Pelmeni are eaten hot, straight from the pot, with sour cream spooned generously on top. That’s the classic approach. The sour cream melts slightly on the warm dumplings, mixing with any juices on the plate, and you work through the bowl quickly — pelmeni don’t improve from sitting around. Everything else is variation. But the sour cream is non-negotiable.
The classic way to eat pelmeni
Pelmeni are simple food. They should be eaten with the attitude that reflects that: quickly, enthusiastically, without fuss.
Here’s what tradition demands:
Eat them hot. Not warm. Hot. Pelmeni are at their best immediately out of the pot, when the dough is silky and the filling is still juicy. Leave them five minutes and the dough starts to stick together and soften past its ideal texture.
Use a deep bowl. Not a flat plate. A bowl keeps the heat in and gives you somewhere to accumulate the toppings.
Add sour cream. A generous spoonful — or three. This is not optional in any serious reading of the tradition. The cold, tangy cream against the hot dumpling is one of the better flavour contrasts in Eastern European cooking.
Eat with a fork and spoon. The spoon catches the liquid that inevitably pools in the bottom of the bowl. Don’t waste it.
Don’t cut them up. A pelmeni is designed to be eaten whole, or in two bites at most. Cutting it releases the filling juices onto the plate before you’re ready for them. Keep it intact until it’s in your mouth.
Best toppings for pelmeni
Sour cream is the foundation. Beyond that, toppings are where personal taste enters the picture — and where regular pelmeni eaters develop strong opinions.
At Varenik & Pelmen, all six toppings are included in the price. Here’s how to think about them:
Sour cream — Cool, tangy, rich. Goes with everything. Start here.
Crispy bacon — Smoky crunch against soft, juicy dumplings. Particularly good with Pork & Beef pelmeni, where it amplifies the savouriness.
Fresh herbs — Brightness and colour. Cuts through richness. The palate-cleanser of the topping world. Essential if you’re having a large bowl.
Sautéed mushrooms — Earthy, deep, umami-forward. A heavier topping that makes a bowl feel substantial. Pairs especially well with Chicken pelmeni, where the mild filling benefits from a stronger accompaniment.
Fried onions — Sweet, slightly caramelised. One of those toppings that sounds ordinary and then turns out to be the one you keep going back to.
Berry jam — The outlier. Unexpected on meat dumplings; traditional on sweet vareniki. But try a small amount alongside sour cream on any pelmeni and you might surprise yourself. The sweet-sour-savoury combination has deep roots in Eastern European cooking.
Our recommendation for first-timers: sour cream, crispy bacon, and fresh herbs. From there, you’ll know which direction to take next time.
Hot bowl vs broth (at home)
There’s another traditional way to serve pelmeni that you’re less likely to encounter at a restaurant: pelmeni in broth.
At home, particularly in colder months, pelmeni are sometimes served in the hot, salted water they were cooked in — effectively a light meat broth if you’ve salted and seasoned the water well. The result is a warming, soupy bowl of dumplings: simple, restorative, deeply satisfying. Some cooks add a little butter to the broth; others finish it with a spoonful of sour cream on top.
This is a legitimate and genuinely good way to eat pelmeni. But it’s a home-cooking method — the cooking water doubles as the broth, which means you don’t need stock or a separate liquid.
At our bar, we serve pelmeni in bowls with toppings — not in broth. It’s the more versatile approach: you control your flavour by building your topping combination, and the focus stays on the dumplings themselves. If you want the broth experience, it’s straightforward to replicate at home using our frozen 200g takeaway packs.
How we serve pelmeni
The model at Varenik & Pelmen is self-serve. You take what you want, in whatever combination you like, and pay for what you take at £5 per 100g. All six toppings are included in the price.
Practically, this means:
- Choose your filling — or mix fillings in the same bowl. Nobody’s stopping you from half Lamb & Beef and half Chicken.
- Take your portion directly from the serving area.
- Add your toppings. All of them if you want. None of them if you’re a minimalist (though we’d gently argue against it).
- Pay by weight at the counter.
Average bowl runs £10–12. It’s a full meal. Some people have a second bowl.
The bar is designed around the idea that you should eat the way you actually want to eat — not be handed a prescribed portion with a prescribed set of accompaniments. Take what you want. Pay for what you take.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do you put on pelmeni?
The classic topping is sour cream — cool and tangy, it’s the traditional pairing and the one that’s been served alongside pelmeni for generations. From there, popular additions include crispy bacon, fresh herbs, fried onions, and sautéed mushrooms. Berry jam, while unexpected on a meat dumpling, is a traditional companion to sweet vareniki and works surprisingly well alongside sour cream on pelmeni too.
Do you eat pelmeni with sour cream?
Yes — sour cream is the default, traditional topping for pelmeni. It’s not mandatory, but it’s the combination that most clearly expresses what pelmeni are supposed to taste like. The cold tanginess of good sour cream against a hot, juicy pelmeni is genuinely one of the better things in Eastern European food.
Are pelmeni eaten as soup?
At home, pelmeni are sometimes served in the salted water they were cooked in — which, if well-seasoned, makes a warming, light broth. This is a traditional method, especially in winter. At our bar, we serve pelmeni in bowls with toppings rather than in broth. Both are valid; they’re just different experiences. For the broth method at home, our frozen 200g takeaway packs work perfectly.
What sauce goes with pelmeni?
Sour cream is the traditional accompaniment rather than a sauce as such — it’s spooned on top rather than poured around. Beyond sour cream, there’s no single classic sauce. Some people add a little vinegar; others eat pelmeni with butter. At our bar, the topping combinations available — sour cream, crispy bacon, herbs, mushrooms, fried onions, berry jam — give you enough range to find your preferred flavour.