Paul’s Pel’meni

Love the full time guy and gal that work there. The food is great but they make going there even better. Make sure to get extra sour cream! The hot dumplings pair well with the cold creamy texture.

Did not know what to expect upon deciding to come to Paul’s. Well, this place made me a believer. Apparently this place has legendary status among the late night crowd in Madison, and I can see why.
Stopped in on a Friday afternoon after having a few beers at State Street Brats. I actually was dead set on going to Dotty Dumpling’s Dowry, which is bad ass, for a burger but my friend convinced me to come here. I order a half serving of the mixed, potato and beef, with «the works». After one bite, I was convinced. The chili sauce with sour cream put these little suckers over the top as far as flavor goes and I instantly regretted not getting a full order. Next time… hell, maybe two full orders.
Service was polite. Diners order and receive their dishes at the same counter, as well as busing your own dishes, which to me is not a big deal. I especially liked that the cook preps your order in sight.
Great find in Madison.

Probably one of my favorite quick eats in Madison! Recommended by a friend about 3 years ago, I stop by this place at least once a month or so (more when I lived in the Langdon area). The small menu makes it easy for newcomers to pick what they want, and is vegetarian friendly too. You can choose either potato, beef or a mix of both. Then they ask you if you want «the works» on it, which is curry powder, sriracha, cilantro and butter (GET THE WORKS). In about 10 minutes, your order comes out with a side of sour cream.
When I first stopped by, my initial thoughts were that the portion was too small. I was wrong! They are really filling, especially if you eat them with sour cream.
Great portion sizes, great staff and amazing food!

Delicious homemade potato and meat dumplings. Russian rye on the side. Served with a sprinkling of curry and cilantro. Sour cream and sriracha sauce on the side. That’s it for the menu, but that’s all that’s needed.
We stopped after seeing the Unilocal reviews. Good choice! I’ll dream about these dumplings as we continue our cross country drive

The service was so fast and the dumplings were delicious! I even figured out how to tell the difference between the beef and potato (we got the mixed box) the beef are a little bit darker and more uneven on the surface and the potato are smooth and light. I left a happy dumpling :)

I. Love. This. Place!
Friendly staff, minimal menu, delicious food! There is a vegetarian option and if you don’t like spicy food, you don’t need to get the curry or sweet chili sauce.
Cooked in view of the customer so you always know what you’re getting. And the wait is always less than 10 minutes. If I could survive on this food alone, I’d be here every day.

We thought we would try this, our 14 year old was set on this, after reading the ratings. We ordered 3 orders for 4 of us, all with the works, as many have recommended that… We, however would not recommend the works unless you like a lot of heat.
These come with sour cream and we all only ate until the sour cream was gone, after that they were too spicey to eat on their own.
They are well made, and the price is not bad for the amount of dumplings. I wish we would have ordered them plain, I think we would have enjoyed these, if we had. Now, we have 2 boxes left out of the 3 we ordered…
So, moral of the review, if you don’t like lots of heat, don’t order the works!

I really wish I liked this place as much as everyone else seems to! The idea is great — find something you do well, and focus on that. The staff is super friendly and willing to chat with you when they’re not too busy. The space is small but serves its purpose… seems like more of a take-​out place than a sit and eat place though. But the actual food just didn’t wow me, unfortunately.
The concept is just two types of little dumplings — potato and beef. And you can either get it with their seasonings on it or bare. I recommend the seasonings, just because without, I feel like the food is a little boring (even with it, it gets a little boring). I got the half-​and-​half option thinking it would be a little more interesting, and I still got pretty tired of the flavors about halfway through. The fillings are just very basic, and while not bad, they don’t get me excited either.
Of course, for the price, you’re getting a nice amount of food, so I can totally get why this would be a great choice for college students on a budget. But don’t try to make a meal out of it unless you have no other choice… a snack once in a while, sure, but you’ll get bored with it if you go too often or eat too much at once.

Unique, simple, cheap, and tasty! This is such a special late night college food option. For $ 6.50, you can get a sizable take out box of little pierogies tossed in some sauces with a side of sour cream. Almost everybody gets the same order: mixed dumplings with «the works» which is when they top it with all of their sauce options. You may look at it and go like «Sweet chili sauce and yellow curry on my pierogies? That’s wild!» Honestly, it is wild but this is what make this meal so unique.
The atmosphere is very fun too. When i was in there, they were playing Lindsay Sterling and the cooks looked like they were having a blast making dumplings. It kind of feels like a food truck with its own building.
Bottom line: Try something fun and new and go to Paul’s!

Not exactly what I was expecting, but a unique food that was a ton of fun to try. For me, they tasted much better when I mixed in a little bit of sour cream. Careful though, mix in too much and you’ll be getting cold bites of sour cream. You want those hot and fresh palmenis to stay hot and fresh!

