Rzeszowska Bakery

I try to swing by here every time I am on my way out of the city to visit my grandparents. My step-​grandma (a real term?) is Polish and loves the poppy seed bread, reminds her of the stuff she got when she was growing up!

The very best rye bread… Cheap and delicious. Old world charm. Fragrances from the other foods were truly amazing!!!

I hate to give a bad review of small/adorable/‘Old New York’ places like this but I really can’t bring myself to even give even a 3-​star review. We tried a cheese Danish, an apple Danish, and a piece of apple cake. The apple Danish ($ 1.50) wasn’t very good; the apple mix was decent but the pastry/​bread really was dry and bland. The cheese Danish ($ 1.50) was irredeemable. There was hardly any filling, and it really didn’t taste like anything in particular. The apple cake ($ 1.50 for a small slice) was the best of the three, but it still wasn’t very good. It’s a streusel topping over a mashed apple mixture on a cake-​like base, and the texture was good, but it just didn’t taste like anything.

I needed bulk amounts of cake and I didn’t have time to go farther into Greenpoint to my usual place, so I tried Rzeszowska which is right off the G train at Greenpoint Ave between India and Java. It is a small place and don’t expect much variety. They don’t have anything to do with chocolate. Makes sense… mostly cheese, poppy seed and cherries, but the babkas, donuts and slabs of cheese and fruit tart are fresh and taste home made.

My mom’s family is from Poland and every year before going home for Easter since living in Brooklyn, I stop at Rzeszowska Bakery. They make my family’s favorite babka and poppyseed bread.
Walking in to this no frills, small bakery you cannot help but immediately fall in love with the air-​filled scent of sugary deliciousness. My ability to speak Polish is limited to only being able to sing «Happy Birthday» which wouldn’t help me in ordering, but the woman that works here is very sweet and fluent in English. Their babka (cheese and plain) are so deliciously sweet, light and fluffy. The poppyseed is my favorite ever.
Hands down my favorite Polish bakery!

RUDE RUDE RUDE!
I called inquiring about paczki before a big polish holiday and the lady on the phone was of no help and extremely rude and condescending and actually hung up on me. I will never step foot into this place. I am going to SYRENA to get my paczki. They have pleasant workers and an amazing selection!

Cheese babka and half poppy seed cake = $ 8 total = solid but nothing worth returning for.

Makowiec, poppy seed cake, is good but my favorite are the blackberries Danishes. The woman at the counter has jokes, the last time I asked about when the Danishes will be available she said that didn’t know and it would be a surprise. cash only

Amazing little bakery. We bought some poppy seed cake and donuts and a blueberry danish. All were fantastic. Very tiny shop we walked to in the 20 degree weather while my daughter complained the whole way.

Tasty and inexpensive treats! Authentic Polish bakery. The Woman is fluent in both Polish and English and was very pleasant. We always grab a small treat for the road when in the area.

I picked up the Makowiec/​Poppy Seed Bread and it’s delicious, entire loaf for only $ 3.50. I’ve seen similar breads for up to $ 10.
My experience in the bakery was a little awkward, I think the shop keeper expected me to order in Polish, many people seem to think I’m from there. I am actually Czech, but I’m a few generations removed from Bohemia so I only know curses and toasts. It reminded me of my experience in Prague where I’d apologize in English and say that I didn’t speak Czech and the person I was speaking with would keep speaking in Czech.
Anyway, all of the items in the bakery look amazing, its tiny so I don’t think that you have to worry about anything sitting for too long since it seems to have a high turnover. The woman was a bit gruff and seemed like she would have been happier if I purchased more things but she filled my order and it was really fine. I wasn’t expecting to walk out with a new BFF but I did walk out with some nice bread so it’s all good.

Really, it’s just an OK place. If you’re Polish or know how to speak it, they welcome you with open arms, if not, you’ll be faced with the worst Eastern European attitude. Maybe Unilocalers who reviewed this place with 5 stars, have NEVER stepped foot outside their comfort zone bakery and thinks this is the best bakery ever or they’re probably Polish Americans. Nevertheless, got the Cheese Baka and some Apple Danish. The bread was ok, yes not overwhelmingly sweet like your typical American baked goods and pastries but I thought the taste was boring and I got sick and tired of eating the bread after 2 bites which is not a good sign. I probably should’ve gotten the Poppy Seed Danish but whatever, I’m so unsuccessful when it comes to Polish bakeries… one more time and I’ll probably give up

Immediately in love with this little Polish bakery. All things smelled and tasted fresh. There is a little bike rack in front of the store = cyclists friendly. I’ve tried blueberry danish, poppy seed danish, apple danish, apple cake, mushroom danish, and poppy seed cake. I especially like the poppy seed cake, apple Danish, and apple cake (a la Polish pie). Pricing wise it is not the most affordable bakery but it’s worth paying for guaranteed freshness.

