New Wave Cafe

We went for a Sunday lunch (Krakus restaurant closed on Sunday). A few gentlemen were eating at the bar, we took a table near the wall. Polish television showing polish version of Drugs, Inc. Another 4-​top table was filled with Polish speaking middle aged folk. White Borsch was fantastic, steamed and fried pierogies were also fantastic. Bigos (hunter stew) was very good. A large botttle of Zywiec Porter cost $ 4. the bartendress/​server was pleasant, helpful and efficient. Great food, nice comfortable atmosphere. We will return!

Based on other Unilocal reviews, my husband and I tried this place when we were in the neighborhood recently. It was lunchtime but the place was nearly empty, just a couple of men hunched over plates at the bar. And a friendly woman behind the bar. We sat at one of the tables – they’re in the back – and got some menus and food recommendations from the friendly woman. So. Delicious homemade soups! I had chicken noodle, he had borscht. Very good pierogies – we shared a variety plate. The meat one was my favorite. The cabbage mushroom not so much. Overall, what we had was so good, we’ll definitely go back the next time we’re nearby.
I will say that the atmosphere is kind of odd since they clearly took over a place with a former identity and have merely added some touches of their own identity. It’s got a kind of European, small town and sort of European truck-​stop feel. You should definitely try it regardless; the food is great and the proprietress was too.

A comfortable atmosphere for everyone. We were looking for delicious homemade Polish cooking. The foods my Babci would make. The Polish soap opera on the tevelsion, neighborhood ppl at the bar speaking Polish, drinking Polish beers. The aroma of fried keilbasa scented the air. It was the perfect place to bring an old friend to catch up on our lives. We ate perogies, gulumptka (stuffed cabbage), and kielbasa. Wings, salad and iced tea also graced our table, but we were there for the traditional Polish cusine of our youth. Very reasonable in cost. Remember to take care of your servers.

Friendly neighborhood Polish bar. Needed to escape the gridlock on 95 — had a Lech beer and used the facilities, watched a Polish version of Restaurant Rescue.

I went to this bar last Saturday on Halloween, it was fun, but when I suppose to pay for my drinks (I opened a tab) the bill was over $ 200. I did have maybe around 8 beers (tops, because we predrink, but I want to be fair while writing review) but nothing I could do, I had to pay $ 200, I was very disappointed. So please watch out, later I was told by my friends that this happened to most of my friends in past. Sad.

Legit polish food. I had pierogis, stuffed cabbage and pork chops with cucumber salad. It was amazing. Love this place has a real home feel! It is also so cheap! Will be back very soon!

No need to beat around the bush with this review. There are no frills here, but the food is fantastic and the drinks are dirt cheap. Top shelf polish beers (the porter is excellent) in big bottles for $ 4…c’mon! The pierogies are unbelievable, the stuffed cabbage are delicious, and the hungarian pancakes are sinfully good. Lastly, do not leave here without eating the sauerkraut… wow!

I can’t speak for the food but I went in there on a Sat night the other night and it was very dead.

This place is amazing!!! The wings were like tiny pieces of the best fired chicken you’ve ever had. Then they give you the sauces on the side!!! I had potato pancakes and the melted in my mouth. The man had stuffed cabbage and he is still licking his fingers! And the icing on the cake was the cucumber salad. Cool and delicious!

Let’s be honest. Polish food is under-​appreciated overall, and New Wave café is under-​appreciated amongst Polski cuisine. If you haven’t eaten here yet, well, don’t make me come over there and beat your scrotum with an electrical cord. I’ll do it.
Despite the inexplicable tropical décor, New Wave Café is fantastic. The food is tasty and the service is friendly in either American or Polish.
What should you order here? The borscht is fantastic. Don’t be a wimp, try it. The Hunter’s Stew is life-​changing. Beet salad, yes. If you’re lacking in courage and just want something that tastes awesome without expanding your horizons, get the pierogies and a Zywiec.
You can thank me at your leisure.

A friend of mine has been talking about this place for a while now. Finally went this past Friday night. Felt like I was in Poland. As soon as I walked in the door, heard on the TV a show all in Polish, Polish beer at the bar and a menu filled with old world dishes at cheap prices. I had the beet borsht and stuffed cabbage. Will definitely go back to this great little neighborhood spot.

I would dearly love to see this place in action on some hoppin’ Saturday night.
As we sampled our tasty borschts, both red and white, on a quiet afternoon after food shopping our way around the hood, it was all left to my imagination: What goes on here here at night?
By day the Polish news hums in the background as do conversations in Polish too; mostly held by older gentlemen at the bar eating lunch with brown bread and a beer.
As we enjoyed our icy cold Zywiecs in frosty mugs at the dark wood bar, I took in the scene.
There are mirrored walls, disco balls, a peculiar mural of outer space. and the signs with the camera on them which remind you, «WARNING All activities are recorded to aid in the prosecution of any crime committed against this facility…»
Well, a midday Polish beer drinking and soup slurping was all that was being captured during our visit, but I’m gonna get to the bottom of this mysterious place some night. What goes on?!

