The restaurant has finally been updated and the decor refreshed. Still needs a bit of work but it's getting there. Some of the foods have dropped slightly in quality but the traditional Polish dishes are still good. The one thing that stands out is the bar and it's selection of beers and vodka. If you haven't had Polish food before I would highly recommend this place.

Good old Polish Club brings back memories when I was a freshman straight outta Uni. I remember their $10 lunch specials accompanied me through the good, bad and terrible days at work. 10 years later, with myself chubbier, poorer (my Mrs like shoes…) & not really wiser, I decided to revisit this special place. From the outside, the Polish club blends nicely with the surrounding office blocks and can be easily missed by newcomers. Its only when you look closer you will realize the club logo & coat of arms. 

We were there for Friday lunch and ordered: Flaki (tripe soup), polish cabbage roll, beef goulash, polish meat dumplings & pork schnitzel. With a Zywiec beer in hand, I started to absorb the surroundings and relive the memories. The restaurant setting and layout can only be described as plain, simple (not in a trendy way) and clean. To some extent, the restaurant has a vibe which resembles a “communist workers club” and can feel depressing at times.  

With myself settling in, the tripe soup arrived. The Polish Flaki soup is a very traditional dish consisting mainly cow tripe, mixed vegetables in a clear broth. The generous serving size have decent amount of ingredients and presents an oily film on top. The soup is on the gamy side with a strong tripe taste with a hint of veggies & pepper. Dip a piece of rye bread into the broth & your palate will be taken to East Europe. 4/5

Second to arrive was the beef goulash served with gnocchi & green salad. First taste of this dish and you will be disappointed by the salty flavourless goulash and the tough diced beef. The goulash had an old/left in the fridge for too long taste. The gnocchi was soggy and chewy which suggest pre-packaged. With only half the plate finished this was definitely a disappointment. 2/5

The Polish cabbage roll Golabki, stuffed with minced pork, rice and topped with tomato based sauce made a swift appearance. The generous portion consist two large cabbage rolls with a side of rye bread. The taste of the filling was porky with a hint of garlic, onion & mixed spice. The cabbage was cooked nice and soft with the tomato sauce mild and sweet. A minor letdown was the lack of seasoning with the filling. 3.5/5

Fourth dish of the meal: Pierogi meat dumplings. The well-presented Polish dumplings were boiled till cooked and topped with fried onions. First bite and you will be overwhelmed by the onion taste followed by hints of meat and doughy flavours. The dumpling’s pork filling was on the dry side and lack seasoning. The dumpling skin was chewy but too thick from my opinion. 3/5

Pork schnitzel with chips and pickled cabbage was the last dish to arrive. The pork & chicken schnitzel was my fav $10 lunch back in the day. We got a massive near plate sized pork schnitzel fried till golden. The meat was soft, tender & flavourful with an almost crunchy outer crust. The pickled cabbage balances out the oily schnitzel and leaves the palate quite clean. It’s hard not to have a smile when eating this dish. Bravo! 5/5

Overall service was very friendly with the staff keen to explain menu items and make suggestions. Kid’s cutleries were not available but did offer entrée size fork & spoon for the young one. 4/5

With lunch sorted, it’s time to head down stairs to the main event: Polish Market Day. The small market is situated inside the main hall with only a handful of vendors selling traditional Polish sweets and groceries. What people were really there for is the cured meat and sausages. I quickly lined up in front of the roller shutter window (reminded me of primary school tuckshop days…) & waited patiently with a Polish doughnut in my hand (pigged out!). What I notice were everyone in line was chatting in Polish (a very good sign!). 30min later, the store opened & my eyes sparkled! All sorts of East European cured and wonderfully smoked meat presented in plastic storage containers with ladies in white lab coat serving the goods. Kid in a wonderland I was & went nuts with over 5kg worth of purchases. All the smoked meats were amazing and you will struggle to find them in any Brisbane deli especially at their low price!

Hint: They serve special menu items such as pork knuckle every Friday dinner only. Their schnitzel (not $10 anymore) and specialty beers from Poland is worth a try. Market day is normally every second Fridays but do check their website to confirm.