Where to Eat in Krakow: the Best Spots
Pierogi, the Plac Nowy zapiekanki and the milk bars where Krakow eats for little: the gastronomic route through Kazimierz and the centre.
Krakow has one of the most unfairly overlooked cuisines in Europe: few people travel for its food and yet it feeds you outrageously well for prices that would be laughable in the rest of the continent. Pierogi, zapiekanki, soups that chase away the cold and the famous milk bars where the city really eats. This guide is our neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood route with the places half of the Internet agrees on and that we confirmed after days of very (very) serious culinary testing.
A quick note on Polish food: żurek (fermented rye soup served in bread), pierogi (savoury and sweet dumplings), zapiekanka (the grilled open baguette), bigos (hunter’s stew) and oscypek (smoked sheep’s cheese, a delicacy on the road to Zakopane). We already covered all of it lovingly in our Krakow travel guide; here I’ll tell you where to go for each thing.
Kazimierz area: zapiekanki, pierogi and much more
Okrąglak — the zapiekanka kiosk at Plac Nowy
This square holds one of the best value-for-money food offers in Poland. In the middle of Plac Nowy there’s a round building full of counters serving zapiekanki — an open baguette, mushrooms, melted cheese and whatever you want to add — for under EUR 7. The eternal debate is between the most famous stalls (Endzior and Zapiekanki od 1980): our recommendation is dead simple — pick any of them, every one we tried and saw looked utterly brilliant. You eat standing up right there or, if you’re lucky, at one of the few tables you might find in the square itself.
Kuchnia u Doroty — Polish granny’s kitchen
The Kazimierz institution for eating cheap, fast and tasting of home. Don’t look for linen tablecloths: here it’s all about daily specials written in Polish, queues of locals and a counter that doesn’t let up. We ordered the bigos and the placki ziemniaczane: the value for money is among the best in the city.
Pierogarnia Krakowiacy — typical cooking, very good quality
A chain specialised in pierogi, with branches around the city, that never fails: the perfect option if you want a filling meal without wasting time. Hearty plates of pierogi with spinach, mushroom, lentil and carrot fillings (vegetarian) and sweet ones with blueberry. Ideal if you want to sit down and eat well but don’t have much time.
Hamsa Hummus & Happiness — the falafel breather
After three days of pierogi, your body asks for a breather, and Hamsa on Szeroka Street is the best one in Kazimierz: Israeli cooking with hummus, falafel and meze to share in a room full of light and plants. Properly good vegetarian food and a breath of fresh air between all that dough. The big hummus plate to share deserves an award.
The milk bars (bar mleczny): where Krakow eats
Milk bars are canteens left over from another era that the state still subsidises so people can eat cheaply: a sober dining room, tray in hand, a menu in Polish and ladies in charge of the counter ready to help you with gestures and a smile. It’s the most authentic (and cheapest) way to eat in Poland. Three must-visits:
Milkbar Tomasza
The modern, pretty version of the milk bar, a step away from the Main Square: exposed brick, natural light and a menu that dares to do breakfast (omelettes, bagels, crepes) alongside the classic soups and pierogi. Perfect for starting the day before storming the Old Town.
Bar Mleczny Pod Temidą
The classic on Grodzka Street, the one that connects the Main Square with Wawel Castle. There you find period decor, diners of all ages and home-made dishes (schabowy, potato pancakes with goulash, pierogi) at other-era prices. The place to feel like a local Cracovian for a few zloty.
Polski Smaki
Near the Main Square and renovated with checked tablecloths and jars of pickles: a modern, charming milk bar. The chicken meatballs in tomato and basil sauce (pulpety) are a classic that always wins, and its pierogi are no slouch either.
For a charming dinner: Starka in Kazimierz
If you want to step it up one evening, Starka (on Józefa Street, Kazimierz) is our pick: red walls, candlelight and elevated traditional Polish cooking, with the duck magret in forest-fruit sauce as its flagship. They’re also famous for their fruit-infused vodkas (pear, ginger, herbs): the tasting is the perfect way to end dinner. Book at weekends.
And don’t forget the street food and the sweets
If there’s one thing you notice while walking around the city, it’s how much they love street food and eating on the go, especially at the stalls selling sandwiches and kebabs, the already-mentioned zapiekanka and, above all, obwarzanek: thick braided bread rings they sell on almost every corner from those little blue carts.
We also noticed how much they love their pastries, and honestly, we got the impression that every shop had its own version of every dessert. Among them, we’d highlight:
- The napoleonka or kremówka (depending on the region of Poland). A cream cake that impresses with how huge it is, with a layer of puff pastry on the top and the bottom. As a curiosity, they say this dessert was Pope John Paul II’s favourite (there must be a reason).
- The pączki. Traditional Polish fried buns, similar to German-style doughnuts or filled donuts, which you can buy in numerous pastry shops around the city. We recommend trying them at Dobra Pączkarnia, one of the most famous chains in the city, with three branches in the centre and its surroundings.
- The sernik krakowski. A traditional Polish cheesecake made with quark on a shortcrust base and decorated with a lattice of dough strips on the top.
- The Karpatka cake. A traditional Polish dessert made of two layers of choux pastry and a generous cream filling. Its name comes from the Carpathian mountains, which it recalls with its irregular white surface, like snowy peaks.
Tips for eating in Krakow without any scares
- Carry cash. The small milk bars and the street stalls don’t always take cards, and that’s exactly where the best food in the city is.
- Milk bars close early. Many open at midday and pull the shutter down early: go first thing or at lunchtime.
- Share the zapiekanka. They’re enormous: ask for half if you’re going to keep eating afterwards.
- Try grilled oscypek at the street stalls or, even better, on the road to Zakopane. The snack you didn’t know you needed.
- Drink kompot (the homemade fruit drink) and pair it with a local beer: the quintessential Krakow combo.
- A good meal costs less than what you’d expect. A full meal at a milk bar can set you back less than EUR 10.
How to find your table with Trively
Our list doesn’t go on paper, it goes in Trively: every stop saved by neighbourhood on the trip map, with opening times and a price note, and the dinner split between the group without any notebooks. When someone asks “so what do we eat?”, the answer is already there, in the group plan.
Eating in Krakow is one of the things you remember most about the trip, and for very little money. Save this guide, invite your group along and squeeze in somewhere between everyone: the pierogi won’t wait. Smacznego!
Prices and opening hours change often: check the official websites before you go.