Please note, Mamuska! has now closed. However, the restaurant has another branch in Waterloo, which remains open. Time Out Food editors, June 2019.
At weekends, this Polish counter-service restaurant is so popular that staff greet diners with instructions to ‘sit wherever you can find a space’. Its hefty portions of Eastern European comfort food attract students from nearby Westminster and South Bank Universities as well as a sizeable Polish-speaking crowd in such numbers that it’s often a case of squishing on to a communal table while you wait for staff to call out your order number.
It’s all very no-frills, but the appeal of this little place is down to the prices. The cooking is variable – enjoyably thick and gelatinous pork belly came with lumpy mash while beef stroganoff was decent if a tad dry. But most mains come in at less than a tenner, and the often very good £3 soup and wide selection of Mama’s £5 lunch deals offer astonishing value. For us, though, it’s Mamuska’s extensive booze range that’s the real highlight. There’s a rotating cast of more than 20 excellent Polish beers, some of which are seriously strong (you have been warned). The range of delicious flavoured vodkas (stored in the freezer) is long enough to make you pity the staff when they’re asked to recite them. If you’re worried about trying Polish food for the first time, remember the Mamuska mantra: ‘Everyone loves Polish food – some people just don’t know it yet.’ This is definitely a decent place to grab a bite if you need to fill up on a budget, but it’s an even better spot for a drink or three – if you can bag a seat, that is.