It is no longer difficult to avoid meat, with many restaurants offering at least one vegetarian dish. Also many major cities such as Warsaw, Kraków, Gdańsk, Łódź and Wrocław have vegetarian restaurants, especially near the city centre.
If you want to eat cheaply, you should visit [bar mleczny] (milk bar). Bar mleczny is a typically Polish kind of a fast food restaurant. It was invented by the communist authorities of Poland in mid-1960s as a means to offer cheap meals to people working in companies that had no official canteen. Its name originates from the fact that until late 1980s the meals served there were mostly dairy-made and vegetarian (especialy during the martial law period of the beginning of the 1980s, when meat was rationed). The milk-bars are usually subsidized by the state. Eating there is a unique experience - it is not uncommon that you will encounter people from various social classes - students, businessmen, university professors, elderly people, sometimes even homeless, all eating side-by-side in a 1970s-like environment. Presumably, it is the quality of food at absolutely unbeatable price (veggie main courses starting from €0.50!) that attracts people.
There is a list of Polish milk bars available on the Internet.
Restaurants and other types of food service are generally inexpensive for those accustomed to price in Western Europe or the United States. Finer restaurants are on par with the best in those regions but cost two or three times less.
