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How about some restaurants to consider in Krakow?

Heading there next month. Someone listed quite a few restaurants for Budapest, how about some references for Krakow? Nothing fancy, just fresh, local and GOOD.

Posted by
8963 posts

I dont remember names very well, but in the old town, we liked Babcia Malina (Grandma Raspberry), but the whole area is full of interesting looking restaurants. The website "In Your Pocket" has a guide to Krakow (and other places) that can be downloaded, and was very useful for restaurant and shopping recommendations. Also in the old town near the square, was a shop called Krakowski Kredens (Krakovian Cupboard) that had all sorts of local meats, cheeses, jams, honey, mushrooms, cookies, and other delicacies, and a street window where sandwiches could be ordered. Try the raspberry honey.

If you are near the Kazimierz area (the pre-war Jewish area), not too far outside the wall, there is a whole street/square called Szeroka that has several interesting restaurants including Polish, Israeli and Jewish (where they play klezmer, featured in one of Rick's shows). It's a bit touristy, where they try to lure you in from the street, but we enjoyed it. Szeroka Street and the old synagogue at one end of the street was a film location in Schindler's List

Posted by
4180 posts

One of my favorite restaurants in Kraków is called Balaton, right on the main thoroughfare, it's a venerable establishment serving the best Hungarian food in town for decades, a true Kraków classic.

Posted by
4803 posts

Here’s the Krakow food section of my Poland Trip report. In addition, I recommend dinner and klezmer concert at Klezmer Hois, with a reservation. It is on the square stan referenced. I didn’t try any of the other restaurants on the square but there are several.

Ate: (all but the pizza I found on TA)

Kazimierz

  • Marchewka z Groszkiem: A small traditional Polish restaurant for cabbage rolls stuffed with rice and meat in a mushroom sauce
  • Starka | Restaurant & Vodkas: for a massive hamburger and a small taste of one of their many homemade vodkas. I had raspberry, but the manager told me her favorite when she comes with friends is the coconut and the horseradish (separate flavors but she likes them in conjunction).
  • Fabryka Pizzy: ok, one night I just REALLY wanted pizza in a pizza place. It was just what I needed.

Old Town:

  • Old Town Restaurant and Wine Bar: a pricier place for traditional Polish and delicious, for zarak (sour soup) and pork loin.
  • Szał Cafe: for something to drink and views from atop the Cloth Hall over the main square looking at St Mary’s.
Posted by
466 posts

My Krakow restaurant recommendation: Goscinna Chata. It is small, with a cozy and charming Old World atmosphere, friendly service, and fabulous food! I ate there with 3 travel companions in the fall of 2019. We were in Krakow after a few days in Warsaw. While in Warsaw, we had been on a wonderful foodie tour by Eat Polska. (We had booked that tour after seeing it recommended by Cameron Hewitt. As I recall, Cameron's blog post ranked his Warsaw foodie tour by Eat Polska as the best foodie tour he's ever taken in any European city.) We mentioned to our Warsaw Eat Polska guide that we were headed to Krakow next and asked him if he had any favorite restaurants in that city. He didn't have a personal recommendation but he texted his colleagues in the Krakow office of Eat Polska, and this is the one they suggested. They said that while they generally steer people away from Old Town restaurants, into other neighborhoods with higher quality cuisine, Goscinna Chatq was an exceptionally good Old Town restaurant. We loved it. Have your hotel make a reservation for you. It is a small restaurant and the night we were there, they were only able to seat people who had reservations.