40 editor picks in Kraków.
40 cheap eats places in Kraków, editor-picked. the best low-budget spots in Kraków: the places editors actually return to. All Kraków food.
Noworolski in the Cloth Hall on Rynek Główny has poured coffee in its Secession rooms since 1910, the White Room's polychromes painted by Henryk Uziembło.
TipThe art-nouveau rooms are the photograph; the terrace on Rynek Główny is the better summer seat.
The blue Nysa van outside Hala Targowa in Kraków has grilled kielbasa off the wood-fired grill since the 1990s. From 20:00, the queue runs past midnight.
OrderGrilled kielbasa from the night van
TipCash only. Closed Sunday. Bread, kielbasa, mustard; 15 zl the whole thing.
Cafe Camelot off Kraków's Świętego Tomasza is the wood-panelled folk-art cafe that ran the city's coffee tradition through the 1990s. Order the cafe latte.
TipThe apple pie is the dish; the back-room library has tables for laptops.
Karma on Kraków's Krupnicza is a third-wave cafe with a roastery in Nowa Huta. Order the flat white. At ul. Krupnicza 12. Booking recommended.
TipCloses 19:00 weekdays, 17:00 weekends. Cash and card. Brunch served until 14:00.
Cafe Mleczarnia in Kraków's Kazimierz is the old courtyard cafe behind the Tempel Synagogue: wooden chairs, hot apple cake, a leafy garden hidden.
TipThe hidden courtyard is the table to take. Closes 23:00 weekdays, midnight Friday and Saturday.
Endzior at the round former kosher slaughterhouse in Kraków's Plac Nowy has poured zapiekanka, the open-face baguette, since 1989. Open daily 09:00-03:00.
OrderZapiekanka
TipCash only. Open until 03:00 weekends. The half-metre version is shareable; ketchup and garlic sauce on the side.
Bar Mleczny Pod Temidą on Kraków's Grodzka is the city's most editorial surviving milk bar: laminated menu, queue-and-pay-first, full meals for 15 to 25 zl.
OrderŻurek (sour rye soup), kotlet schabowy with mash, kompot. The whole meal lands under 25 zl.
TipBring cash; the card terminal is unreliable. Tables share with strangers; queues at lunch.
Zaczyn on Tadeusza Kościuszki west of the Old Town grinds its own flours on-site and runs a 25-hour fermentation on every loaf. Sourdough country breads.
TipSoft challah with crumble lands warm on weekend mornings; queue for the early bake.
Wesoła Cafe east of Kraków's Old Town runs third-wave coffee in a Rakowicka villa with Coffee Proficiency beans on pour-over and espresso, plus all-day.
TipPour-over and espresso brewed alongside monthly guest roasters. Light lunch menu of salads, soups and wraps.
Ranny Ptaszek in Kraków's Kazimierz opens at 07:30 with sourdough toast, eggs Benedict, V60 filter and a counter the early-morning runners and laptop crowd.
TipEggs Benedict the breakfast pick; the cinnamon bun runs out by 11:00.
Bar Mleczny Pod Temidą on Kraków's Grodzka is the city's most editorial surviving milk bar: full meal, soup-main-kompot, all in under 25 zl since the 1960s.
OrderFull Polish meal under 25 zl
TipBring cash; the card terminal is unreliable. Tables share with strangers.
The blue Nysa van outside Kraków's Hala Targowa grills kielbasa from 20:00 until 02:00. Bread, sausage, mustard, 15 zl. A Polish institution since the 1990s.
OrderGrilled kielbasa from the night van
TipCash only. Closed Sunday. Open from 20:00. Just kielbasa, bread, mustard.
The red-and-yellow obwarzanek krakowski carts on Kraków's Rynek Główny sell the EU-protected salted ring bread, hot, for 2 to 3 zl. Open daily 06:00-22:00.
TipChoose poppy seed, sesame or salt. Best within 30 minutes of leaving the oven; older rings turn rubbery.
Cytat Cafe on Miodowa in Kraków's Kazimierz is the literary cafe with secondhand books on every shelf and quotes stencilled across the walls.
