Polish Food and Drink Words

The food words you will use most in Polish are chleb (bread), woda (water), kawa (coffee), piwo (beer) and pierogi. To order anything, say "Poproszę…" (I'd like…), and to get the bill, say "Poproszę rachunek".

Everyday food words

Start with the words you will see on every menu and shop shelf. Polish nouns have a gender, so learn each one as a whole word: chleb is masculine, zupa is feminine, mięso is neuter. Every word on this site has its own page with all its forms.

Drinks

Water in a restaurant usually comes in a bottle, so you will be asked which kind you want. Gazowana is sparkling and niegazowana is still. Kompot is a sweet drink made by boiling fruit in water, and many Polish homes serve it with lunch.

Fruit and vegetables

At a market you will see these words on handwritten price cards, usually with the price per kilo. Owoce means fruit and warzywa means vegetables.

Typical Polish dishes

These are the dishes you will find in a bar mleczny (a cheap canteen-style restaurant), at a family lunch and on most menus of Polish restaurants. A traditional lunch starts with soup, followed by the drugie danie, the main course.

Pierogi ruskie have nothing to do with Russia. The name refers to the historical region of Ruthenia. You can also order pierogi z mięsem (with meat), pierogi z kapustą i grzybami (with sauerkraut and mushrooms) or, in summer, pierogi z jagodami (with blueberries). On Christmas Eve, barszcz czerwony is served with uszka, tiny mushroom dumplings whose name means "little ears".

Meals of the day

Obiad is the big meal in Poland, eaten between about 1 and 4 p.m. Many restaurants offer a cheap zestaw obiadowy or danie dnia (set lunch, dish of the day) on weekdays.

Ordering in a restaurant

The one word you need is poproszę, "I'd like" or "please give me". Put the dish after it. To catch a waiter's attention, say przepraszam (excuse me). Talk to staff with pan or pani, the formal "you", and the verb in the third person.

A typical exchange with a waiter (kelner is a waiter, gość is a guest):

• Kelner: Dzień dobry. Co dla państwa?
  Waiter: Hello. What can I get you?
• Gość: Poproszę żurek, a na drugie danie kotlet schabowy.
  Guest: I'd like the żurek, and the pork cutlet for the main course.
• Kelner: A dla pani?
  Waiter: And for you, madam?
• Gość: Dla mnie pierogi ruskie, ale bez cebulki.
  Guest: The pierogi ruskie for me, but without the onions.
• Kelner: Coś do picia?
  Waiter: Anything to drink?
• Gość: Dwa soki jabłkowe i dużą wodę niegazowaną.
  Guest: Two apple juices and a large still water.
• Kelner: Dziękuję. Zaraz podam.
  Waiter: Thank you. I'll bring it right away.

Small grammar for ordering

After poproszę the noun goes into the accusative case. Feminine words ending in -a change to -ę: kawa becomes kawę, herbata becomes herbatę, zupa becomes zupę. Masculine words for things, neuter words and most plurals stay the same: poproszę sok, poproszę piwo, poproszę pierogi.

Use z (with) plus the instrumental and bez (without) plus the genitive: kawa z mlekiem (coffee with milk), herbata z cytryną (tea with lemon), bez cukru (without sugar). With numbers, the noun changes too: jedna kawa, dwie kawy, pięć kaw and jedno piwo, dwa piwa, pięć piw.

• Poproszę dwie kawy z mlekiem.
  Two coffees with milk, please.
• Poproszę herbatę bez cukru.
  Tea without sugar, please.
• Czy mogę prosić o jeszcze jedno piwo?
  Could I have one more beer?

At the bakery and the shop counter

A piekarnia sells bread and rolls; a cukiernia sells cakes and pastries. Polish bakeries often slice a loaf for you, so expect the question Pokroić? (Shall I slice it?).

• Sprzedawczyni: Dzień dobry. Co podać?
  Shop assistant: Hello. What can I get you?
• Klient: Poproszę chleb żytni i cztery bułki.
  Customer: A rye bread and four rolls, please.
• Sprzedawczyni: Pokroić chleb?
  Shop assistant: Shall I slice the bread?
• Klient: Tak, poproszę. I jeszcze dwie drożdżówki.
  Customer: Yes, please. And two sweet buns as well.
• Sprzedawczyni: Coś jeszcze?
  Shop assistant: Anything else?
• Klient: Nie, dziękuję, to wszystko. Ile płacę?
  Customer: No, thank you, that's all. How much is it?
• Sprzedawczyni: Osiemnaście złotych pięćdziesiąt groszy.
  Shop assistant: Eighteen złoty fifty.

At a deli counter, cheese and ham are sold by weight, and people count in deko (10 grams). Poproszę dwadzieścia deko szynki means 200 grams of ham. For larger amounts, use kilo: pół kilo pomidorów is half a kilo of tomatoes. After amounts the food goes into the genitive, so szynka becomes szynki.

Asking for the bill and paying

In Poland the bill does not come until you ask for it. Catch the waiter's eye, say przepraszam, then one of the phrases below.

• Gość: Przepraszam, możemy prosić o rachunek?
  Guest: Excuse me, could we have the bill?
• Kelner: Oczywiście. Płacą państwo razem czy osobno?
  Waiter: Of course. Are you paying together or separately?
• Gość: Razem, kartą.
  Guest: Together, by card.