Tucson remains one of just two cities in the United States and 56 cities worldwide with a UNESCO City of Gastronomy designation.

Despite the honor, not every cuisine is well represented in Tucson, most notably Polish food, with only one brick-and-mortar restaurant serving Eastern European fare.

Polish Cottage, 4520 E. Broadway, opened in 2011 and has become a beloved spot for the city’s small Polish community and for those looking to reconnect with their Eastern European roots.

Owners Robert Stawacki, who manages the kitchen, and his wife, Agnieszka Stawicka, take pride in the nostalgia their food evokes for customers. The couple moved to Tucson with their daughter in 2001 from their hometown of Warsaw, Poland, where they owned a Polish-Italian restaurant.

They said their move to the U.S. was to begin a new chapter.

“It was like an adventure for us,” Stawicka recalled.

Their journey wasn’t without challenges.

Stawicka and her family had to start from scratch in a new country, facing the obstacles of adapting to an unfamiliar way of life. She said it was a difficult transition.

“It took us time to learn how to run a business here,” she said. “We were in a different world, and for us, it was challenging. We had to learn a new language, went to school, we had to put ourselves together.”

To this day, she works full time as a nurse at St. Joseph's Hospital, helping out at the restaurant on her days off.

She also designed the restaurant's interior, which was renovated in 2022 to attract a younger crowd.

“I know the older generation loves coming here, but I would love to see more of the younger generation come try this food,” Stawicka said.

Patrons entering the restaurant are greeted by European decor, with old wooden plates, paper cutouts and knickknacks from Poland or made by Stawicka hanging on the walls. Other pieces were gifted by customers with Polish backgrounds.

The mock fireplace at the back end of the dining room gives the place a homey, cozy atmosphere.

Hanging near the restaurant’s entrance is a colorful folk dress Stawicka’s daughter wore to Tucson Meet Yourself years ago while performing with a group of Polish dancers at the festival.

“My daughter is 24 now, but this is from when we first came to the United States, and she was only 3 years old and she was dancing,” she said.

Polish Cottage continues to donate its freshly made pierogies to the festival every year, with the European dumplings filled with meats, cheeses or vegetables always a customer favorite.

Polish Cottage’s menu boasts a variety of Polish classics, including pierogies and placki ziemniaczane, or potato pancakes, served with sour cream and applesauce.

“We don’t have a big menu, but what we do have is just traditional,” Stawicka said.

Pierogies come in orders of eight, 10 or 12, half filled with meat and the other half with mushrooms and sauerkraut or sweet farmer’s cheese.

They’re served with ham, pickled onions and sour cream, intended to be eaten on top of the pierogies, creating a perfect bite.

The rich flavor of the pierogies is balanced by the acidity of the onions and sauerkraut, while the sour cream brings the satisfying texture together. Making pierogies is time-consuming, so much so that they’re usually reserved for special occasions, Stawicka said.

“In Poland, we usually only make them on Christmas or Easter,” she said.

Another signature item on the menu is the original Polish kielbasa sandwich, a simple but flavorful creation that allows the authentic Polish sausage — paired with a perfectly baked French roll — to shine.

The savory hunter’s stew, known as bigos in Poland, is also worth a mention. And for sauerkraut fans, this is a dish that’s not to be missed.

The stew consists of a generous portion of sauerkraut mixed with a variety of cured meats and cabbage and topped with a whole kielbasa sausage. It comes with slices of toast served on the side, which are perfect for dipping.

Diners in the mood for something lighter might enjoythe beet soup, or botwina. Its distinct crimson color and earthy flavor come from the combination of fresh beets and herbs, with a hard-boiled egg adding a lovely textural element to the soup.

For dessert, the Polish apple cake, or szarlotka, or crepes, or naleśniki, stuffed with sweet farmer’s cheese and drizzled with a sweet strawberry sauce, should hit the spot.

Polish Cottage is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. The menu is available on the restaurant’s website.

Griffen Engelberg is a journalism major at the University of Arizona and reporter with Tucson Spotlight. Contact him at at gje1@arizona.edu.

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