TipBreakfast on a croissant runs until 13:00; an entire wall of boardgames keeps the afternoon crowd seated.
Andrus in Kraków's Kazimierz revives maczanka po krakowsku, the city's marinated-slow-roasted-pork sandwich on a homemade bun. Started as a food truck 2014.
OrderMaczanka krakowska
TipThe sandwich runs 18 zl. Cash and card. Closed Sunday; queue at lunch.
Endzior in Kraków's Plac Nowy rotunda has poured zapiekanka, the open-face baguette, since 1989. Mushroom-and-cheese is 12 zl; the half-metre version 22 zl.
OrderZapiekanka
TipCash only. Open until 03:00 weekends. Half-metre version shareable.
Andrus in Kraków's Kazimierz serves maczanka po krakowsku, the city's slow-roasted-pork sandwich on a homemade bun. About 18 zl; street-food since 2014.
OrderMaczanka po krakowsku sandwich
TipCash and card. The sandwich is built to order; queue at lunch.
Pierogarnia Krakowiacy on Szewska in Kraków's Old Town runs a 30-strong pierogi carte: ruskie, meat, duck, spinach, sweet cherry. Located in Stare Miasto.
OrderA mixed plate of pierogi ruskie and pierogi with duck; a glass of kompot to wash it down.
TipPierogi come boiled or pan-fried. Pan-fried takes 5 extra minutes; ask for half-and-half.
Milkbar Tomasza on Kraków's Świętego Tomasza updates the milk-bar form: same prices and naleśniki, but table service and a younger crowd. Priced at $.
OrderNaleśniki with cottage cheese and strawberry jam; the żurek soup is the runner-up.
TipClosed Monday. Breakfast all day; the brunch plate at 25 zl is the steal.
The Plac Nowy zapiekanka window in Kraków's Kazimierz, Endzior at the round former kosher slaughterhouse, has poured open-face baguettes since 1989.
OrderClassic mushroom-and-cheese zapiekanka with ketchup and garlic sauce. The half-metre version is shareable.
TipCash only. Six windows ring the rotunda; Endzior is the consensus pick. Open until 03:00 weekends.
Cukiernia Michałek on Kraków's Krupnicza is the family-run pastry counter west of the Planty since 1958: rose-filled pączki, kremówka, sernik.
TipThe rose-filled pączki are the counter pick; Fat Thursday queue runs hours long.
Jama Michalika on Kraków's Floriańska opened in 1895 as Cukiernia Lwowska. From 1905 hosted the Zielony Balonik cabaret; the Mloda Polska meeting room.
TipThe hot chocolate is the order. The art-nouveau rooms at the back are the photograph; the terrace is the daytime spot.
Cafe Szafé on Kraków's Felicjanek is the bohemian living-room cafe west of the Planty: mismatched chairs, daily cakes, third-wave filter on the menu.
TipThe carrot cake is the dish. Quietest before 11:00 if you want a workspace.
Milkbar Tomasza in Kraków updates the milk-bar format with table service. Naleśniki with cottage cheese, pierogi, żurek, a brunch plate at 25 zl.
OrderNaleśniki and pierogi for under 30 zl
TipClosed Monday. The brunch plate is the steal; sit-down service, not a counter.
The obwarzanek krakowski carts on Kraków's Rynek Główny sell the EU-protected salted ring bread for 2 to 3 zl. The city's cheapest food, walking-pace.
OrderSalted ring bread, hot from the cart
TipBest within 30 minutes of the oven. Poppy seed, sesame or salt; ask which came out latest.
Przystanek Pierogarnia in Kraków's Old Town is the no-nonsense pierogi counter locals queue at: 20 fillings, plates from 18 zl, open from 11:00 to late.
OrderPierogi z mięsem (minced meat) and the cabbage-and-mushroom version. Sour cream on the side.
TipCash and card. Counter seats only; ten stools and a window-bar.
Vegab on Starowiślna near Kraków's Kazimierz is the vegan kebab and zapiekanka counter that beat the city's late-night habit at its own game.
OrderSeitan kebab in pita with garlic sauce and pickled red cabbage; vegan zapiekanka as a backup.
