Local Dishes

1. pierogi

   Pierogi — filled dumplings

   Usage

   The best-known Polish dish: wheat-dough dumplings, boiled. Menus distinguish them by filling, written "pierogi z…" ("with …"). Many places also offer "pierogi smażone", pan-fried after boiling

   Grammar Note

   Everyday Polish uses only the plural "pierogi". The singular "pieróg" is reserved for the large baked kind that is sliced (e.g. "pieróg biłgorajski"), so use "pierogi" even when pointing at one

2. pierogi ruskie

   Pierogi ruskie — dumplings filled with curd cheese, potato and onion

   Usage

   The most common filling: twaróg (drained curd cheese), boiled potato and fried onion — no meat. It is usually topped with fried onion or bacon bits, so ask for it "bez skwarek" (without the crisped fat) if you are avoiding meat

   Grammar Note

   "Ruskie" is an adjective agreeing with the plural "pierogi". The name comes from the historical region of Red Ruthenia (Ruś Czerwona / Eastern Galicia), not from Russia. Many menus now write "pierogi z ziemniakami i serem" (with potato and cheese) instead

3. pierogi z kapustą i grzybami

   Pierogi with sauerkraut and mushrooms

   Usage

   Filled with sauerkraut and dried mushrooms — a meat-free traditional filling and a fixture of the Christmas Eve table (Wigilia). Available year-round on menus

   Grammar Note

   The preposition "z" ("with") takes the instrumental case, so "kapusta" becomes "kapustą" and "grzyby" becomes "grzybami". Every "z …" on a Polish menu follows this pattern

4. bigos

   Bigos — sauerkraut and meat stew

   Usage

   Sauerkraut and fresh cabbage stewed for days with several meats and sausages, dried mushrooms and dried plums. Dark brown, sour-sweet, smoky. It always contains meat, so it is not a vegetarian option

   Grammar Note

   Masculine singular ("ten bigos"). It is described as a dish shared by Polish, Lithuanian and Belarusian cuisine

5. żurek

   Żurek — sour rye soup

   Usage

   A sour soup built on "zakwas", rye flour fermented for about three days. Usually served with white sausage (biała kiełbasa), a boiled egg and potato; on festive occasions it comes in a hollowed-out bread bowl. It normally contains meat stock and sausage — check before ordering as a vegetarian

   Grammar Note

   Masculine ("ten żurek"). Both "żur" and "żurek" name the same soup, and some regions call it "biały barszcz" (white borscht); the three names are largely interchangeable. Note that "ż" is a distinct letter — never spell it "zurek"

6. barszcz czerwony

   Barszcz czerwony — clear beetroot soup

   Usage

   Beetroot stock soured with fermented beet juice (kwas buraczany). The Polish version is a clear broth, served with "uszki" (little mushroom dumplings) or alongside a croquette. The meat-free "czysty" version is the centrepiece of the Christmas Eve table

   Grammar Note

   Masculine ("ten barszcz"), with the masculine adjective "czerwony". It differs from Ukrainian borscht: the Polish soup is a thin clear broth soured with fermented beet juice rather than vinegar or lemon. The chunky version appears on menus as "barszcz ukraiński"

7. rosół

   Rosół — clear chicken broth

   Usage

   An unthickened clear broth simmered from chicken (or beef) and root vegetables, served with thin noodles ("makaron") or "lane kluski". The classic Sunday-dinner starter, paired with kotlet schabowy

   Grammar Note

   Masculine ("ten rosół"). The spelling contains both "ó" and "ł": "ó" sounds like "u", and "ł" like English "w", so the word sounds roughly like "ROS-oow"

8. chłodnik litewski

   Chłodnik litewski — cold beetroot soup

   Usage

   Cooked "botwina" (young beet leaves and roots) blended with kefir, soured milk or sour cream, with cucumber, dill and a boiled egg. Bright pink and served chilled — many places list it only in summer

