Raise your hand if you get excited about new food! When we travel to a new place, we make it a priority to try the local specialties. It’s almost as if our city tour is focused on restaurants and cafés, with sights and squares in between!
During just 4 days in Poland, we managed to try traditional Polish food at every meal and snack. Check out our favourites!
As usual, all pictures and experiences are our own. Travelling Sunglasses Approved!
Pierogi
Possibly Poland’s national dish, pierogi are dumplings stuffed with meat, potatoes, cheese, vegetables, mushrooms, or even fruit. They can also be baked in the oven, but we definitely recommend pierogi cooked in a pan. The savory version usually comes with fried onion on top, or bacon, and its own juice or butter from the pan. When the stuffing is potatoes and cheese, they are called ruskie pierogi. They are delicious also with meat filling, with cabbage, with spinach (even the dough can have spinach in it!), with soft cheese… but the true surprise is sweet pierogi, with blackberries stuffing and sour cream sauce on top.
A normal serving could have 6-8 pierogi and cost approximately 20 Zloty (=5 Euro).
In the pictures, ruskie pierogi at Hala Kondratowa hut, and sweet pierogi at Watra restaurant, in Zakopane.
Oscypek Cheese
I know, Polish words are challenging! Oscypek is pronounced “ost-zi-pek”, more or less. Yes, you can give up trying to say that. Darek gave up teaching me and I gave up learning 😀
This delicious Polish cheese is typical of the Tatra mountains in Southern Poland; we ate it in Zakopane and also in nearby Krakow. Made of sheep milk, it has a distinctive smoked, salty flavour, as well as a gummy consistence. It’s absolutely delicious grilled, with blackberry jam or cooked onions, to add some sweet to the bite. In Krakow, we tasted it also wrapped in bacon, but it was too salty for our tastes.
You may find it in shops or stands in lots of different shapes (see an example on Wikipedia) .
In Krakow, one piece of cheese cost 4-6 Zloty (1-1,50 Euro). The board in Zakopane cost 16 Zloty (4 Euro). The taste is quite intense, so such a small portion can be enough.
Paczki (Polish Donuts)
What is paczki? Polish paradise. Actually, the paradise you probably didn’t know existed!
Think of the softest filled doughnut you’ve ever tried. Well, Polish paczki donuts are softer. Perhaps it’s way they are fried just lightly, so they are not greasy. Or perhaps it’s the sugary glazing coat that turns into crystals. Or the delicious fillings, starting from the traditional filling of rose jam – not too sweet, not too sour – all the way to modern Raffaello taste, or orange with chilli, passing through apple with cinnamon or caramel. Did I mention that they are even better when warm, fresh out of the oven? Be careful, you may eat two of them in a row!
They are easy to find in cafés and bakeries, but for us the best paczki in Krakow is at Dobra Paczkarnia (formerly Stara Paczkarnia). There are a few around the city, and don’t expect anything fancy: it’s just a window with a couple of people serving donuts from stacks and shelves behind – no seats, not cups of coffee, just take-away paczki. Mindblowing. And for approximately 4 Zloty each, just 1 Euro!
How do you pronounce paczki? Punch-key!
Zurek
It’s hard to say which is more famous, Borscht or Zurek. Without doubt Borscht, the famous beetroot soup, is definitely a traditional polish soup; but personally, we like Zurek the most. This acidic soup takes its flavour from sour cream, so it’s refreshing and tasty even in the summer. It contains pieces of Polish sausage “kielbasa” and boiled egg – to give you strength during your sightseeing marathons. Really delicious.
Zapiekanki
Yes, gyros and kebab shops are opening all over the place, but zapiekanki is still the original Polish street food.
What is it? Zapiekanki is a slice of toasted bread, large and rectangular, with topping of mushrooms and melted cheese, and usually mayonnaise. As they became popular, lots of extra toppings made their way to the menus, like sausage or bacon, onion and other vegetables, but also chicken and spicy ingredients. (Not sure if this feels a bit like a Hawaii pizza to an Italian person, or if it’s a genuine evolution).
The authentic zapiekanki is in the Jewish district of Krakow, Kazimierz, at New Square “Plac Nowy”. We tried Zapiekanki Elebele and loved it. Prices range from 6 to 12 Zloty (= 1,5-4 Euro) and we shared one Zapiekanki between two of us.
Bread with lard
Polish grandma food! Take a slice of bread, spread lard on it, and add some sausage or onion or both, to keep your little Polish kids healthy and happy. A couple sitting next to us at the market in Krakow was eating one slice of bread each. We were already full with pierogi and grilled cheese, but my dad convinced us to share a slice of bread, just for the taste. Not only it was delicious, I also got a high-five from the locals!
Meat, sausages and more
Last but not least, meat. There are so many types of Polish meat, that we just gave up and ordered a mixed plate for 3 people – which was more than enough for 4 of us! Polish sausage “kielbasa” was tender and juicy, and if you’re brave enough to try the bloody type, you may even enjoy it (surprisingly, I liked it!). Pork knuckle is a specialty, soft after lots of hours cooking. Bacon is also a big hit, as well as duck; steak instead is not really a traditional dish, at least where we’ve been in Southern Poland. In our opinion, the kielbasa is absolutely among the best Polish food.
We absolutely loved Poland and Polish food! Are you planning to travel to Poland, or have you been there already? Let us know in the comments!
Cheers!