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AT LUNCHTIMEthe HRYour browser does not support the element. Prasowy milk bar in central Warsaw is a portrait of Polish society. Grey-suited officials from nearby ministries queue up alongside students anxious to slurp down a bowl of tomato soup before the bell calls them back to school. Young professionals carve into crisp potato pancakes and rainbow salads. Elderly customers linger at remote tables over lonely plates of (dumplings).Opened in 1954, Prasowy is Warsaw’s oldest milk bar. The self-service canteens, so named because they serve mainly (though not exclusively) dairy dishes, were born in the late 19th century, when meat was a pricey treat. They proliferated in communist times when other restaurants were rare. Dozens have survived, in part thanks to patrons nostalgic for their homestyle food and unpretentious atmosphere, and in part thanks to government subsidies that allow them to keep prices low. Some offer meals to the jobless and homeless, paid for by social security; the poor and the well-off rub elbows.Enthusiasts were thus rattled when Poland’s government announced plans to cut funding for the bars from 71m zloty ($17m) in 2024 to 60m zloty in 2025. Kamil Hagemajer, who co-owns several bars including Prasowy, says that running them would be “impossible” without the subsidies.The government says not all funds earmarked for the bars were used this year. But many forgo the subsidies because of how they are designed. The state reimburses the costs of selected ingredients that are used only in meatless dishes. Rusalka, a bar in east Warsaw that caters to medics from nearby hospitals, gave up on the help because dividing the cost of a bag of flour, used both to make cheese dumplings and breaded pork cutlets, was too big a headache, says the cashier. The bars have other worries, too. Though Poland’s inflation has slowed from its peak in 2023, labour and energy costs are still growing faster than those of food. To cut overheads, some have installed digital ordering kiosks. Mr Hagermajer says these are popular with younger customers (who prefer to “avoid interactions” with cashiers) and tourists who can use them to order in English. They lend a piquant modern touch to the bars’ socialist nostalgia.Meat-free dishes are prominent in traditional Polish peasant cuisine. But in today’s changing Poland they point to the future, drawing in the country’s burgeoning vegetarian scene. This year one Warsaw milk bar has recreated the flavour of jellied fish, a Christmas staple, from soy and seaweed. Aayushi Naphade, an worker who moved from India to Poland six years ago, says she now visits her local milk bar every week since discovering its rich vegetable soups. She does, however, find them a bit underspiced.
