Whereas in some countries breakfast is coffee and a sweet croissant munched on the way to work, the Polish breakfast menu is decidedly more diversified.
The most popular Polish breakfast food are open-face sandwiches featuring slices of hard cheese, cold cuts, tomatoes and cucumbers. Also eaten are different style eggs (soft and hard boiled, fried, scrambled, etc.), pot cheese with radish and chives or honey or jam served with fresh bread and rolls. The rising agent of traditional Polish bread is sourdough, made with wheat or rye flour.
Increasingly popular is eating the day’s first meal out on the town, and there is no shortage of eateries specialising in breakfast and brunch menus. Some are connected to small family-owned bakeries from which waft the mouth-watering scents of freshly baked rolls and challos (braided egg bread).
Breakfast markets, held in city parks and squares on weekends, have become standard fixtures of the Warsaw landscape. One can start the day with traditional Polish scrambled eggs or canapés as well as foreign treats – from Mexican tacos and crêpes filled with chocolate cream to Japanese sushi. Dishes can be eaten on the spot at specially set-up tables amid the ambience of a culinary picnic. As take-aways, those markets also offer home-style delicacies (baked goods, preserves, cheeses, etc.) provided by small local producers.
