Delicious winter flavours

While soaking up the festivity, why not warm up with some steaming mulled wine and try the seasonal specialty loved by the Poles – hot beer with honey and spices. Why not let your nose lead you to one of the food stalls where you can try various traditional treats. For example, bigos made with stewed sauerkraut, meat and sausage, barszcz – a beetroot soup served with tiny dumplings stuffed with a mix of dried mushrooms and fried onion, pierogi in their festive version with sauerkraut and dried ceps, gołąbki – cabbage rolls stuffed with buckwheat and dried forest mushrooms, and oscypek – a salty Polish smoked cheese made from sheep’s milk, grilled on an outdoor barbeque and served with a side of cranberry preserve. Christmas markets are also heaven for those with a sweet tooth, with offerings of traditional Polish Christmas cakes such as makowiec – poppy-seed cake – and piernik – old Polish gingerbread full of exotic spices, including ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Check the best restaurants for winter dinner!