Poland – Bar Mleczny

After the fall of communism, milk bars lost there popularity, and many people no longer wanted to eat at milbars, as they became associated with the communist past. Major fast-food chains like Burger King and McDonald’s appeared, and many people preferred to eat there. A short film from 1980 shows what many Poles thought of Bar Mleczny’s at the time: plates and cutlery were bolted to tables, and between visitors, a staff member would quickly wipe a plate with a cloth, then tip a large pot of soup over and fill it for the next visitor. This wasn’t how it actually happened, but it shows the image Bar Mleczny’s had in the era of emerging capitalism.

Now, milk bars are making a comeback, with around 150 of them across Poland. These food canteens are run by private parties but receive government subsidies. Sometimes, the government also pays the rent for milk bars, or covers their electricity bills. This allows them to serve healthy, home-cooked meals at affordable prices – a full meal costs just a few euros. While they initially served mainly dairy dishes, they now offer traditional Polish dishes like pierogi (dumplings), barszcz (beetroot soup), krokiet (croquettes), bigos (a cabbage and meat stew), and pancakes with sweet white cheese – traditional Polish dishes that taste like what Polish grandmothers used to cook.

The layout of milk bars is often functional and simple. People order their food at the bar and then pick it up there when it’s done. After eating, they clear their own plates and cutlery.

But also milk bars are threatened by privatization and gentrification, and activists are standing up to protect them. In 2011, when a milk bar in Warsaw was threatened with bankruptcy and conversion into a commercial restaurant, activists occupied the space to serve cheap meals. The mayor was forced to launch a competition to repurpose the milk bar. The winner retained the traditional milk bar menu and low prices, but transformed the interior from purely functional to trendy, resulting in the milk bar losing part of its social function. People who could really use affordable meals felt that the trendy spot was no longer meant for them—and well-heeled shoppers, on the other hand, enjoy getting their dumplings there for the price they would normally pay for a cup of coffee. Despite their popularity with diners—there are often long lines—milk bars often struggle to stay afloat, as government subsidies are being cut back. In 2018, a documentary was made about two women working hard to keep their Bar Mleczny open. The film was titled “Milk bar, the last battle?”. “Look at McDonald’s, what kind of food is that?” one of them asks. “There are McDonald’s all over the world! Why aren’t there milk bars all over the world?”

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