Widely consumed throughout the country, bigos stew, or commonly called Hunter’s Stew, is the national dish of Poland. This traditional Polish meal is a combination of various meats and sausages, sauerkraut, cabbage, mushrooms, onions and spices, and stewed for hours on end – sometimes days. It’s delicious, heart-warming and extremely filling.
The food (we believe) one of the best parts of travelling to Poland. And luckily, if you’re a vegetarian, you shouldn’t miss much when tasting your way around the country. Even though many famous Polish dishes traditionally include meat of some sort, most restaurants also serve a vegetarian option. That said, finding a meat-free meal in Poland can become progressively harder the more remote you travel. If in doubt, the Happy Cow app is an excellent resource for finding vegetarian and vegan restaurants worldwide. Some of our favourite veggie-based dishes in Poland are pierogi, chlodnik, placki kartoflane, zurek and barszcz czerwony.
Kompot is a non-alcoholic drink mainly made from fresh fruits, mixed with sugar and spices.
It goes without saying that vodka is popular in Poland. And the locals preferred way to drink it? Straight up, downed in one!
Poland is an excellent producer of beer. Some of the most favoured brands are Zywiec, Tskie and Zubr.
Translating to ‘drinkable honey’, mead is made by fermenting honey and mixing it with fruit juice.
W Oparach Absurdu
(ul. Zabkowska 6, Warsaw 03-735, Poland)
Bekef
(ul. Hoza 40, Warsaw 00-516, Poland)
Lotos Restaurant
(ul. Belwederska 2, Warsaw 00-762, Poland)
Platter Karol Okrasa
(Ulica Emilii Plater 49 | 00-125 Warsaw, Warsaw 00-125, Poland)
Akademia Restaurant
(ul. Rozana 2, Warsaw 02-548, Poland)
Fork Restaurant
(ul. Wspolna 35, Warsaw 00-519, Poland)
By far one of the most popular meals in Poland, pierogi are Polish dumplings. Made by filling rolled out dough with a variety of meat, sauerkraut, seasonal fruit, mushrooms, cottage cheese, potatoes and onions. A trip to Poland isn’t complete until you’ve tasted at least a few helpings of these!
One of the most traditional meals in Poland, this soup is a popular dish to serve during Easter, but can also be found any other time of the year. Zurek soup is usually served with egg and white sausage, in a hollowed, round loaf of bread.
A popular meal in Poland to eat for breakfast, twarog ze szczypiorkiem is essentially a plate of creamy cottage cheese mixed with fresh spring onions. It is usually served alongside fresh Polish bread.
Oscypek is a smoked cheese from Poland made using salted sheep’s milk. Oscypek was originally, exclusively found in the Tatra Mountain region but these days it’s a common ingredient in many dishes within the cities too.
Like many countries in Europe, Poland has a fascination with freshly baked, crusty but soft bread. Rye bread is very popular as a side to a stew, as is challah, a delicious, sweet bread often eaten during the holidays.
Kielbasa is a traditional Polish sausage which can be made from pork, beef or veal and is often smoked. There are an uncountable number of variations, all of which are delicious! Kielbasa is a hugely popular ingredient to pop into a hearty Polish stew!
Golabki is a traditional Polish dish consisting of little parcels of white cabbage leaves. Cabbage leaves are filled with a variety of ingredients which differ from place to place but which can include minced pork, rice, mushrooms and onions.
Polskie nalesniki are essentially Polish pancakes. They’re thin, crispy and can be served with both sweet and savoury fillings. Common ingredients are meat and veg for savoury, and jam, fruits and sugar for sweet.
Sledzie w smietanie is a traditional Polish meal served in almost every household on Christmas Eve. It might sound a little odd, but it works! Essentially, the meal consists of herring, topped with sour cream and pickled onions!
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