Cuisine

Polish cuisine is very varied, with many of its traditional dishes introduced by various nationalities living in the country. The most popular “items” are Polish meats and cold meats, in particular sausage (kiełbasa) available in many varieties, and ham (szynka), mainly pork ham. Traditional Polish lunch or dinner would not do without tomato soup (zupa pomidorowa) with noodles or rice, beetroot soup (barszcz, also known as borscht) served with a kind of ravioli (small meat or cabbage and mushroom dumplings) or the oldest Polish dish which is rye-flour soup (żur or żurek) served with a sausage and a boiled egg. The main course usually includes pork (e.g. the most popular pork cutlet, kotlet schabowy), poultry (drób) or fish (ryba) served with potatoes (ziemniaki or kartofle) or groats (kasza). During your stay in Poland, you should also try large dumplings (pierogi) stuffed with meat, cheese or fruit and traditional Polish cakes such as cheesecake (sernik), poppy-seed cake (makowiec) or gingerbread (piernik). Beer (piwo) lovers will not be disappointed with Polish trademark brews made for centuries, some of them winning awards in international contests.

Eating out

Poland has plenty of restaurants, bars and inns which offer both national dishes and regional specialities, and whose owners try to outdo one another in making the style of the interior as original as possible. In most cities and towns, you will find a wide choice of restaurants offering Italian, French, Jewish or Chinese but also Arabic or Mexican cuisine. Restaurants are open from Monday to Sunday, usually between 10 a.m. and 11 p.m. or late night, and Polish pubs only close once the last client has left. In smaller towns, except tourist resorts, they open later and close earlier. Bills do not normally include a service charge. In restaurants where you are served by a waiter tips usually range between 5 and 10%, depending on the standard of the place.