Wow! The boyfriend and I have been sitting on the couch for the past hour, utterly unable to stop devouring a cheese babka and a poppy seed roll. Delicious. Affordable. Great find!

Yikes, I would give the pastries one star (I threw them out after a bite into each), but I understand I probably don’t have the palate for Polish baked goods. And entering the bakery was a neat experience; I felt as if I were transported back to Poland in the 70s. I bought some small cheese turnovers and the poppyseed danish. The former were really bland, and the latter was slightly better (just a touch of sweetness in the poppy). Nothing to write home about. Especially since I had just had delicious donuts from Peter Pan a couple blocks up.

Well, I got two pastries with the expressed intent of bringing half of both home for my buddy. They didn’t even survive the 20-​minute walk home.
One was a poppyseed danish and it was so incredibly tasty. It’s like a cross between a croissant and makowiec — two things I can’t get enough of, yet am awfully picky about. It was a little dry but I came late (they’re open everyday until 8pm). I’ll have to roll out of bed early for some fresh ones. Heck, for these puppies I might just pitch a tent in front of the storefront until opening.
Also had the apple danish — almost as good as the poppyseed danish. The apples are cut into thin long strips instead of chunks which makes the pastry far from soggy, and makes a juicy and flavorful filling.
Not too buttery, plenty yeasty, soft and flakey. Perfect level of sweetness. I’m hard pressed to think of a better bakery, even in Poland.

I had the most mind-​bending experience at this bakery.
I went to this bakery on Fat Thursday to pick up paczki to supplement a Diversity & Inclusion event at work meant to raise awareness about the little known holiday celebrated by our eastern european colleagues.
Although everyone was speaking polish in the tightly packed bakery, I saw a queue that we were being asked how many donuts we were waiting for. So I said «2 dozen». This big burly guy in front of me then looked at me, said something in polish, and repeated what I said as if to say everyone was going to be there awhile.
After about 20 mins my turn came and I ordered my «2 dozen». Without skipping a beat the lady behind the counter stuffed two paczki in a brown bag and said $ 1.50. So, I said: «oh, I’m sorry I said 2 dozen» — and then… all hell broke loose.
All of a sudden, as the lady’s stuffing a dozen donuts in a bag, I’m being verbally assaulted by an angry mob being told that I’m a liar, that I only said two donuts, that I held up two fingers, that this is unfair and that it’s a polish holiday, «it’s OUR holiday».
I was so confused and overwhelmed by the reaction, I plead with the mob that there was a misunderstanding, and that I didn’t mind waiting. But now I’m being asked if I work, because everyone else works and that they only have this time to come to the bakery, and that there’s no misunderstanding and that, again, I’m a liar. So I repeated that I didn’t mind waiting until everyone was taken care of, when finally the lady behind the counter said «no wait» and handed me over my dozen.
Never in my life have I felt so wrongfully accused and victimized. In fact, I felt setup because I’m positive the guy in front of me commented on my order. I still can’t wrap my head around what happened, especially since I was neither confrontational nor snide in my remarks.
There’s no doubt that this bakery’s paczki are freshly made and good. But in the end I went to Northside bakery to pick up the remaining dozen I needed for my event. Their paczki were the same price ($ 0.75 each), double the size, neatly boxed and delicious. Being treated like a human being was a huge plus.

best cherry-​filled Paczi I have ever had… (couldn’t survive long enough for photographic documentation)
The cherry and plum layered crumb cake is perfectly sweet and tart… their «danishes» are moist and not overly sweet.

Best Makowiec (poppy seed roll) I’ve ever had. Even better than my Polish grandma’s, and that’s saying a hell of a lot. Their Paczki is also among the best I’ve ever had. Everything I’ve ever gotten there has been so fresh and tasty!
Also, check out their cheese babka. Really really good. And even after three days at home in a plastic container, the left over bit was still tasty and relatively moist. Can’t beat that!
*note: if you go, don’t expect to be able to sit and have a cup of coffee or anything. Not that kinda bakery. It’s a come in and get your pastries to take home kinda place. Still, absolutely worth it.

Best babka in Brooklyn!
Next time you are in the Greenpoint Brooklyn area, check out Rzeszowska Bakery. This tiny corner bakery is small on space but big on taste. They have freshly made babkas that can not stay in stock as all the local Poles and pastry lovers line up to grab a few of the tasty treat. Also try the poppy seed cakes and grab a few paczkis (aka polish donuts). Nice staff and don’t worry they speak both Polish and English. Low prices and quick service make this place a must when you are hanging out in Little Poland.