Visitors would be hard pressed to have a bad meal in Cracow, and this whatever their budget. From little traditional cafés to gastronomic restaurants, Cracow has the gamut of eateries, and prices are low by Western standards. Try the local cuisine, which is excellent, from the wild duck Cracow-style (stewed with wild mushrooms and served with pearl barley) to soups (borsch and zurek especially) and the local take on cheesecake.
The restaurants below have been grouped in four different price categories:
$$$$ (over ZL150)
$$$ (ZL90 to ZL150)
$$ (ZL40 to ZL90)
$ (under ZL40)
These prices are for a three-course meal for one, including a pint of beer (wine is more expensive in Cracow) and service.
Gastronomic
Cyrano de Bergerac
One of the very best restaurants in Cracow, Cyrano de Bergerac serves fine French cuisine in a beautifully decorated cellar in the Old Town. The ambience is a gentle combination of Polish tradition and French refinement, while the cuisine is decidedly French - and rather haute. The delicious food and the excellent wine cellar have attracted many distinguished guests over the years.
Ulica Slawkowska 26
Tel: (012) 411 7288.
Website: www.cyranodebergerac.pl
Price: $$$$
Pod Aniolami
An award-winning restaurant located in a 13th-century building on the Droga Krolewska (the Royal Route) from the Wavel Castle to the Main Market Square, Pod Aniolami offers fine Polish food. The cuisine is contemporary, but rooted in centuries-old Polish gastronomic traditions. The kitchen is particularly famous for its pickled meat grilled in the stove fire with beech wood. A beautiful restaurant, it is also very popular, so booking is essential.
Ulica Grodzka 35
Tel: (012) 421 3999. Website: www.podaniolami.pl
Price: $$-$$$
Business
The Olive
This restaurant offers Mediterranean and Polish cuisine under the beautiful glass atrium of the Sheraton Hotel. In this spacious atmosphere of year-round courtyard dining, guests can enjoy top quality food and a calm and relaxing ambience that is often spiced up with a bit of jazz in the evenings. A good place for a business lunch or dinner.
Sheraton Krakow Hotel
Ulica Powisle 7
Tel: (012) 662 1000.
Website: www.sheraton.com/krakow
Price: $$$
Pod Gruszka
Excellent Old Polish and international cuisine is served in the pretty period rooms of the ‘Pod Gruszką' (literally ‘under the pear'). The restaurant is situated in an ancient house in the corner of the Main Market, and it has the domestic but welcoming feel of a private club. The food is gorgeous and very flavoursome. The soups are unbeatable. The bar is a favourite meeting place for Cracow artists and journalists.
Ulica Szczepanska 1
Tel: (012) 422 8896.
Website: www.pod-gruszka.prv.pl
Price: $$
Szara
An amazing setting under beautifully restored gothic ceilings, with wonderful food and smooth service, have ensured this restaurant's popularity. The menu combines Polish classics with a range of dishes based on culinary impulses from Sweden, France, Japan and other countries. The restaurant is located on the Main Market Square, and particularly in the tourist season it is a good idea to book in advance.
Rynek Glowny 6
Tel: (012) 421 6669.
Website: www.szara.pl
Price: $$$
Trendy
Paese
Paese is a popular restaurant and deservedly so: Corsican cuisine is on offer here, and it is excellent. In addition, the atmosphere is so warm, friendly and relaxed that it feels like a little bit of the Mediterranean has moved in at this address on ulica Poselska. So for a bit of sunshine and a tasty meat, fish or pasta dish, this is the place to come.
Ulica Poselka 24
Tel: (012) 421 6273.
Price: $$-$$$
Cul-de-sac
With a modern, slightly minimalist interior, Cul-de-sac is an elegant, classy restaurant with plenty of style. The cuisine is classic continental with the accent on culinary impulses from the Mediterranean region. The menu changes with the seasons to ensure the best choice of fresh seasonal ingredients. There is an art gallery and a small architectural museum inside.
Ulica Na Gródku 4
Tel: (012) 431 2041.
Website: www.cul-de-sac.pl
Price: $$$-$$$$
Budget
Cyklop
This is a small pizza joint with friendly staff and delicious pizzas cooked in a wood fire oven. Located a short walk to the east of Cracow's main square, it is an unassuming, but genuine place that is both busy and popular. Many regard it as Cracow's best pizza place.
Ulica Mikolajs 16
Tel: (012) 421 6603.
Website: www.pizzeriacyklop.krakow.pl
Price: $
Rozowy Slon
A perennial favourite with the students of the nearby university, this salad bar, which serves decent Polish food at bargain prices, is a vibrant place capable of brightening anybody's day on account of its smashing pop art décor. Patrons will be forgiven for believing they are eating in a giant comic book!