   Grammar Note

   Masculine ("ten chłodnik"), from the same root as "chłodny" (cool). Lithuanian calls it "šaltibarščiai"; the dish is shared by Polish, Belarusian and Lithuanian cuisine

9. flaki

   Flaki — tripe soup

   Usage

   An offal dish: strips of beef (sometimes pork or venison) tripe, pre-boiled and simmered in vegetable stock into a thick soup, seasoned with pepper, nutmeg, marjoram, ginger and paprika. Skip it if you avoid offal

   Grammar Note

   Used in the plural ("te flaki"). The diminutive "flaczki" names the same dish; menus use either spelling

10. kotlet schabowy

    Kotlet schabowy — breaded pork loin cutlet

    Usage

    Pork loin ("schab") pounded thin, coated in flour, egg and breadcrumbs, then fried in lard. Served with potatoes, groats, rice or dumplings plus cooked vegetables, sauerkraut or "mizeria" cucumber salad. A staple since the 19th century

    Grammar Note

    Masculine ("ten kotlet"). "Schabowy" is an adjective from "schab" (pork loin), agreeing with the masculine noun. In speech people often drop the noun and just say "schabowy"

11. gołąbki

    Gołąbki — stuffed cabbage rolls

    Usage

    White cabbage leaves wrapped around minced pork with rice or groats, then braised or fried; onion and mushrooms are common additions. In the eastern Kresy tradition they are made with fermented cabbage leaves and served on Christmas Eve

    Grammar Note

    Plural ("te gołąbki"); the singular is "gołąbek". The word looks like the diminutive of "gołąb" (pigeon), but no bird is involved — one theory cites the shape, another a borrowed word for cabbage reshaped by folk etymology

12. golonka

    Golonka — pork knuckle

    Usage

    The bone-in shank from a pig's front or hind leg, usually boiled then roasted. A single portion is large, and the weight includes bone and skin. Often served with beer; ask whether a half portion ("pół") is possible if the size worries you

    Grammar Note

    Feminine ("ta golonka"). Front-leg and hind-leg cuts are distinguished, each with a defined butchery specification

13. kaszanka

    Kaszanka — buckwheat blood sausage

    Usage

    A blood sausage: buckwheat or barley groats, pork blood and offal (liver, lungs, tongue, skin, fat) in a casing, roasted or boiled. Dark brown from the blood and groats. Avoid it if your diet excludes blood

    Grammar Note

    Feminine ("ta kaszanka"). Also called "kiszka", and in Silesia "krupniok" or "kaszok". Silesian "krupnioki" received EU Protected Geographical Indication status in June 2016

14. placki ziemniaczane

    Placki ziemniaczane — potato pancakes

    Usage

    Grated raw potato with onion, egg, a little flour and salt, fried in fat and served straight from the pan. Savoury with sour cream or bryndza, or sweet with sugar, jam or stewed berries. Topped with goulash they are "placki po węgiersku"

    Grammar Note

    Normally ordered in the plural; the singular is "placek ziemniaczany". "Ziemniaczane" is the adjective from "ziemniak" (potato), in the non-masculine-personal plural form

15. kopytka

    Kopytka — potato dumplings

    Usage

    Boiled potato, wheat flour, a little potato starch and egg, rolled into a log and cut on the diagonal into rhombs. Eaten with butter or fried onion, or as a side to stews. Called "szagówki" in the Poznań dialect

    Grammar Note

    Used in the plural ("te kopytka"). The name means "little hooves", after the rhombic shape

16. zapiekanka

    Zapiekanka — open-faced baked baguette

    Usage

    Half a baguette topped with mushrooms and onion, baked under cheese and finished with ketchup. It appeared in the 1970s and is considered Poland's first street food — cheap and quick

    Grammar Note

    Feminine ("ta zapiekanka"), plural "zapiekanki". The same word also means any oven-baked casserole, so point at the item or say "zapiekanka na bagietce" if you mean the street-food kind

