The Birchwood of Polish Town

Best polish food outside of Green Point Brooklyn. Food here was tasty, filling and delicious, portions are huge, and it is certainly authentic polish food. Service was amazing, friendly and the food came out fast. I love everything about this place.

Have not been here in years. I read that there are new owners. Place feels like one has stepped back into the last century with easy on the eyes relaxed lighting and fabulous excellent antique airplanes overhead, while enjoying fresh tap bear (very good selection!) and savoring the perfect home made onion soup and followed by their extremely generous polish combo plate. I love this place and will return next week! Waitress perfect. Plenty else on the menu if not a fan of polish food. My new favorite restaurant because it combines fantastic ambiance, delicious food, great fresh tap beer and excellent service! And great value.

We got the Polish Pu Pu Platter… 8.5lbs of Meat… Kielbasa and Sauerkraut, Onion Rings, Potato Pancakes, Pierogi, Ribs, and Chicken Wings! Everything went great with the Celtic Ale by Long Ireland… Server was very knowledgeable about food and beer selection overall a perfect meal

Stars explained: Reviewed by myself and my plus 1…
Not to promote cheating but it is a great hide-​out spot! or… for a no frills dinner.
1 star for — the décor, something to look at while you eat and maybe for conversations or a distraction if the person you are with is a bore.
1 star for (my plus 1 says) — He would definitely go back just for the stuffed ravioli and meatballs, he claims it was dynamite.
1 star for — guys know about alcohol and my plus 1 thinks the drinks were a ⁷⁄₁₀. That being said go for happy hr because drinks are expensive post-​happy hr.
1 star for — cleanliness because lets face it…, this is important.

Very meh. I loved this restaurant under the former owner and have only been for brunch since it re-​opened. I really hope this poor experience was strictly a bunch-​only issue. The service is the biggest issue, but the food was decent.
Came for brunch on New Year’s with my family and there was no one to greet us. We were told by one of the waitstaff to seat ourselves, which is odd on a holiday that needed reservations. One of our tables wasn’t ready so we awkwardly stood in the middle of the room waiting. Once we sat, they took a drink order. I recommend you ask about the complimentary mimosa/​Bloody Mary because no one said this was included until the end of our meal.
The food was good, not great. There was only 1 server per 4 chafing dishes and the line backed up bad and people were getting upset. One of the women working the buffet couldn’t handle the volume and kept getting frustrated and overwhelmed. When you’re busy and run buffet have more people, it’s not rocket science. The flow didn’t work well either. The breakfast foods were spot on, but many of the lunch items weren’t refilled fast enough, so you’d wind up with scraps of whatever was left. The kielbasa and sauerkraut is a popular and delicious staple, but be prepared to have rubbery pierogies. The chocolate bar was a nice touch, but no one could access it because the buffet line started in front of it.
Overall, the need some work, but as long as the food in the main restaurant follows the quality of the former owners, it will have no problem staying a success.

When I first walked in it seemed a little dark. But once my eyes adjusted I saw it was a lovely well appointed restaurant. The antiques could be in a museum. Four of us ordered the Polish platter. It was packed with food. And the food was so tasty. One person ordered steak and said it was delicious. One person got the stuffed shrimp and said it was delicious. They have specials during the week for seniors.
We will definitely go back. The waiter was a little rushed. The owner was very friendly.

I used to really enjoy this place … i recently ordered a rib eye steak medium rare and was given what seemed to be a small /​thin over cooked strip steak. When i asked if it was an error with the steak the (kind) waitress said she believes they only have rib eyes on the new menu. It wasn’t a rib eye and sincerly was a lousy piece of meat, for 22.00 to boot. Which I will say is modest for this day in age. Regardless of price steaks are a tricky dish… when it’s good it’s good and when bad its bad. Birchwood always had decent meat.: (
This is what seems to be the case often unless you go to a steak house of sorts. Others that were with us had mediocre meals as well. I hate writing reviews like this because of the way things used to be prior. I hope the new owners/​management can find this helpful and bring it on back ! I truly wish the new Birchwood the best, i’ll return … i believe in loyalty
All the best
TONY G

Old world traditional Polish Food. Come here everytime Im in Riverhead. Great food, great service.

Hoping to bring back memories with some great Polish food… guess those memories will have to wait… stuffed cabbage was warm at best and ice cold in the middle… drowned in a tomato based sauce with was bland beyond belief… the fries were just plain cold as well, but the broccoli was cooked ok. The seafood bisque was creamy and delicious. Our waitress was a sweetheart, and the service was fine. I would try again just to see if the food might improve… but im in no big rush to do so.

I was not fond of my experience. The French onion soup was subpar. The chili was greasy and it took 35 min just to get appetizers before the Sunday rush came in.
Waiter was nice but in over his head. I would not recommend to anyone in a rush or those who like millers or other pubs.

