I have recently been reflecting on some of the first train trips I took and one particular moment came up that was a real turning point for me.
As we all know convienience food can come at a high cost when you’re in a captive market – such as at an airport, motorway services or railway station – and that also goes for onboard planes or trains too.
In my early days of travel having left university, this led me to predujice where even abroad I’d hold the same narrative actively avoiding these outlets and prepare meal options in advance to save money.
One of my first solo trips was to Poland, visiting the wonderful cities of Gdansk, Wroclaw and Warsaw in the winter time. The air was frosty, and with the characterful market squares the old towns in these cities created a magical atmosphere. This trip also introduced me to Polish cuisine in general, discovering milk bars – where through steamy windows, you’d enter with immediate warmth. These, often self-service, canteens offered a wide selection of hearty dishes – all for reasonable prices. The pricing was simplified with costings worked out on the weight of the plate rather than the choices themselves. I enjoyed meat with vegetables, with locals or fellow travellers I’d met on large communal tables. Perfect for warming up on a cold day.
These were a great discovery for me on my Polish adventures, but what about when travelling in Poland?
Onboard the Berlin-Warszawa Express
It was a cold November evening in Warsaw in 2017 as I boarded the international Berlin-Warszawa Express EuroCity train across the border to Germany as I started to head back home to the UK – exclusively by train. Train 17006 specifically (recalled because I keep a book with all my train tickets in!), operated with exclusively Polish (PKP InterCity) state railway carriages.
My early evening departure departed the dark platforms of Warsaw’s central station, and after a brief spell of light before sunset there was only the carriage interior you could see with my reflection staring back at me.
Being someone that avoided convenience food in captive environments, considering dining on a train just wasn’t a consideration.
However, on this occassion, I hadn’t properly prepared for the sixish hour journey to Berlin. I would also be arriving late into Berlin and have a risky forty-odd minute connection to board my booked then City Night Line train to Basel (these days I always allow two hours for a night train, just in case).
Half way into the long trip, I had this realisation that I should see if there was any food onboard. I also had a desire to escape the boredom of the bland Second Class open-saloon carriage, with its depressing brown seats and faded white walls and ultilitarian lighting. In there you could hear a pin drop in the silence, so I needed to get up and stretch my legs. What would I find on the train?
Three carriages of compartment carriages later, I stumbled across the carriage that would change how I would travel – the restaurant carriage, which felt like stepping into a parallel universe to the simple Second Class carriage.
The Polish restaurant carriage
The restaurant carriage or ‘wagon restauracyjny’ came adorned with orange and blue ‘WARS’ branding (the outsourced catering supplier) and wood-effect tables for two and four. Each table came with a tablecloth, though unusually this wasn’t large enough to cover the small table.
The restaurant carriage was popular. I sat down at the only available seat, asking a gentleman if he minded if I joined. It is culturally acceptable to share tables in restaurant carriages in Europe, though it wasn’t something I was entirely familiar or comfortable with. He read his newspaper, which allowed me to focus on the task in hand – what was I going to choose from the vast menu.
The waiter visited my table and asked what I’d like to order. I went for the smoked salmon salad – accompanied by cheese, tomatoes and beetroot. This arrived shortly after, having been freshly prepared and served on proper china, complete with the WARS logo, and metal cutlery. A proper restaurant on wheels – and available to anyone on the train.
On a different day, I might have opted for other Polish options, including Żurek soup or Pierogi dumplings.
The restaurant carriage was a hive of activity, with chattering and the odd clunk of glasses. I spent a good half an hour here before retreating back to my underwhelming seat.
I don’t remember the exact cost, but being in Poland was relatively cheap to back home. Today, you can expect a salad dish for no more than €8.40, depending on the specific dish. Still a good price for train food.
That half-hour changed how I travel. Since that night, I now always look for the on train dining car. It’s become one of my favourite small rituals on European trains — a warm, human pause between cities. And everything tastes better when you’re on the move.
Since this trip, I’ve been fortunate to experience numerous restaurant carriages across Europe and have featured them here on Rail-Away. Do check them out via the homepage.
This travel report was first published in December 2025.
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