Ulica Straszewskiego 24
Tel: (012) 421 1047.
Price: $
The restaurants below have been grouped in four different price categories:
$$$$ (over ZL150)
$$$ (ZL90 to ZL150)
$$ (ZL40 to ZL90)
$ (under ZL40)
These prices are for a three-course meal for one, including a pint of beer (wine is more expensive in Cracow) and service.
Gastronomic
Cyrano de Bergerac
One of the very best restaurants in Cracow, Cyrano de Bergerac serves fine French cuisine in a beautifully decorated cellar in the Old Town. The ambience is a gentle combination of Polish tradition and French refinement, while the cuisine is decidedly French - and rather haute. The delicious food and the excellent wine cellar have attracted many distinguished guests over the years.
Ulica Slawkowska 26
Tel: (012) 411 7288.
Website: www.cyranodebergerac.pl
Price: $$$$
Pod Aniolami
An award-winning restaurant located in a 13th-century building on the Droga Krolewska (the Royal Route) from the Wavel Castle to the Main Market Square, Pod Aniolami offers fine Polish food. The cuisine is contemporary, but rooted in centuries-old Polish gastronomic traditions. The kitchen is particularly famous for its pickled meat grilled in the stove fire with beech wood. A beautiful restaurant, it is also very popular, so booking is essential.
Ulica Grodzka 35
Tel: (012) 421 3999. Website: www.podaniolami.pl
Price: $$-$$$
Business
The Olive
This restaurant offers Mediterranean and Polish cuisine under the beautiful glass atrium of the Sheraton Hotel. In this spacious atmosphere of year-round courtyard dining, guests can enjoy top quality food and a calm and relaxing ambience that is often spiced up with a bit of jazz in the evenings. A good place for a business lunch or dinner.
Sheraton Krakow Hotel
Ulica Powisle 7
Tel: (012) 662 1000.
Website: www.sheraton.com/krakow
Price: $$$
Pod Gruszka
Excellent Old Polish and international cuisine is served in the pretty period rooms of the ‘Pod Gruszką' (literally ‘under the pear'). The restaurant is situated in an ancient house in the corner of the Main Market, and it has the domestic but welcoming feel of a private club. The food is gorgeous and very flavoursome. The soups are unbeatable. The bar is a favourite meeting place for Cracow artists and journalists.
Ulica Szczepanska 1
Tel: (012) 422 8896.
Website: www.pod-gruszka.prv.pl
Price: $$
Szara
An amazing setting under beautifully restored gothic ceilings, with wonderful food and smooth service, have ensured this restaurant's popularity. The menu combines Polish classics with a range of dishes based on culinary impulses from Sweden, France, Japan and other countries. The restaurant is located on the Main Market Square, and particularly in the tourist season it is a good idea to book in advance.
Rynek Glowny 6
Tel: (012) 421 6669.
Website: www.szara.pl
Price: $$$
Trendy
Paese
Paese is a popular restaurant and deservedly so: Corsican cuisine is on offer here, and it is excellent. In addition, the atmosphere is so warm, friendly and relaxed that it feels like a little bit of the Mediterranean has moved in at this address on ulica Poselska. So for a bit of sunshine and a tasty meat, fish or pasta dish, this is the place to come.
Ulica Poselka 24
Tel: (012) 421 6273.
Price: $$-$$$
Cul-de-sac
With a modern, slightly minimalist interior, Cul-de-sac is an elegant, classy restaurant with plenty of style. The cuisine is classic continental with the accent on culinary impulses from the Mediterranean region. The menu changes with the seasons to ensure the best choice of fresh seasonal ingredients. There is an art gallery and a small architectural museum inside.
Ulica Na Gródku 4
Tel: (012) 431 2041.
Website: www.cul-de-sac.pl
Price: $$$-$$$$
Budget
Cyklop
This is a small pizza joint with friendly staff and delicious pizzas cooked in a wood fire oven. Located a short walk to the east of Cracow's main square, it is an unassuming, but genuine place that is both busy and popular. Many regard it as Cracow's best pizza place.
Ulica Mikolajs 16
Tel: (012) 421 6603.
Website: www.pizzeriacyklop.krakow.pl
Price: $
Rozowy Slon
A perennial favourite with the students of the nearby university, this salad bar, which serves decent Polish food at bargain prices, is a vibrant place capable of brightening anybody's day on account of its smashing pop art décor. Patrons will be forgiven for believing they are eating in a giant comic book!
Ulica Straszewskiego 24
Tel: (012) 421 1047.
Price: $
View Our Airport Guides for Cracow:
John Paul II International Airport, Cracow