If you are looking for old style Polish food, this is the place. Not so much for pasta or light salads — they may be good too but why would you come here for that kind of food. This is the place for kielbasa and perogies! If you don’t know what those are — this is the place to try it. TIP It’s a short walk from Brew Crew Cycles and a great place to go afterwards. You can tell yourself that the are replenishing the carbs you worked on the bikes! When we went Birchwood gave BrewCrew riders a discount!

I tried it out not true traditional polish food tho I don’t think the food was bad just average service ok everything was decent.

Dinner was fantastic. The Signature Penna with Vodka sauce is the best. My husband had the Shrimp stuffed with lobster and couldn’t say enough about it. Home made bread hot out of the oven to top off the meal.
What a gem here in Polish Town.

Great food, with a pretty wide selection of Polish food, typical pub food, and some nice dinner options (duck, lamb, etc.) plus a lot of representation of local beers in tap. The ambiance is classic pub, with dark wood and stained glass lamps. The service was great and the food was amazing (we went with the Polish food). My only complaint (and this hasn’t kept me from going back) is that the restaurant smells like it could use a good airing out (a little musty or something – something that I am sensitive to). I will go again next time I am in the Riverhead area!

I’m not sure about all these ratings here, this place is clearly the cornerstone Polish Restaurant in what is deemed Polish Town in a section of Riverhead. Polish food has some similarities to German food.
Five stars for what it is. authentic Polish Pub /​Restaurant, with extra nice waiters, a relaxed vibe, and a fun dining experience. Just watching other peoples orders had me turning my head or looking way too long. Loved the old pub feel.
I should say service was great, two people assisted, and the kitchen takes a good while, but to rush it would be silly, there is a bar with plenty of tap beer. so order early and expect to finish a drink or two while they are making great food. If you don’t have time, this is not a presto dining experience.
They had a Polish pu pu platter, OMG… at a neighboring table, they set it down on a pizza style raised platter and its ridiculous. Huge pub onion rings, homemade perogies, kielbasa, ribs, kraut, maybe more couldn’t see all. What I tried was a polish Reuben, and combo platter of homemade coleslaw, stuffed cabbage, kielbasa, kraut, apple sauce, a flavorful tomato spinach soup came with it.. The neighbors had lots to wrap, so did we. seems part of how people order there, expect to wrap.
Stopped in for a light lunch which became «that’s dinner». lol They recommended amazing flavored Polish beer on tap. While leaving we turned our head on the way out seeing a way over the top looking, decadent layered carrot cake. You could definitely stop just for dessert.

Very disappointing experience. Our waitress was completely flustered, (I had to ask 3 times for a glass of water) and the crowd from the bar was loud and obnoxious. The food had potential. I had the combo platter and the potato pancakes and perogis were delicious. However, the mashed potatoes were awful, the green beans were overcooked and the smoked kilbasi was nothing special.
Overall, dining here was an experience I do not care to repeat!

It was ok. I had Polish Reuben which was great. Good service, old décor. Recently reopened with a new owner.

So happy this place reopened ! Birchwood of Polish Town has been around as long as I can remember. Kudos to the new owners for bringing this place back to life after a brief closing.
When doing a little brewery hopping in Riverhead this is our go to spot to grab a bite to eat. (it’s only a few minutes way from Crooked Ladder, Moustache & Long Ireland)
You will still find all of the great Polish fare on the menu & the new owners have also added some new menu items as well.
Was happy to see they kept all of the cool memorabilia on the walls. Vintage signs & movie posters, the old gas pump, the old cash register. Its those unique items that make the Birchwood the Birchwood.
As for the food, we’ve never been disappointed. All of the portions are generous from appetizer to entrée. When ordering an entrée we’ve almost always gone home with doggy bag.
If you come here you cannot leave without trying their Perogies! They are the best!

So pleased with the re-​opening of this huge part of Riverhead! The staff was on point, (DJ from Diggers was our waiter!!!) food outstanding and I loved how the new owner was very attentive and concerned on our happiness for all! He visited every table! A++++

Disappointed when the old one closed, I was amped up to try the «new» Birchwood. Upon walking in, not much is different, but it does seem «cleaner» and less cluttered. It’s still full of memorabilia and other silly stuff.
Wasn’t busy but took over 2 min to be greeted and the waitress (one on duty at 1pm on a Monday), was slightly less than attentive.
New menus are professional the choices are extensive. You will recognize most dishes but there were new ones. The coffee was very good (same as before).
The shrimp cocktail appetizer was good and I believe the shrimp was fresh but they were not quite cold enough. Shrimp cocktail needs to be served COLD. My French dip sandwich was delicious, however. The prime rib was cooked perfectly and the au jus was perfect. Sandwich roll was crisp and toasted nicely. My friend had a hot pastrami sandwich on rye. She devoured it (the sandwich) and almost bit one of her fingers off doing it. Service C– Food A. Good luck to the new owners… we will be back. I hope Peg is still with you.