Pel’Meni Dumpling Tzar

This place serves up my favorite food in the world. It’s not as good as (or as cheap as) the one in Bellingham, but that’s because Fremont is an expensive area.
Everyone needs to experience this place!

Honestly, I didn’t get the hype about this place when I first tried it. Over $ 10 for Russian dumplings? I can boil the frozen stuff at home for like $ 2! And whats up with that piece of rye bread they give? It gets all soggy from the steam of the dumplings. Also this stuff takes way too long to make.
But one day I reluctantly agreed to come here again late at night since it’s one of the only restaurants around open past 9:00pm. I was starving at that point and the classic bowl of dumplings tasted AMAZING. And ever since then I was hooked. Coming here and ordering a large classic then going over to PIE for dessert has become a routine in my life.
I can’t really pinpoint why the food is so addicting. Eating it feels so hearty and I’ve learned to enjoy the rye bread and order ahead of time to avoid the long lines. No matter how often I come here, the dumplings never seem to get sickening. I bring all my friends here and it’s so great to see the skepticism wash away when they try the food!
Seriously, give this place at least two shots.

We went here on a Saturday night, since it was the few places that serves food late night. I had high expectations from this place, because of the awesome reviews, but it just didn’t run with me. It’s my first time trying russian dumplings, but irrespective of that, the food was weird, and the flavors didn’t go well with each other.
It’s located inside of a yoga studio (or is the yoga studio inside it?) It’s a no-​frills place. Order & pay at the counter, and wait for your name to be called. The décor is very bare, just some tables and chairs scattered around the room. They have sort of an outdoor area with more tables, between the building that houses it, so we sat there.
The food however, was very strange to me, and I am someone who is always up for a new experience. I got an order of the regular potato dumplings, while my friend got the greek chicken dumplings. The dumplings were bland, and lacked any flavor. They were served with sour cream, and some kind of bread. Also, the covering was really really think, with hardly any filling inside it. Toward the end, it became a task to finish the food.
They did have a hot sauce, which packed a punch. I wouldn’t have been able to finish my food otherwise.
The staff is very friendly and patient. Since I didn’t know what to order, the explained how it works, and were always smiling. Since it took longer than usual for our order, they even came to the outdoor area to give us the food.
It’s pretty inexpensive, $ 8 for 18, and $ 10 for 25 (plus tax and tip, of course). So it’s not too much to try it out.
I might not go back, unless a friend really wants to go here. If I do, I’ll try the mac and cheese variant. I wouldn’t recommend this place since the food wasn’t appetizing.

Simple. Dumplings, with toppings. Open Late. Love it. $ 10 can feed 2 people comfortably.
Service was great. Not too fake or overly friendly, just open and honest and helpful.
Also! Records! Omg!

this place is soooo good. simple, delicious comfort food that doesn’t feel too heavy. try the classic (with lots of curry powder!) for something more subtle or the bacon onion relish for something a bit more flavorful.
love that it’s open late!

So happy I stopped in.
There’s a pel meni place in my home town, and apparently this place gets theirs from the same place. So, it’s just as good.
This place has a few extra things I had never had before. I tried the creamy cucumber salad which was not too bad. I’m a pretty finicky eater, so it’s hard for me to try new things.
Everyone was really friendly, helping me choose which salad to choose. Talking about my shirt, and my home town, things of that nature.
It was a good meal, great conversation with the employees and a superb time all around time. I will definitely be back!

Filling Russian meat or potato dumplings served in a back alley, nothing fancy venue. Local lunch crowd from the Fremont tech scene keeps patio and indoor seating about half full as they wait what seems a longer than needed time to be served.

Yummy dumplings in my belly. The carrot salad is spicy/​sweet and tasty too. No photos because I inhaled the food too quickly.

Affordable cost and healthy eating. What more can you ask for. A casual environment. Totally Seattle.

Pel’Meni Dumpling Tzar has an interesting location in Fremont. It’s tucked away from an alley and sharing an entrance with a tattoo shop and a hot yoga studio.
Straightforward, no frills, and satisfying… regular ($ 8) has 17 dumplings and large ($ 10) has 8 additional dumplings. Interesting varieties of flavors to select from to have your cooked-​to-​order dumplings tossed in. A combo for $ 3 more gets you in addition a beverage, bread, and salad.
Glad to checkout the original site located close to the larger-​than-​life Lenin statue, plus there’s also a newer location on Capitol Hill.

Walked into this little «gem» out of the blue to have a snack. I wasn’t greeted so I awkwardly walked up to the cashier. She didn’t bat an eye. So I asked «is this where I order.» She said «yes.» Ok, so we’re monosyllabic, I can deal with that. I order a dozen of the whatever Pelmeni and sat. After 25 minutes, with all staff appearing to be dawdling around, I followed-​up on my order. Miss Pelmeni Queen snapped «there were OTHERS before you.» Alright, so we’re that kind of person. I don’t get why people like her work in the service industry if she doesn’t know how to put her shit-​day aside and SMILE SMILE SMILE and be happy.
Super slow and piss poor attitudes. We walked out without trying the Pels and didn’t even bother requesting a refund. You’re welcome Pelmeni Queen for your free lunch.
Go to Vostok instead.

