Polish breaded pork cutlet, hand-pounded and shallow-fried, the canonical Polish lunch across milk bars and bistros. Served with potatoes, beet salad, and cucumber.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
Kotlet schabowy is Poland's national plate, the descendant of the Austrian Wienerschnitzel adapted to pork and bigger portions in the 19th century. Under communism it became the Sunday lunch across Polish households; today every milk bar in Wrocław runs a schabowy plate at around 15-25 zł. Wrocław's higher-end versions appear at Młoda Polska on Plac Solny.
Common allergens: Gluten, Egg
Tip from the editors. Pound the pork hard and thin. A 5mm thickness cooks in three minutes and stays juicy; thicker and the crust burns before the centre cooks.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Bar Mleczny Miś on Kuźnicza is Wrocław's most famous milk bar: cafeteria-style room, sub-3-zł soups, sub-20-zł mains. The cheapest hot lunch in central Wrocław.
Try: Polish milk-bar classics
Order: Tomato soup with rice, then pork cutlet with potato puree, total around 22 zł.
Tip: Closed Sundays. Lunchtime Mon-Fri 12:00-13:30 has the freshest food but the longest queue.
Beata Śniechowska's Młoda Polska on Plac Solny in Wrocław. A bistro and bar with a live pianist most evenings and a kitchen rooted in Polish comfort food, plates reworked.
Signature: Leek croquette, Polish breaded pork chop
Order: The leek croquette to start, the pork chop with potato puree to follow.
Tip: If Saturday dinner is booked, the Sunday brunch service is the same kitchen at a fifth less per head.
Konspira on Plac Solny in Wrocław doubles as a bar after the dinner service quiets: Polish vodkas, 1980s themed cocktails, the hidden apartment behind the wardrobe.
Signature drink: Polish vodkas and Solidarity-era cocktails
Food: Polish classics
Order: A flight of three Polish vodkas with pickle juice chasers.
Tip: After 22:00 the room turns into a bar; ask to sit in the hidden apartment for a quieter scene.
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