Warsaw winter flavours
In my family, we eagerly ate soups. The best dish to serve an artist at midnight after a concert is a nutritious, hot broth that works wonders on the stomach and stimulates the appetite. Lunch, the main meal of the day, often started with puréed vegetable soup, which the children adored (it was the easiest way to force some vegetables into them). Soup was often the main course. Poles like to eat soups with various sundries served on a separate plate: these can be croutons, which are dropped into the soup or eaten with the fingers, or mini dumplings, stuffed pastries, etc., which are also served as a snack—wrote Aniela Rubinstein (1908 – 2001) opening the chapter on soups in her bestselling culinary guide Nela’s Cookbook (the book is available in Polish and English).
She is an author who grew up in the Młynarski musical family, in a house full of artistic traditions and good food. Her father, Emil Młynarski, was one of the most outstanding conductors of the turn of the century, a co-founder and first director of the National Philharmonic in Warsaw, as well as director of the Warsaw Opera—it was in this environment that little Nela learned sensitivity, taste and elegance, which she later brought to her cuisine and… into her marriage to Artur Rubinstein—a piano virtuoso and well-known gourmet. One of his favorite soups was Polish creamed borscht (i.e., with added cream).
Not much has changed since her day—soups still occupy an important place in Polish cuisine, both in everyday cooking and for special occasions. Winter is a great time to discovering these hot, warming flavours. Which soup to start this culinary adventure with? The Taste Atlas includes a list of the most popular ones: first place went to an essential broth cooked in a rich stock of several types of meat. There are also: delicate chicken broth, the distinctive żurek (sour rye soup), and mushroom soup, either made from mixed forest mushrooms or just from porcini!
Borscht (barszcz) is also among the most popular Polish soups. It was a cup of pure borscht that Aniela Rubinstein gave her husband and other artists who were hungry, thirsty and tired after concerts, because she believed that nothing gets someone back on their feet like the slightly sweet Polish borscht. This soup is currently most often served with krokiety, i.e. pancakes stuffed with meat or a mushroom and sauerkraut filling. Aniela Rubinstein recommended serving pancakes or brain-filled pastries. These days, this a great rarity on restaurant menus.
When trying soups, you mustn’t omit the hit of school canteens, milk bars and home cooking, i.e. tomato soup. It is also worth remembering the traditional taste of Warsaw, which is flaki (tripe). We treat it like a soup, but it’s really a wonderful one-pot dish full of chunks of meat and vegetables that will satisfy even a the biggest appetite. The broth of beef tripe and vegetables is traditionally seasoned with ginger, and the soup is served with meatballs and even baked with Parmesan cheese.
In search of the flavours and atmospheres of old Warsaw, it is worth taking a look at the ‘Old Fashioned’ Wedel Shop on Szpitalna Street. It is full of the aromas of cocoa, vanilla and chocolate, and wooden counters and glass jars full of sweet treats take you back to a time when shopping was a minor ritual, not a rushed duty. Wedel is the name of a Warsaw chocolate factory that has been operating since 1851 and at the same time the name of its founders, and the most famous products of this company are Wedel cake, ptasie mleczko (chocolate cubes with a soft, fluffy filling) and delicje (Jaffa Cakes). It is not the only place in Warsaw where you can sample Wedel treats, and there is even the E.Wedel Chocolate Factory Museum by the factory (address: Emil Wedel Avenue 5, 03-822 Warsaw, open every day). However, the shop on Szpitalna Street is the place where you can travel back in time to the Warsaw of 130 years ago.
Meanwhile, strolling along Krakowskie Przedmieście this winter, you can come to the entrance of a shop from… 1878. This is the year in which Lalka (The Doll) is set; a novel by Bolesław Prus (real name Aleksander Głowacki, 1847–1912)—a Warsaw journalist and frequent visitor to the Wedel store on Szpitalna Street.
The main character of this novel, Stanisław Wokulski, was the owner of a shop, a mock-up of which can be seen this winter right next to the Nicolaus Copernicus monument and the Polish Academy of Sciences building. Look out for a façade with inscriptions in Polish and Russian, because The Doll is a story about a period when Poland was absent from map of Europe, and Warsaw was part of the Russian Empire.
Wokulski’s Shop is a remnant of a movie set, and the premiere of this film adaptation is planned for 2026. Wokulski’s store still attracts passersby and everyone wants their photo taken by the entrance. It is no surprise that this literary address arouses the emotions of Varsovians and others—The Doll is a story of ambition, transformation and the modernisation of Warsaw in the second half of the 19th century, which to this day remains one of the most important portraits of the city and… compulsory reading in secondary schools.
Meanwhile, for the atmosphere of an old-time, bustling marketplace, Hala Mirowska is worth a visit. Its character has remained unchanged for over a century: you can still buy fresh vegetables, cheeses, fish and traditional cold meats here, and in winter the aromas of pickles and spices, as well as the smell of freshly baked rolls, create a real guide to the flavours of the season. It is a place to stock up on jams, confitures, and other preserves (including wild rose hip jam for Warsaw doughnuts), as well as dried mushrooms.
December and January are also the perfect time to get to know the city’s winter side through fairs and culinary markets, where tradition blends with modernity. The Warsaw Christamas Market takes place by the Palace of Culture from the end of November to January 1, 2026. Between Marszałkowska Street and the main entrance to the Palace of Culture and Science, you can try grilled dishes (the ‘must have’ snack at every festival—mountain cheese with cranberries), dumplings (including exceptional ones with goose) and old Polish bigos made with sauerkraut, as well as various types of meat, fragrant with the aroma of juniper and plum. There are also stews for those who fancy them, such as aromatic wild boar goulash in wine and the “classic” bread with dripping or hot smoked bacon. At the fair, you can also stock up on smoked meats, cold cuts and pâtés, craft breads, and honeys. There are also gingerbread treats.
So: if you are looking for the Warsaw flavours of December and January, choose places that blend the old and new. Warm yourself up with hot chocolate at the Wedel shop, go back to the early days of Warsaw commerce at Hala Mirowska, and feel the city’s modern rhythm at winter markets. Seek out Stanisław Wokulski’s shop among the illuminated winter decorations in the city centre, and stop for a warming and aromatic soup along the way. See if Aniela Rubinstein was right that nothing gets you back on your feet like a cup of red borscht.
Author: Agnieszka Kuś, Warsaw guide
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