The highlight of our family outing on State Street was the great taste of the dumplings at Paul’s Pel’meni. Our family of four shared a full order (half The Works and half plain w/​butter) and it was very satisfying. Even after watching movies that night, everyone was still talking about the dumplings. Really? Yes, kids loved it, husband loved it. me…I thought it was pretty good. Service was good (busy on a sunny Saturday) and there seemed to be quite a few regulars coming and going. Seating wasn’t the best for family style sharing, but we made do with two of the round tables on the side. We’ll be back!

I actually first had Paul’s when a roommate got takeout for the whole house to share. This convinced me to give this place a visit and see what options there were, though it seems that I already tried their entire menu in the two takeout boxes the first time around.
As most people here say, get the dumplings with the works and the sour cream. Yes, that’s curry powder and sriracha sauce, but when combined with the sour cream the flavor really works. I’m not sure if will rise above anything other than a novelty, though. I probably won’t make this place a regular, even though I don’t think it’s bad. It’s just a one-​trick pony.

Had a horrible stomach ache for about nine days this past summer. Couldn’t eat the whole time.
What finally cured me? Russian Dumplings with the works!!! Truth! I was feeling 75% better after eating the mixed; beef and potato loaded with the works …“who’d a thought?” (I know I know Baaaad grammar)

Yes this definitely should be on your list of must go-​to while in Madison. Everyone always goes to eat pizzas after late night drinking but this is where it’s at. Their food isn’t as much for like dinner meal portions but it’s a nice snack with a reasonable price.
If it’s your first time I’d I with the mixed larger size to get a taste of both the potato and beef dumplings.

This place is my new comfort food. It’s better than any fast food and often cheaper. As of December 2015 it’s been a touch off. I suspect new workers. They seem to be going light on the Sriracha and the potatoes are too mushy. Still, it’s my go to food when I don’t want to cook and just want something cheap and easy. It’s also a favorite amongst my friends so we can always quickly settle on drunk food.
If you haven’t been here I’d really recommend extra works if you like spice. If you hate it, go with extra sour cream like everyone else says. In my opinion going with just meat or potatoes is too much of one texture and mixed is the way to go. Definitely make sure to eat it when fresh or they clump and it’s hard to mix it up properly.
Otherwise it’s super basic. Get a full order with the works, mix in the sour cream, and enjoy.

Yea I’m not feeling the 4 ½ star hype here. We ordered the large mix (beef and potato $ 6.50)with the works — curry powder, siracha, cilantro and a side of sour cream — and a small ($ 4.50)beef.
The beef is very dry in the dumplings and to get the most flavor out of the dumplings they need to be slathered in their special siracha rice wine vinegar sauce.
I’ve had better dumplings at Asian Sweet Bakery. I get that these are different kind of dumplings but dumplings nonetheless.
Pro tip: I was able to find a $ 5 for $ 10 coupon on
if this is your favorite haunt.

They’re not really like traditional eastern european pelmeni with the curry powder and all. It’s really sort of like currywurst and pelmeni had a child. A tasty child. A full order of the mix with the works is the way to go.
If you’re veg, the potato ones are really solid so don’t pass them up.

I wasn’t around for the first Paul’s but I am over joyed that I get to experience this one.
Walling down state street it might be hard to see but when you find such a treasure like this you never want to let it go. I always buy the full mixed with the works and I almost have to buy another one cause of how good it is.
If you’re walking around downtown stop buy Paul’s you’ll never be unsatisfied.

It’s very simple to order. You want a full or half order? Then do you want ground beef, pitot so or a mix? I preferred the ground beef but liked the mix. Get ALL the toppings and enjoy!
I like the simplicity. They need more seating. And the wait time was 15 mins when I came at lunch with a group. But order ahead or away from the lunch hour. I wanna go back, it was yummy!
Great staff, one was chatty and awesome to talk to about the food. He clearly loves his job!

Pel’meni was a staple of my college days and this was my first trip back to the land of tiny dumplings since the original shop shuttered some years ago. It’s a simple, clean place (both in decoration and experience) — walk to the counter, pick meat, potato, or a mix, let them know if want «the works» (you do — I used to decline as a pickier young eater and had my world changed when I was accidentally served a dish with everything and chose to just eat it), and finally decide if you want a $ 1 beverage out of the case and/​or a slice of rye bread. All options have tax included, which makes for easy transactions.
On my last trip, the staff was really friendly and you could sense the chef’s pride when he dropped our meals off at the table. It’s a great experience from top to bottom, but the one-​note nature of Pel’meni and its heavy dishes make for a very specific dining experience that you have to be in the mood for when choosing your destination.