I thought I’d give this place a shot considering the great reviews and since I’ve never had Russian dumplings before. This little stand is located in a really strange place right next to a yoga place and they only had one person working the stand.
I ended up ordering a regular mix with the classic sauce and one regular mix with the bacon onion mix. The sauces were both not my favorite, as the classic sauce had this weird sweet taste to it. The dumplings were also quite interesting and not really in a good way. The skin of the dumpling was too thick for my liking. The potato dumplings were bland and the beef dumplings were just okay. I definitely didn’t want to finish all 18 dumplings in my regular bowl.
I didn’t like this place and didn’t think it was that great, but I guess I don’t have much to compare this to. Maybe I am just not a fan of Russian dumplings.

Service can seem like you’ve arrived at the Soup Nazi from the TV show Seinfeld, but once you embrace it, Pel’Meni is a fun, quirky spot for some homestyle dumplings. The meat dumplings are juicy and the sour cream is a nice touch that differentiates Russian dumplings from Chinese ones. Note, that the «mixed» dumplings are not a dumpling with a mix of meat and veggies, but rather, an order of dumplings with both the meat and the potato dumplings. I am a fan of the bacon onion relish for the sauce!

Who knew that Russian dumplings were a thing?
Open late, this spot is just around the corner from your standard gyro, but if you’re feeling ambitious, you may want your late night snacks to be more original than that. Be careful of the dumplings, they come out more like Chinese soup dumplings, full of boiling hot water, ready to burn your tongue and leave you wishing you had taste buds left to take in the Seattle coffee.
One order will leave you wanting more, but you may not be craving Russian any more…

Visited this place SUPER excited because the one in Bellingham is amazing…
My friend and I walked in and «Harry the Hipster» clearly had zero customer service experience and a «welcoming» impatient scowl. Apparently it was his last shift???
Got our food finally, and my friend who has dairy issues, had asked for no sour cream. Guess what? Sour cream all over those muthas.
A final touch was that when we both returned home, we each spent the evening on the toilet. Cramps and…
I will note that the lady who helped us towards the end of our meal was kind and helpful.
Still: hipster negative vibes + food poisoning = 1 star.

My friend and I found this place by searching «lunch» on Unilocal when we weren’t too hungry around 1pm. We wanted something good to share, nothing too heavy and decided to check this place out.
We shared the classic dumplings with potato and beef dumplings mixed. They were SO flavorful and warm! Perfect for the rainy weather that day. The spices and sour cream on top are definitely aspects of the dish that I can’t see EVERYone in town lining up for, but as for me, I loved it all! The workers looked like they knew what they were doing and they were working super hard! Mind you, they were all men and you can see the open kitchen!
Overall, fairly rustic and a very quick bite kind of setting, but one for the books!

I came here with a coworker during our lunch break after I stumbled upon this place on Unilocal,and we both immediately went «DUMPLINGS!!» and decided we had to go. I got a combination of beef and potato dumplings with two different toppings– the Classic and the «Mac» and Cheese. The Classic has sour cream, butter, curry, Tzar special spicy sauce, and cilantro, while the «Mac» and Cheese has cheesy sauce and shredded cheddar. The dumplings were good, but nothing really amazing. It also wasn’t very filling considering the dumplings are small and they don’t give you very many, even if you order the large. In addition, it took 20 minutes to get our food. There were just too many negatives about this place that I won’t be returning. Though, I love the idea of having interesting toppings on dumplings… I know what I’ll be doing the next time I make some.

Tourists visiting Seattle and this was the first place we tried after arriving to our hostel. This place was right around the corner and the only thing open late. It was different from the dumplings I’m use to, Asian style that is. If you’ve never had Russian dumplings, I recommend getting the kids size to try it and see if you like it before getting the regular. I ordered the beef and potato, I liked the beef better than potato. Let’s just say it was different…

I am a little ashamed to say that I had never had pierogis until I had a sample at Costco. The variety I had was filled with potato and I loved the creamy texture wrapped in pillowy dough. I decided to stop by Pel’Meni for the real deal.
I ordered the mix of potato and beef with classic toppings. Personally, I liked the flavor of the beef more, but I loved the texture of the potato. They give you a huge dollop of sour cream to go with it.
It was definitely pricey for what you get and to be honest, the Costco potato pierogis were better, but overall pretty good.

Follow the old Volkswagen bug van and walk down the little alley to this very groovy fast-​casual eatery in Fremont!
I was already stuffed but had to stop by on my recent trip to Fremont and am glad I did. They offer normal and kid sized portions, and I got a kid sized portion which was pretty hefty actually. I got the beef and potato dumplings (it’s not beef with potato, but rather beef dumplings and potato dumplings). These dumplings were Russian-​style, so they were a lot like a blend between mini pierogi and gnocchi. So soft and fresh. It comes with a slice of pumpernickel bread. Altogether my portion of dumplings cost me around $ 7.
My only complaint is how slow it was to receive my food. This is a tiny eatery and it was mid-​day Saturday, and there were only two other customers there and I sat waiting for my to-​go order for probably a good 20 minutes. Seems like way to long to wait for them to just boil dumplings and sprinkle some toppings and sour cream on top.
There are a lot of Russian posters and décor which is super fun.
The place is open until 2AM, so I guess it would be a perfect place to stop after a few drinks at the nearby Fremont bars.