Pierogies at Euro Food Bakery & Cafe in Charleston, South Carolina
by Esme Addison
If you follow me on social media or my posts on Due South, you know that I married into a Polish family and write a mystery series based on the Polish Mermaid of Warsaw. So of course, when I travel I’m always on the lookout for a good Polish restaurant. They are harder to find down south, but there are a few and they are gems.
On my last trip to Charleston, South Carolina, I stumbled upon Euro Food Bakery & Cafe both an Eastern European grocery mart and a sit down restaurant that serves Ukrainians, Polish and other East European food. Euro Food was founded by Maka Aptsiauri and her husband Aleksandr Pavlichenko in 2006. Pavlichenko is from Ukraine, and Aptsiauri is originally from the Republic of Georgia so they come with a nice diverse foundation in Eastern European food.
The dining area is cozy and decorated in a way that pleasantly evokes the region with artwork and other ephemera.
The menu is not expansive but it includes enough dishes, and if you’re looking for good down-home Polish fare like your babcia made, you’ll be pleased by your choices. I selected potato and cheese pierogies. Nothing fancy. Just authentic and good.
I left very pleased to have found this lunch spot and will definitely return on my next sojourn to Charleston.
Except for a very popular Polish food truck I heard services the Charleston-area, I believe this is the only place you can get authentic Polish food in South Carolina. Certainly the only sit-down restaurant. If I’m wrong please contact me and let me know!
You can watch more of my visit on my Instagram feed. Btw – are you following me? 🙂