One of Binghamton’s newest restaurants is giving the local community a taste of authentic, homemade Polish cuisine. Opened at the end of January, Polish Bistro European Kitchen offers customers a snug atmosphere that combines cultural tradition with a modern flair.

Owner Daniel Nowacki immigrated to the United States about 20 years ago and worked in construction before opening up a restaurant in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. After searching along the East Coast for locations for his restaurant, he decided to bring his business and family to Binghamton.

Nowacki told Pipe Dream that he learned to cook from his grandmother. Currently, he prepares all the food himself and by hand. He prides his restaurant on its home preparation — choosing not to order items from mass distributors and never using frozen foods.

“In this restaurant, for sure, everything is fresh and starts from scratch,” said Nowacki.

On the menu are three different types of homemade pierogi, two kinds of kielbasa, soups, potato pancakes and more. Nowacki plans to expand the menu once he gets a feel for which dishes the community tends to prefer.

He sources many of his ingredients from Poland.

“We have the distributor in New York, and basically most of our food — spices, sauerkraut, pickles — they are just straight coming from Poland,” Nowacki said.

Nowacki purchased the property over the summer and has worked on renovations for nearly five months to prepare it for patrons, spearheading much of the work himself. Located at 163 Washington St., the site was vacant for two years before Polish Bistro found its home there and most recently hosted the restaurant Los Amigos.

The interior is inspired by traditional Polish villages and folklore, Nowacki said. Images and figurines of chickens are displayed all over the walls along with posters of different Polish cities and towns. Dishes are served on colorful and varied plates to replicate the rustic feeling. On Saturdays, a waiter often plays the piano in the dining area.

The bistro has a distinctly European-style kitchen lined with wall tiles and stainless steel equipment — a model that Nowacki found aesthetically pleasing and easier to clean.

Polish Bistro is currently open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays and from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursdays. Customers can call to place takeout orders and the restaurant will soon use Uber Eats for delivery.

Born in Poland near the modern-day Ukrainian border, Nowacki moved across the country close to Germany when he was 4 years old. He says that his upbringing inspires him to bring a cultural fusion to his cooking.

“Those two kitchens — Ukraine’s and then more like Germany — I know both sides of these two cultures and the exploration of everything is basically those two cultures together,” Nowacki said. “Mix it up with Poland’s culture, and then mix all this up together a little bit and try to create something new.”