Went here after Syrenkas on our Polish food tour on a Sat afternoon. High standards were set, because we were all pretty pleased with what they had to offer. Most of us ordered some different Polish beers and were all satisfied with our choices. My friend got tripe soup and said it was the best he ever had.
The table shared the black sausage, beet salad, potato pancakes, kielbasa and potato and cheese pierogies. The potato pancakes were a little greasy and not crispy enough for me. But that didn’t stop me from eating two of them. The piergoies here we ordered fried, while good, I prefer them steamed. The kielbasa we got fried instead of boiled and we all thought it was great; the girlfriend in particular LOVED it with mustard.
We loved that the quality of food did not dip with the addition of a full bar. Being able to drink beer and eat delicious food cannot be underrated enough.

The food is good here. It’s very «home cooked» type of food. Nothing special, but very tasty comfort food.
The atmosphere is strange. It’s like old neighborhood Port Richmond bar, that has a dj spinning sometimes.
It is kind of overpriced for the type of food they serve.

EAT HERE! This place is the best. The atmosphere is great – sort of a dive bar-​disco-​diner, the beer is Polish, and the perogies are so good that you might have a moment of fright that you lost your passport. Come for the borscht but stay for the pickle soup – yum. Oh and please, do not confuse this place with the other New Wave Café in town.

Excellent! My son and I went there for a midday snack and we were in heaven. The Tripe Soup was phenomenal and the Steamed Pierogis were absolutely awesome… we will be back!

How is 3^rd & Catharine considered Kensington or Port Richmond? Or are there 2 New Wave Café’s now?

This is in Port Richmond not Kensington! The food here is awesome, the atmosphere is hodge podge but pretty fun.
The food and drinks are cheap, prepare to leave stuffed so not forget to eat potato pancakes.

It’s really confusing to me that there are two New Waves Cafes in Philadelphia. It’s pretty funny since one is a restaurant in Queen Village and the other, a Polish dive in Port Richmond. I visited recently with a group of friends for lunch. I love that we are painfully out of place. Most people are middle aged and speaking Polish. And even though we’re not the normal clientele, the waitress/​bartender was very nice. It’s almost like mom is serving you, assuming mom is very Polish.
They have several polish beers on tap and in the bottle. I had a pint of Okocim at $ 3, and it tasted about as good. My first visit here a year ago, I had soup, and it was delicious. But since I had borsch for dinner the previous night, I decided to order potato pancakes instead. These were good and crsipy, but nothing spectacular. There are much better options on the menu. We ordered several different kinds of perogies. Everyone ordered fried, and they came out with perfect consistency. The cheese and potato were good, but a bit bland. I enjoyed the mushroom ones more, and really loved the suspiciously labeled «meat» perogies. With a little sour cream on top, all of the perigies were a great choice. We also had an order of kielbasa. Topped with (presumably) homemade mustard, this was fantastic. I’m fairly certain I could eat anything off the menu here and be happy.
Bottom Line: I love eating here. You’re thrown off by the brightly painted, beach themed sign out front. It’s usually pretty empty, and soccer with Polish commentary is liking playing in the background. You can eat for under $ 10. And all of the food is made in house or locally. And delicious. It’s kind of a trip to step right into the heart of Polish Port Richmond, and it’s a lot of fun.

Stopped in with my mom for lunch. I know how to pronounce Poland’s most popular beer now (Zywiec), but we didn’t drink this time. The prices are really inexpensive (a few dollars less for the same dishes I order at Polish places in other cities, or at Warsaw in Center City).
My mom loved her tripe soup. It was peppery and flavorful (but I still hate the texture of tripe). She agreed with me that my lima bean soup was a bit salty. The bowls of soup were so big that we brought home most of our entrees and had them for dinner. «Whatever happened to ‘a cup of soup’?» my mom wondered.
The golabki was, once again, just okay. They use a nice blend of meats and a bit of rice, and the sauce is not sweet like you’ll find at some places. The mizeria (cucumber-​dill salad) was simple but good, with fresh dill and cucumbers sliced paper-​thin like I like them.
My bigos (a hunter’s stew with a sauerkraut base and traditionally featuring different meats and game) was good. I find that it really is a customized dish that is different in every kitchen. This one had more liquid and more ham/​pork than others I’ve eaten. My mom much preferred it to the less liquid (and more sour sauerkraut) versions we’ve had elsewhere. The flavors were more subtle and probably better blended. But I prefer sour, and the more subtle flavors weren’t really what I’d expected.
The soups are the standouts here. Try that and the kielbasy and you’ll leave happy.