Wigilia Dinner

Join us for a special dinner service on sunday December 7, 2025.

Wigilia is the traditional Christmas Eve dinner in Poland, shared with family and friends before midnight mass. Uptown will be serving Wigilia dinner a few weeks early to celebrate the holiday season. The dishes and customs vary between families and regions, but the evening always carries a sense of love and togetherness. Hay is placed under the tablecloth to symbolize the manger where Jesus was born, candles are lit, and the meal begins as soon as the first star appears in the sky.

The dinner starts with the breaking of the opłatek, a Christmas wafer, which we share while exchanging wishes for good fortune and love in the year ahead, and a wafer is always shared with the family pets. Growing up, Wigilia was always held at my maternal grandmother’s house. We shared our opłatek from oldest to youngest. One extra place setting is always left empty to welcome an unexpected guest, a gesture of hospitality and kindness.

Every Christmas Eve, we would gather in my grandmother’s very small, very warm kitchen for dinner. After dinner, we would uncover the baby Jesus figure that had been covered under a handkerchief beneath the Christmas tree, and then head into a very quiet night to attend midnight mass.

As I grew older and started my own family, I continued this tradition — adapting the recipes I grew up with to be vegan, yet still taste the way I remember them, and adding a few extras we’ve picked up along the way. My son’s job is to find the first star in the evening sky so that our Wigilia meal can begin. I’m deeply grateful to share this meaningful tradition with others and to keep its spirit alive.

Reservations can be made by filling out the form below or emailing hello@uptowncoffeepgh.com