Growing up, I adored my babcia’s mashed potatoes. I could never figure out how she got them to that luscious, silken consistency – until I spotted her standing over the stove, pouring an entire carton of thick cream into the mix. Polish food is many things. Dainty it ain’t.

The warmth – and calorific joys – of Babcia’s kitchen came flooding back at Sto Lat, in Ashfield’s reborn Polish Club. The surrounds might enjoy the refinements of a $32m redevelopment, with the facility occupying the entire basement level of a new 90-apartment block, but what’s on the plate is pure comfort.

Ashfield’s Polish Club has been a source of comfort for homesick Europeans since its modest red-brick precursor was established on Liverpool Road in the 1960s. The 60,000 Poles settled after World War II remain the single largest group of refugees ever accepted into Australia at one time, and community clubs like this became tethers to home for them and their hundreds of thousands of descendants.

It’s a legacy celebrated from the moment you pass through the automatic doors and are greeted by a giant eagle coat of arms, wings outstretched, on the adjacent wall. Accessed through the clubhouse bar, the flagship restaurant Sto Lat makes concessions to more modern clientele with options such as a kale and quinoa burger.

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But the stars are the Polish pillars – meat, more meat, and cabbage. Forgoing entrees of pickled herring, cold cuts and deep-fried croquettes, we beeline for Sto Lat’s house-made pierogi, available as a starter or main.

The beef pierogi arrive sauteed in butter sweetened with caramelised onion and speck, filled with subtly peppery, finely ground Angus. A creamy slaw does little to lighten proceedings, but gently pickled white cabbage and rough- hewn cubed beetroot offer welcome contrast.

The signature golonka (pork knuckle) makes a dramatic entrance, a steak knife plunged deep into the top. This impressive haunch could feed two (or three) hungry adults, the crackling relenting to the knife with a deep crunch, revealing meat stewed to almost jammy tenderness on the bone. It’s best scooped up with a lick of velvety-smooth mash, a mouthful of finely shredded sauerkraut and a dollop of spicy Polish mustard.

Generous cabbage rolls filled with spiced pork and veal mince studded with rice hold their shape in a light tomato broth, soaking up still more creamy mash. Serving sizes lean towards epic; splitting a main would be a strategic move.

The large dining room, naturally lit by a sunken courtyard, retains something of a clubhouse vibe, with its blond tables and sensible chairs, inky blue velvet banquettes and subway tiles adding design flourishes. 

The drinks list boasts an impressive line-up of imported Polish beers, with an entire page dedicated to vodka – naturally – from pure potato and rye spirits to flavoured krupnik liqueurs. Too full of pork and pierogi to face dessert, we instead opt to take nightcaps of herbal Rosolis Ziołowy Gorzki vodka into the Klub Lounge next door, where we sink into sofas and sip, lulled by the gentle babble of blended English and Polish all around.

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