17. mizeria

    Mizeria — cucumber salad with sour cream

    Usage

    A side salad of thinly sliced raw cucumber dressed with sour cream (or kefir, yoghurt or soured milk), seasoned with salt, pepper, vinegar or lemon juice and dill. Commonly served alongside kotlet schabowy

    Grammar Note

    Feminine ("ta mizeria"). An 1855 Polish cookbook also records it under the name "sałata ogórkowa" (cucumber salad)

18. oscypek

    Oscypek — smoked sheep's milk cheese

    Usage

    A hard smoked cheese from the Podhale region below the Tatras, pressed in wooden moulds into a decorated spindle shape. It may be made only from May to September, in designated municipalities of the Śląskie and Małopolskie provinces. Often served grilled with cranberry preserve

    Grammar Note

    Masculine ("ten oscypek"); Both "oscypek" and "oszczypek" are used. It received EU Protected Designation of Origin status on 14 February 2008. Related cheeses are "bryndza podhalańska" and "redykołka"

19. obwarzanek krakowski

    Obwarzanek krakowski — Kraków ring bread

    Usage

    A savoury bread ring 12–17 cm across: the dough is twisted, briefly parboiled, then baked and topped with poppy seed, salt or sesame. Around 170–180 street carts sell them in Kraków, roughly 150,000 a day on weekdays. Good as breakfast or a snack on the move

    Grammar Note

    Masculine ("ten obwarzanek"), from the verb "obwarzać" (to parboil). Added to Poland's Lista produktów tradycyjnych on 28 November 2006 and registered as an EU Protected Geographical Indication on 30 October 2010. Only bread made in Kraków city, Kraków county or Wieliczka county may carry the name

20. rogal świętomarciński

    Rogal świętomarciński — St Martin's croissant

    Usage

    A pastry from Poznań (Wielkopolska) filled with white poppy seed mixed with sugar, cake crumbs, egg, margarine, walnuts, raisins and candied fruit. Eaten on St Martin's Day, 11 November, when some 250 tonnes are sold in a single day

    Grammar Note

    Masculine ("ten rogal"). Registered as an EU Protected Geographical Indication on 30 October 2008; as of 2015 only 101 bakeries were certified to use the name. Note the diacritics on "ś" and "ń"

21. sernik

    Sernik — Polish curd cheesecake

    Usage

    A cheesecake made from "twaróg", white curd cheese. The Polish version ("sernik polski") is bound with wheat flour, semolina or potato starch, often with raisins or candied orange peel, on a shortcrust base. Menus may also list the baseless "sernik wiedeński" and the cream-cheese "sernik nowojorski"

    Grammar Note

    Masculine ("ten sernik"), derived from "ser" (cheese)

22. szarlotka

    Szarlotka — Polish apple cake

    Usage

    Sour apples baked between two layers of shortcrust, spiced with cinnamon and sometimes clove, finished with icing, coarse sugar, powdered sugar or whipped cream. Cut into squares and often served warm with vanilla ice cream

    Grammar Note

    Feminine ("ta szarlotka"). Some regions call the same cake "jabłecznik" and the two names are used interchangeably. The word comes from the French dessert "charlotte"

23. pączki

    Pączki — filled doughnuts

    Usage

    Wheat yeast dough shaped into slightly flattened balls and deep-fried, usually filled with jam or marmalade — also rose-hip preserve, custard, chocolate or cheese. Finished with icing or powdered sugar and candied orange peel

    Grammar Note

    Plural ("te pączki"); singular "pączek". Traditionally eaten on "tłusty czwartek" (Fat Thursday), the last Thursday before Lent, when Poland gets through close to 100 million of them. The "ą" is a nasal vowel closer to "on" than to "an"

24. makowiec

    Makowiec — poppy seed roll

    Usage

    A cake layered or rolled with poppy seed filling, showing a dark spiral when sliced. Associated with Christmas and Easter, but cafés sell it by the slice year-round

    Grammar Note

    Masculine ("ten makowiec"), formed from "mak" (poppy seed)

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