Cheapest eating places in Warsaw?

Hello Friends,

I am new to warsaw. Please tell me about the cheapest eating places in warsaw. Not looking for anything grand or big. Just any nice small cheap place for food.

Sincerely,
xpertize

In Poland check the places called "Milk Bars" ( they don't serve milk and there are not bars!) but some sort of subsidized restaurants , they offer Polish specialties at extremely low prices, and are popular with tourists too and are noted in tourist guides.

Look for BAR MLECZNY in Warsaw. You ll get a lits of them on Google or a few Warsaw PF members might be able to recommend some.

Better than many restaurants IME.

Thanks for the kind replies. Suppose I eat everyday at milk bars, (Lunch and dinner) how much monthly cost should I expect on food? Just a very rough estimate needed.

Thanks for the help.

Regards.

some 500-600 PLN max (excluding alcohol) - and that is having what you wish for for dinner and lunch and not economizing on everything

Wow - I knew they were cheap but that's even cheaper than I thought.

Just remember xpertize, these are not restaurants or even cafés and they operate differently. E.g. service doesn't really exist and you are expected to return your plates & cutlery to the kitchen "hatch"

It's like somewhere between a café and a school canteen. Usually staffed by grumpy old women.

But don't let any of that put you off - quality (if basic) wholesome food and lots of it. And of course, great value.

No idea , it depends on what you eat!
Just check the cheapest dishes, every Bar Mleczy( pronunced Bar Mlayshnay) has different dishes. Those without meat are the cheapest.

when I was studying (middle till late 90's) in Wrocław one could actually eat a modest but filling dinner/lunch for lower than 1,0 PLN at a milky bar - but if you wanted to be on the healthier side you needed to spend closer to 2 złote / 2 PLN (no vegs for the cheapest meals)

I think you can bet that lunch+dinner in a milky bar will cost you between 15 to 20 PLN on avarage

aa - but there is one thing: these places tend to be crowded in certain times of the day - I remember sometimes queuing for half an hour or more to eventually get the meal and then it wasn't always easy to find a sitting place on the premises to eat it :P

There is also a Chain of restaurants called GREEN WAY( Warsaw ,Krakow etc) , it is vegetarian place but the dishes are quite good that even if you are not vegeterian you don't miss meat or fish.

the big Pitta full of vegetables is less than 20 zl .

Yep, tried it and as a non-Pole I can tell you that it is another v good budget choice.

Same kind of idea, big helpings of nourishing and simple but good quality fare.

Best food and very attractive prices are in all the milk bars. These places are unique to Poland and offer rather traditional Polish food but always a very wide menu so ther's a chance to choose something and try some real Polish cusine. The only disadvantage is that the interiors and quality of those diners/bars is rather poor, but you can meet everyone there, form students, through blue and white collar, to drunks and dregs of society. Kinda interesting.

We have "pie & mash" shops in London, which are similar in many ways, but with a somewhat limited menu (pie, mash, eels, and not a lot else really lol), but they serve their purpose. Cheaper than McDonald's or KFC and a lot more filling.

... and I guess better for your diet! ;)

Much better than that American rubbish, certainly :) Whenever I'm in Shepherd's Bush I just have to go to Cooke's :)

A lot of the restaurants do " lunch menu" between 12 and 4 pm cost will be 16-25 PLN, two or three courses. So this would be your cheap fuel top up for the day, in the evenings it is back to normal price. Milk bars would be a good option if you are on a tight budget. There are also bars offering " happy hours" you have git to smell out your own holes when you are on the ground.


Pie, mash and lots of liquor - yes please.

How about FREE? across centralnya and zlota trashay mall they give out free food and soup everyday just free:) or try cople of churches in stary miasta free soup and food:)

Vega just off Solidarnosci (behind Kino Femina) has fairly cheap and usually excellent food.

Subway do a Sub of the day for 7zl (13zl for the 30-cm version) and a breakfast Sub for 3.90, so you can certainly get three meals a day from Subway for under 600zl per month.

He lives in one of those "gated communities" by the river :D

I know, I laugh as well :)

Thanks for all the replies. You all are so friendly and nice. I really like this site. I did not expect such a great responses. Thanks a lot friends. Very useful.

Regards,
xpertize

Hang around for a while and those words will haunt you!

: )

Aww, bless.

You'll learn, eventually ;)

There's also the cheapest of the cheap restaurants...McDonald's in the mall.

• 
  Mickey D's
  

No Come on, for this kind of fast food he does not need our recommendations, He' ll find the MacDonalds Burger King ,kebabs etc everywhere and it is not typical Polish.

For quick Polish fast food i would recommend to visit any Pierkarnia-Cukierna( Baker & pastry shops) where you can buy various sanwiches with Polish ham ( kanapki), puff pastry filled with Cabbage( kapuszniak) or with meat.

There are also ZAPIEKANKI ( a Baguette Bread with a choice of toppings such cheese, mushrooms ,meat, tomatoes etc ).

I won't deny it's cheap, but "excellent" is about three steps too far to describe their food. And I'm not bothered that it's vegetarian, but it's bland, dry and overcooked.

There's plenty of places behind Al. Jana Pawla (especially on ul. Ciepla) that do a lunch menu for less than 20zl.

For you friends:- Thanks and cheers! Love you all.
Xpertize

Very sweet. We're just glad now you won't starve in Warsaw :)

One of my favourites is the Bar Mleczny in Freta street at the juncture of Old Town and New Town. That's where I first had 'ruskie' (potato & curd cheese) naleśniki containing the filling that usually goes into ruskie pierogi. Another one is at the corner of Krasińskiego and Broniewskiego.