Eastern flavors enter everyday life
The seasonal cold simply highlighted something that has been visible in the data for a long time: Poles are eager to reach for global comfort. Ramen, pad thai, curry and Korean dishes have become a natural choice during the most intense hours of the day – between lunch and the afternoon.
The growth dynamics clearly shows this:
- Japanese cuisine: +22% y/y,
- Korean: +30%,
- oriental: +34%,
- broadly understood Asian: +12%.
This food is filling and warming at the same time, but at the same time quite light – that’s why it fits so well into the urban rhythm.
Polish classics are back… but at a new time of day
Traditional dishes are also gaining in popularity – by 15% year on year – although their role today is different. They went from an evening, home-cooked meal to the center of the day.
Broth, dumplings or tomato soup most often appear around 12:00, as an hourly “reset” that organizes the rhythm of the week. Monday remains the strongest day, when we especially look for predictability and flavors associated with home peace.
The weekend belongs to Italy and Asia
Although the data covers the whole day, the strongest “weekend scenario” is particularly visible:
- Friday and Sunday are the days of greatest interest in Italian and Asian cuisine,
- pizza and pastas peak at 6-7 p.m.,
- ramen, pad thai and curry dominate during the day – as quick, filling, but not heavy dishes.
This is a clear signal that weekend comfort food means, above all, rest and a moment of pleasure.
“Tradition does not disappear, but becomes one of many available scenarios. The more and more frequent reaching for flavors from various parts of the world is proof that we are becoming a global society not only in professional life, but also in the most intimate sphere – where we look for comfort,” comments Kamil Czarnecki, Head of Restaurant Development at Wolt.
Cinnamons – a sweet symbol of a new trend
In the sweets category, we have one clear winner. Soft, warm, fragrant – cinnamon sticks have become an urban hit, perfect to improve your mood. An increase of 200% year on year shows that Poles are increasingly choosing small, immediate sweet pleasures instead of classic desserts.
And the weather? Little influence on everyday choices
While it might seem that cold weather automatically steers us toward heavier foods, the data doesn’t support this. Seasonal fluctuations are small – differences in share
orders do not exceed 0.5 percentage point. This means that Polish comfort food is shaped more by the rhythm of the day, meal times and the need for emotional balance than by the temperature outside.
Comfort food is becoming more and more personal
The conclusions from the data are clear: Poles are not abandoning tradition, but are gradually expanding it with new flavors. For some, relief is a portion of dumplings at 12:00, for others – a bowl of ramen after a difficult meeting, and for others – an evening spread or a portion of curry.
Comfort food no longer has one definition. It has one function: to warm up, stop for a moment and give you a breath at a daily pace.
