Krakow is a vibrant city that offers incredible food, speciality bars, history, and friendly locals. There is a lot to discover in Krakow and the food is a big part of it. Traditional Polish cuisine is comforting and hearty, and has influences from both Jewish and Eastern European cooking methods. Traditional Polish cuisine often features a delicious meat and is often served with potatoes or bread.
I’ve put together list of 9 bars and restaurants that I enjoyed during my trip to Krakow and that I feel should not be missed.
Pierogi Mr Vincent
If you are a pierogi lover or want to try pierogi for the first time then this Van Gogh inspired restaurant is for you. This bright, little restaurant has roughly 7 tables and is beautifully decorated with artwork and murals in the style of Van Gogh.The restaurant is situated in the Jewish Quarter and offers a range of vegetarian, meat, and sweet pierogi’s. You choose which topping you want and I would definitely recommend the fried onions and crispy fried pork load.
This restaurant had the best pierogi’s I ate on my trip. We shared 4 plates of different pierogi’s – Yeanling (lamb, rosemary, onion), Vincent (fried beef chorizo, onion), X-Mas Eve’s (sauerkraut, onion, mushrooms), and Hungarian (plum fried in butter & cinnamon).
The Vincent pierogi was my favourite as it was flavourful but not too rich , which meant that I was able to eat lots of these and enjoy it! The Yeanling was delicious but was super rich. It was my sisters favourite but I could only eat two of these because they were so rich.
The restaurant was full when we arrived but the waitress took our phone number and called us as soon as a table became available. Our waitress was wonderful and offered recommendations including the crispy fried pork load topping which was incredible.
Goscinna Chata
Goscinna Chata is a folk themed restaurant offering traditional authentic Polish and Lemko food. The restaurant is beautifully decorated with timber furnishings and folk decorations, and this atmosphere is added to with the addition of folk music and wait staff in folk dress.
I was a title worried when I walked in that the theme of the restaurant would impact the quality of the food and drink they offered but I had no reason to worry. The food was fantastic; it was delicious and offered us an insight into traditional polish cuisine which we had not yet experienced. We were able to try traditional dishes including schnitzel, sauerkraut pancakes, mutton, and potato pancakes.
Another highlight of this restaurant were there cocktails. They had an amazing menu with unique flavours including a cocktail that tasted like an apple pie.
We had a brilliant waitress who took the time to talk us through the cocktail menu & make lots of recommendations. She also explained the differences between two dishes when I could not decide so I had a better idea of what to expect.
The Artist Cocktail Bar
This stunning cocktail bar is located in the Old Town and offers amazing cocktails alongside art and jazz. They bring jazz to life every evening with live music and offer a range of unique cocktails. The Pop Art cocktail was my favourite as it was the perfect combination of sweet and sour and had the most delicious foam on top.
This cocktail bar is beautiful with its deep emerald colouring and various works on the wall. It has an incredible atmosphere and elegance which makes it the perfect place to sit for relaxing cocktail after a busy day exploring the city.
The staff were lovely and recommended cocktails based on what we like – sweet, sour, fruity etc.
Gossip Cafe
This cute cafe is located in the Old Town just a few minutes from the hustle and bustle of the main square. It offers great breakfast options which is the perfect way to start a day of exploring. The breakfasts are delicious and the generous portions left us all feeling full and set up for the day ahead.
The menu offers bagels, omlettes, pancakes, and granola at an affordable price. I enjoyed a lovely salmon bagel which was lathered in soft cream cheese and had lots of lettuce and cucumber for freshness.
This cafe has a lovely atmosphere but does get extremely busy during the breakfast rush due to its popularity so be prepared to wait outside for upwards of 10 minutes
Wódka Cafe Bar
Vodka is a big part of polish history and tradition and one of the best places to try this is the Wódka Cafe Bar. This cozy bar is located in the Ol d Town and is extremely popular as it offers over 100 flavours of vodka. The bar offers flights which include 6 vodka sipping glasses on a wooden paddle and guests can choose which flavours they want to try.
We ordered one flight to share between two and asked the bartender for most popular flavours. Our flight included the following flavours: Cherry, Mango, Raspberry, Chocolate & Chilli, and Salted Caramel. I’d definitely recommend the salted caramel as it was sweet and creamy, and easy to drink straight. The cost of the flight varies depending on which vodka flavours you choose. Our flight cost around 30PLN/£6.
It is a small space and gets very busy so I would recommend going early if you want a good seat!
Chimney Cake Bakery
As the name suggests, the Chimney Cake Bakery offers tasty chimney cakes. These chimney cakes have a crunchy, caramelised exterior and a soft, fluffy interior. They are freshly made and served hot.
It has two locations and the stores are found on opposite ends of the Old Town.
Something really fun about this place is that they make their chimney cakes right in front of you. You get to watch as the employees roll the dough onto the wooden rollers to create the spiral shape and as they get this in and out of the oven. The smell when they come out of the oven is inane.. its sweet and sugary and wafts downs the street.
They offer 12 different combinations of fillings and toppings as well as ice cream in a chimney cake cone. Fillings include Nutella, coconut, peanut butter, vanilla, cinnamon, lotus, caramel and sweet sesame. Our favourite flavour was the white chocolate and pistachio and I would definitely recommend!
Prices vary from 14 PLN to 21 PLN.
Singer Bar
The Singer Bar is a unique bar known for showcasing vintage Singer sewing machines. This bar is not like most bars. The dusty prints and brocaded curtains add to the experience making you feel as though you are sat in the house of someone that owned one of those machines. The design of the dimly lit bar fitted the old, vintage style of the machines and added to the unique character of this bar.
It offers a range of beverages including beer, mulled wine, non-alcoholic beer, hot chocolate, coffee and much more. The hot drinks all come with the cutest little biscuit which comes in the shape of a singer sewing machine.
My sister has a degree in fashion and textiles. This is the best bar that she has ever been to and she had visited many bars in many countries. This bar is definitely a must for any fashion, textile, or sewing enthusiast!
Pod Aniolami
This traditional Polish restaurant is located in a stunning 18th century building and operates over 3 floors. Diners can enjoy an amazing atmosphere thanks to its stunning 13th century interested interiors and gothic cellars. We ended up sat in a alcove which felt so private and cozy.
The food here is absolutely delicious and focuses heavily on meat with most dishes showcasing pork, chicken or duck. The dishes were filling and hearty and were accompanied with lots of sweet berries and stewed apples. This restaurant offered the best dessert that we had during our stay in Krakow and this was the raspberry crumble. A raspberry crumble may sound simple but this was the best crumble that I’ve ever tried!
If you do decide to visit Pod Aniolami then book yourself a table as it is extremely popular and if we had not booked then we would have been turned away.
Tartelette Cafe
This stylish little cafe is located down an unsuspecting alleyway near to the Wawel castle and offers incredible breakfast dishes, pastries and coffee. It offers a lovely, relaxed atmosphere to enjoy a delicious breakfast or coffee and cake.
The highlight for us was the savoury breakfast plate which consisted of challah (Jewish bread), labneh withchives, ham, boiled egg, cheese, tomatoes, radishes, and cucumbers. It was filling and delicious, and left us ready to explore the city. We also shared an open fig sandwich which was absolutely delicious. It consisted on challah topped with apricot jam, labneh, figs, honey, pistachios. If you like starting the day off sweet then this breakfast is for you!
