On a Friday in late July 2022, Neighbor Roy and I dined at the Polish Cottage on East Broadway in Tucson. We don’t usually travel that far east, but wife, Ms. Karen, had mentioned that the Polish Cottage had been closed for some weeks for remodeling and that we should revisit it to see what changes were made. So we did.
Arriving, we entered to a new restaurant. Much more open now, with booths along one wall and an open bar in the back. We were seated by a pleasant young lady and soon our waitress, another pleasant young thing, took our drink orders. Roy of course ordered hot tea. I of course ordered a margarita ($9). It took what seemed forever to get my margarita when I looked up at the bar to find my server being counseled as to how to make it properly by another waitress. When my margarita did arrive, I asked her if this was her first? She smiled with a touch of embarrassment and said, “Yes”.
By this time, I had noticed that all the servers were young, very attractive young women. This was noticed because in the last several places we had dined our servers were definitely older ladies mostly well past their retirement age. Seems sad to me that they still have to work. But at least they have a job and aren’t homeless.
Roy ordered the Polish Hunter’s Stew ($17.80). I ordered the Polish Kielbasa Sausage sandwich with Potato Pancakes that came with applesauce and sour cream ($12.95) + ($3.50) for the pancakes. We also ordered a plate of 8 Pierogis with Sweet Farmer’s Cheese filling ($5.75).
I’ll let Roy tell you about his thoughts on this dining experience.
“Today, we lunched at the renovated Polish restaurant on E. Broadway. It had been so long since we dined at this restaurant, I did not remember its interior. Today it was not full. We had a short wait to be seated, menus and silverware were on the table. A young waitress asked us for our drink preferences–as usual, I ordered hot tea and water. Again the waitress was prompt with a cup of hot water and a glass server with a selection of teas. I took the raspberry tea. As Jim had ordered his usual margarita, it took some time to prepare, so I scanned the restaurant which is decorated in appropriate Polish items and a lot of small pictures. After a short wait, the waitress took our orders. Both Jim and I remember the Pierogis – small dough cooked with our choice of fillings. We chose cheese fillings. For my main dish, I selected the Polish Stew which was quite filling–I took enough home for another meal. I would give it 4 saguaros for authentic cuisine, appropriate decor, and service. Keep in mind that the waitresses were cute young ladies and despite my advanced age I would have given them a high rating even if these cute young waitresses had served me day-old fried cardboard.”
I concur with Roy’s assessment. Four Saguaros for Polish Cottage. Excellent food, good service, and pleasant atmosphere.
The cute young waitresses were a definite plus, at least from the perspective of two very old men. But the view wasn’t cheap. Our bill came to $55.97, but no doubt would have been $6 or $7 less if I’d ordered Iced Tea instead of my very tasty margarita. BTW, I congratulated our waitress on her first one ever.
Polish Cottage
4520 E Broadway Blvd.
Tucson, AZ
Phone: 520-777-5407
Closed Mondays
Tuesday thru Friday – 11am to 8pm
Saturday and Sunday – 11am to 9pm