TipCash and card. Open until 02:00 every night; the kebab in pita is the order.
Bunkier Cafe inside the Bunkier Sztuki gallery on Kraków's Plac Szczepański has poured coffee under a glass-roof terrace at the edge of the Planty park.
TipThe glass-roofed terrace works year-round; the heated awnings run in winter.
The red-and-yellow obwarzanek krakowski carts on Kraków's Rynek Główny sell the EU-protected salted ring bread for 2 to 3 zl. Open daily 06:00-22:00.
OrderObwarzanek krakowski
TipChoose poppy seed, sesame or salt. Best within 30 minutes of the oven; older rings turn rubbery.
Bar Mleczny U Stasi in Kraków on Mikołajska is the working-class milk bar near the Old Town walls: żurek, pierogi, kotlet schabowy, kompot, the bill under 22.
OrderPierogi and żurek under 20 zl
TipClosed Sunday. Cash only. Queue at 13:00; the small dining room shares with strangers.
Cheder in Kraków's Kazimierz is the cafe run by the Jewish Culture Festival in a former prayer house at Józefa 36 since 2008. Hebrew library, Turkish coffee.
TipTurkish coffee in copper jezve is the order; the back room runs hummus plates after 17:00.
Cafe Lisboa on Dolnych Młynów in Kraków's Old Town has baked pastéis de nata by hand since 2017, the first Polish cafe to do so. Order the pastel de nata.
TipThe pastéis de nata are baked through the morning; weekend afternoons sell out by mid-afternoon.
Chimera on Kraków's Świętej Anny is a salad-bar counter near the Jagiellonian University in a covered medieval courtyard. Located in Stare Miasto.
OrderA four-salad plate with the cabbage rolls; the kompot is the drink.
TipCash and card. Daily 10:00-22:00; the covered courtyard is the main dining area.
Cukiernia Vanilla in Kraków runs traditional Polish patisserie from two shops, Brzozowa 13 and Na Szaniec 14. Open daily 10:00-21:00. At ul. Brzozowa 13.
TipSernik krakowski is the city's lattice-topped cheesecake; ask for it at the counter.
Europejska on Kraków's Rynek Główny pours coffee inside the historic Krzysztofory Palace. Order the viennese melange. At Rynek Główny 35. Booking recommended.
TipThe cherry torte and a melange make the Habsburg-cafe order. Terrace on Rynek Główny.
Vegab on Starowiślna near Kraków's Kazimierz is the vegan kebab counter that broke the city's late-night habit. Seitan kebab in pita with garlic sauce.
OrderVegan kebab
TipOpen until 02:00 daily. The seitan kebab with garlic sauce is the order; vegan zapiekanka as a backup.
Polakowski in Kraków's Kazimierz is the all-day Polish canteen for the Old Synagogue end: pierogi, bigos, schabowy, gołąbki, served counter-style from 10:00.
OrderA mixed pierogi plate and a bowl of bigos; the rye bread is included.
TipAll-day Polish canteen on Miodowa in Kazimierz; counter service, no bookings.
Smakołyki on Kraków's Straszewskiego is the cheap-and-honest student-canteen Polish home-cooking room: schabowy, pierogi, potato pancakes, full plate.
OrderKotlet schabowy with mashed potato and sauerkraut; pierogi ruskie as a starter.
TipCash only. Closes 22:00 weekdays; until 17:00 Sunday. No bookings.
Polakowski in Kraków's Kazimierz is the all-day Polish canteen for the Old Synagogue end: pierogi, bigos, schabowy, gołąbki, served counter-style 10:00.
OrderPolish canteen plate under 30 zl
TipMiodowa 39 in Kazimierz is the flagship; the M1 mall branch has closed but Kazimierz remains open daily.
Smakołyki on Kraków's Straszewskiego is the cheap-and-honest student-canteen Polish room: schabowy, pierogi, potato pancakes, a full plate under 28 zl.
OrderSchabowy and pierogi student plate
TipCash only. Closes 22:00 weekdays, 17:00 Sunday. No bookings.
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