London has always had great dumplings — if you knew where to look. Chinatown for dim sum. Dalston for manti. Shepherd’s Bush for gyoza. But 2026 has brought something genuinely new: handmade Eastern European dumplings, served self-serve, pay-by-weight, in the middle of London. The dumpling map just got bigger.
London’s Dumpling Scene
Dumplings are one of those things every culture did independently and got brilliantly right. The concept — filling wrapped in dough, cooked until tender — shows up across almost every culinary tradition on earth. London, being London, has most of them.
Chinatown and the East End are the obvious starting points. Dim sum has been part of London’s food culture for decades. Har gow, siu mai, soup dumplings (xiao long bao), pan-fried potstickers — you’ll find them all within a short walk of Shaftesbury Avenue. The standard varies wildly. The best spots are worth the queue.
Japanese gyoza turned up in earnest about a decade ago and never left. You’ll find them in ramen shops, izakayas, and dedicated gyoza bars across Soho, Shoreditch, and beyond. Crispy-bottomed, juicy inside. Hard to argue with.
Korean mandu are less common but growing — steamed or pan-fried, sometimes in a broth, typically found in the Korean restaurant cluster around New Malden or in Soho’s Korean spots.
Momo — Tibetan and Nepali steamed dumplings — have their own loyal following, particularly in East London.
And then there are pierogies, pelmeni, vareniki. Eastern European dumplings. Until very recently, almost invisible in London’s food landscape.
Eastern European Dumplings: A Different Tradition
The Eastern European dumpling tradition is older than most people realise. Pelmeni date back centuries in Siberian and Central Asian cooking — a preservation technique as much as a recipe. Vareniki are their Ukrainian counterpart: softer, slightly larger, and often filled with sweet as well as savoury ingredients. Pierogies are the Polish cousin, well-known in North America but still a relative novelty in London.
What makes them different from, say, Chinese or Japanese dumplings?
The dough is simpler — flour, water, sometimes egg. Unleavened, rolled thin. The focus is on the filling, not the wrapper.
The fillings lean heavily on meat, potato, cheese, and cabbage. Hearty, grounding food. The kind built for cold winters and long meals.
The toppings are where Eastern European dumplings really diverge. Sour cream is non-negotiable. Fried onions, fresh herbs, crispy bacon — these aren’t extras. They’re part of the dish.
The cooking method is usually boiling, sometimes followed by a pan-fry for texture. Unlike steamed dim sum or fried gyoza, pelmeni and vareniki are most commonly served in their boiled form, glossy and soft, finished with a generous topping.
It’s a different eating experience — more filling, more rustic, warmer. The kind of food that doesn’t need a lot of explanation. You eat it and you understand immediately why it’s been made this way for generations.
Where to Try Pelmeni and Vareniki in London
This is where it gets honest: London doesn’t have a well-established Eastern European dumpling scene yet. There are a handful of Eastern European delis and restaurants scattered across the city — mostly in areas with established Eastern European communities. Some do dumplings. Most do them as a side dish rather than the main event.
What’s still rare is a place that puts Eastern European dumplings front and centre. A dedicated dumpling bar. Self-serve. Pay-by-weight. Handmade.
That’s what we’re building with Varenik & Pelmen.
We serve pelmeni and vareniki as the headliner: handmade, filled generously, boiled fresh. Six toppings included — sour cream, crispy bacon, fresh herbs, sautéed mushrooms, fried onions, berry jam — all at no extra cost. You build your own bowl, weigh it, pay £5 per 100g for the dumpling weight. Toppings don’t count. The bowl doesn’t count.
At our first London pop-up event — TERN Food Power in May 2026 — we sold out 70 portions in two hours. That told us something: people were ready for this. They just hadn’t had the chance before.
We’re a pop-up bar right now, finding our permanent home. But the food is there. The model works. Eastern European dumplings have arrived in London.
To find our next date and location: check eatpelmeni.com/find-us.
What Makes a Great Dumpling
Whatever the tradition, the same principles apply.
The dough-to-filling ratio. Too much dough and you’re eating bread. Too little and it falls apart. The best dumplings find the balance — a thin enough wrapper that the filling is the star, thick enough to hold everything together.
Filling quality. A dumpling is only as good as what’s inside. Good meat needs seasoning. Good potato filling needs butter. Good vegetables need to be cooked before they go in — watery raw veg ruins a dumpling.
Freshness. Pre-frozen and reheated is fine in a pinch. But fresh, made-that-day dumplings have a texture you can’t replicate. Slightly more tender, slightly more alive.
The finish. The topping, the dipping sauce, the broth. Whatever the tradition calls for. A great dumpling without its accompaniment is like a great steak without resting it — technically correct but missing something.
At Varenik & Pelmen, we handmake all our dumplings and take the toppings seriously. Sour cream that’s thick and cold. Fried onions that are actually golden. Crispy bacon that earns the name. It matters.
Our Menu
Pelmeni (meat-filled, boiled):
– Lamb & Beef (halal)
– Pork & Beef
– Chicken
– Pork
– Kids’ coloured-dough pelmeni
Vareniki (filled pasta, boiled):
– Potato
– Cabbage
– Mushroom
– Sweet Cherry
– Strawberry
– Cheese & Spinach
Toppings (all included, no extra charge):
Sour cream · Crispy bacon · Fresh herbs · Sautéed mushrooms · Fried onions · Berry jam
Drinks: Uzvar · Kompot · Kissel · House lemonade
Also: Syrniky (cottage cheese pancakes) · Bliny · Frozen 200g packs at £9
Find Us
We’re currently operating as a pop-up bar while we find our permanent London home.
Check eatpelmeni.com/find-us for upcoming dates and locations.
Want to read more about Eastern European dumplings — what they are, how they’re made, and how pelmeni differs from vareniki? See our Eastern European Dumplings Guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where are the best dumplings in London?
London has great dumplings across multiple traditions — dim sum in Chinatown, gyoza in Soho and Shoreditch, momo in East London. For Eastern European dumplings — pelmeni and vareniki — Varenik & Pelmen is one of the few places in London handmaking pelmeni and vareniki as the main event, served self-serve and pay-by-weight. Check eatpelmeni.com/find-us for our next pop-up date.
Where can I get Eastern European dumplings in London?
Eastern European dumplings are rare in London. Most Eastern European restaurants and delis serve them as a side rather than the main event. Varenik & Pelmen is one of the few places in London handmaking pelmeni and vareniki as the headliner — self-serve, pay-by-weight. Find our next date at eatpelmeni.com/find-us.
What are pelmeni?
Pelmeni are small Eastern European meat dumplings — a thin unleavened dough wrapped around a seasoned filling of beef, pork, lamb, or chicken. They’re boiled and typically served with sour cream, fried onions, or fresh herbs. Think of them as the Eastern European answer to a wonton or gyoza, but with their own distinct tradition going back centuries.
Where are you located?
We’re a pop-up bar currently finding our permanent London home. Our next dates and locations are always listed at eatpelmeni.com/find-us. Follow us there to stay updated.