Restaurants

What to eat and drink

Polish cuisine is an important part of national heritage and culture. It was traditionally influenced by different nationalities and communities and it is famous for its use of berries, venison and aromatic mushrooms.

You can discover great places to eat & drink around you in Warsaw on Zomato, In Your Pocket or Trip Advisor.

Polish dishes

The most popular dishes and products are:

• Bigos – known as a hunter’s stew. It is traditionally made from mix of cabbage and sauerkraut, and various cuts of meat (pork, ham, ribs, sausages), tomatoes, wild mushrooms, prunes. It is necessary to slowly cook it for three days. Usually served with bread or potatoes.
• Pierogi – type of dumplings which come with different fillings (cottage cheese, cabbage & mushrooms, minced meat, fruit), served with cream, melted butter or pork scratchings.
• Żurek – soup made of soured rye flour and meat (boiled, smoked sausage, bacon, ham), served with hard-boiled eggs.
• Barszcz – (borscht) soup made from beetroot which can be served with small dumplings or potatoes. A very popular version of this soup is chłodnik, which is served cold with sour cream, soured milk, chopped radishes or cucumbers, dill and parsley.
• Schabowy – pork cutlet coated with breadcrumbs, served with boiled potatoes and cabbage or sauerkraut.
• Makowiec – poppy seed cake, usually baked for Christmas.
• Oscypek – smoked cheese from the Tatra Mountains region (in the south of Poland), made of salted sheep’s or cow’s milk . It is an EU protected trade name since 2007.
• Sausages – one of the most popular meat products. Poles produce a great variety of sausages: cooked, smoked, dried, spicy and mild. They are made from different kinds of meat.
• Bread – Polish people are very picky when it comes to bread. The traditional bread is made of sour dough, has a crunchy crust and is moist inside. Other popular types of bread are made of rye and wheat with sunflower or pumpkin seeds. Sweet rolls are baked with pudding, jam or cottage cheese.
• Alcohol – Polish vodka is a recognized product but it is not the only traditional alcohol drink. The other one is mead, which is made from natural bee honey. The strongest of all is Śliwowica (plum brandy), containing between 70 and 80 per cent of pure alcohol.
• Śledzie – herring, prepared in any form, is national favourite in Poland. It is a typical starter. There are numerous ways the marinated/pickled fish is served, mentioning just few: with mustard and onion dressing, under the onion, apple and sour cream blanket or simply with oil and onion marinade with allspice and bay leaf.