is quite interesting eating there. Must have: courgette fritters!

We’ve have been thinking to visit the Blue Barbakan for 2 years, but now we had an excuse to try out this place. We didn’t regret it, it was a great experience, excellent and quick service and food was well cooked and seasoned. The prices are slightly higher than average, but in return you will get quality service and great food. I strongly recommend to everyone.

Simply a wonderful place! Pirogies were very good and the potato pancakes were just like my mom's when I was a kid. Our waitress was great. This was a great experience here in the heart of York! Although we didn't indulge, the desserts looked great!!!

The horrific chill outside may have worked in their favor, but as soon as we stepped inside the warmth and coziness felt homely and welcoming. Wasn't too busy in the morning, on a Tuesday, but there's plenty space and I get the feeling service would still be tip top even if it was. Polish French toast was a great deviation from normal French toast, but I certainly look forward to going back for a lunch menu.

Delightful place! Service and food were first class. A great place to eat even when It gets busy. It's Cosy. It's friendly. It's probably a bit of a hidden gem unless you are part of the Polish community but it won't disappoint. Worth a visit but I bet you'll end up going back again and again 👍

Excellent experience! But beware only go there when really hungry! Portions were huge and the cake selection gets you stuffed. Team was great! Continue the good work!

You must try this lovely restaurant if you are in York! A really nice cosy setting with friendly staff and even better food! Sitting next to the desserts and cakes is very tempting!

The best tomatoes I have ever had, exquisite presentation. Amazing food is an understatement. My socks have officially been knocked off. Table size was generous and staff were fabulous. I would recommend to anyone that wants to have the experience of their life.