There’s a new fabulous restaurant in the North East with former Hjem head chef at the helm. Marek Dziedzic’s Biedronka opened on October 1st, bringing a polished set menu of Polish dishes to The South Causey Inn.
While it’s Marek’s first restaurant, he’s worked at some of the top restaurants in the country including The Stafford in London, so we were expecting nothing short of exceptional.
The dining experience is a relaxed one and anything but stuffy with some great tunes playing through the sound system in the beautiful South Causey Inn farmhouse. The snack courses which are served early on in the set menu are prepared in front of diners at a farmhouse table in the centre of the restaurant. Such a wonderful warm touch, you immediately feel part of an immersive offering and it’s definitely something different from the quiet, awkward atmosphere that sometimes accompanies tasting menu style offerings.
Showcasing British produce and Polish heritage with dumplings featuring quite heavily across the menu (from yeast heavy to light and fluffy), Marek and his team who were based at the farmhouse previously with Restaurant Hjem have really crafted an extraordinary menu which most importantly, brings something totally new to the North East food scene.
Lindisfarne oysters were dressed in a punchy fresh cucumber and sorrel jelly, four types of Polish sausage were a surprise star of the menu, and pan-fried brill was served with luscious Shetland mussels in a luxurious cider, celery and cream sauce.
The pierogi ruskie – a potato and cheese dumpling in rich brown butter and crispy breadcrumbs was quite simply wowing, while duck with beetroot was accompanied by a yeast dumpling stuffed with braised duck leg.
A playful chocolate souffle to finish was absolute perfection – and if you’ve ever tried to make a souffle, you’ll know how hard it is to get it just right! Oozing with rich chocolate, sour cream ice cream was an unusual accompaniment which totally worked.
Vodka and raisin madeleines sent us on our way with an excellent crisp to soft centre ratio – some of the best we’ve ever eaten and really, it was just the icing on the cake.
The wine list is elegant and select, with red, white, orange and rose wines on the menu. The Winnica Turnau Polish Chardonnay was incredible – floral, creamy, vanilla and nut notes were dreamy when paired with the pierogi ruskie, while the Pheasant’s Tears Poliphonia Red Blend with its earthiness and deep dark fruits was a great choice for the duck course.
We did say we were expecting exceptional and we were not disappointed.
If you love trying new cuisine, this one is for you. You can choose how many courses you’d like ranging from 4 courses for £65 to 7 courses for £95 with optional wine pairings at an additional £60.
Biedronka is open Wednesday through to Saturday with two sittings, while Saturday and Sunday lunch is also available. All dietary requirements are catered for.