Miami's Only Polish Market Is Stocked With Strong Beer and Spicy Sausages
If it can be put in a pierogi, they've got it
Anytime a beer has a herd of thundering bison on the label, it’s probably not the kind of thing you drink while mowing your lawn. Just to make sure, I asked the muscular, bald man behind the counter at Warsaw Grocery what kind of beer it was. He looked me dead in the eyes and said, without a hint of expression, “Is strong beer.” I got the sense this beer could probably kill Apollo Creed.
The bison beer was one of many fascinating foreign products I found at Warsaw Grocery, a literal mom-and-pop Polish grocery story on the Coral Gables side of Calle Ocho. It’s run by Klaudia and Adrian Saczek, a Polish couple who between stocking pierogi, spicy sausages, and fresh-baked European breads, chase their toddler around the store. It’s the kind of place you wander into with zero intention of buying anything, and leave with two jars of herring. Such is the charm - and cultural education – you find in Miami’s only Polish market.
What am I finding here I wouldn’t find at, say, Publix
The shop is packed with imported ingredients from Europe – aka much of the same stuff they have at regular grocery stores, minus the unpronounceable ingredients banned in 27 countries. Beyond healthier packaged foods, they have traditional Polish stuff like frozen pierogis, soup, smoked cheese, pickled mushrooms, and a whole cooler of beer that would make Budweiser run home to its mommy.
The space: Is a clean, narrow little market where shelves are stocked with products written in another language. Klaudia and Adrian will happily explain to you what everything is if you’re unfamiliar, and might even give you a sample of sausage if you ask nicely. Klaudia told me Miami’s Polish community loves it, because all the other Polish markets are in Broward. Which at that point, might as well be Poland.
What to eat and drink: Sadly, Warsaw Grocery doesn’t have a kitchen, so anything you buy you’ll have to take home and eat. That said, the sausages are spectacular, real-deal Polish-style spicy stuff. The soups in the cooler are all home made, ideal for lunch-on-the-go. Breads are baked fresh daily at a European bakery near Ft. Lauderdale, I ate half a loaf of the double-crusted rye bread on my drive home. The beers are no BS, European brews, but if you miss those from your semester abroad this will scratch the itch.
Perfect for: Getting ingredients that don’t have additives; trying something new; a quick lunch of soup and sausage.
Expect to pay: Some items are actually cheaper than the grocery stores. Wonder why that is, Publix?
Pro tip: There’s a non-alcoholic rye bread soda hiding in the beer cooler that’s like drinking a dark rye bread. Carb lovers, this is your new favorite drink.
How’s the parking: Tricky. Some of the lots around the market are for other tenants, and will tow with aggression. Best to find a street space on Ponce, or somewhere in the surrounding neighborhood.
@warsawgrocery_miami // 3818 SW 8th St., Coral Gables
