Placki Ziemniaczane appears as a signature dish in 2 Poland cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
Placki Ziemniaczane (Polish Potato Pancakes) · Kraków
Crisp Polish potato pancakes, finely grated raw potato and onion bound with egg and flour, fried in lard until lace-edged and golden. Served sweet with sour cream and sugar, or savoury under a goulash blanket.
Placki ziemniaczane became a Polish home-kitchen staple in the 19th century once the potato spread across rural Galicia. The Tatra-mountain version of the dish, placki po zbojnicku (highwayman style), tops the pancakes with a heavy goulash and originated in Zakopane bars; this version is served at Morskie Oko on Plac Szczepanski in Krakow.
Where to eat in Kraków:
- Morskie Oko
- Polakowski
- Marchewka z Groszkiem
- Pod Baranem
- Milkbar Tomasza
Placki ziemniaczane · Warsaw
Placki ziemniaczane are crisp shallow-fried potato pancakes, eaten plain with sour cream, savoury with goulash on top, or sweet with sugar. The street-cart and milk-bar favourite.
Potato pancakes spread across the Slavic world after potatoes arrived from the New World, with the Polish placki ziemniaczane recipe stabilising in the 19th century. The Mazovian version uses raw grated potato bound with egg, flour and salt only; the more elaborate Sudety mountain version (placki po zbojnicku) adds a meat goulash on top. Warsaw milk bars and pierogarnie still plate the plain version every day for under 20 zl, and home cooks fight over whether to drain the grated potato (Mazovia: yes) or keep the starch (Galicia: no).
Where to eat in Warsaw:
- Bar Mleczny Prasowy
- Bar Mleczny Familijny
- Restauracja Polka
- Lokal Vegan Bistro