27 upscale rooms in Kraków, editor-picked. occasion rooms in Kraków: destination kitchens for celebrations and visits. All Kraków food.

Mercy Brown ★ 4.8

ul. Straszewskiego 28, 31-110 Kraków

Mercy Brown in Kraków is the city's most editorial speakeasy: unmarked door on Straszewskiego, candlelit cellar, classic cocktails and Polish whiskey.

Tip: Walk-up policy: ring the bell and ask for the table. Closed Monday and Tuesday; opens Wednesday through Saturday from 19:00.

Alchemia ★ 4.7

ul. Estery 5, 31-056 Kraków

Alchemia on Kraków's Plac Nowy in Kazimierz has run candle-lit, antique-furniture rooms since 1999. Order the polish vodka shots. At ul. Estery 5.

Tip: Five rooms across two floors; the back-room piano is the better seat after 22:00.

Piwnica pod Baranami ★ 4.7

Rynek Główny 27, 31-010 Kraków

Piwnica pod Baranami on Kraków's Rynek Główny is the cabaret cellar that ran the city's literary-cabaret scene since 1956. Order the polish vodka.

Tip: Saturday cabaret nights need booking ahead. The cellar room is also open as a regular bar most weeknights.

Karakter ★ 4.6

kazimierz · ul. Brzozowa 17, 31-050 Kraków

Karakter in Kraków's Kazimierz is the loud, low-lit neo-bistro with chef Daniel Myśliwiec. Open kitchen, offal-heavy modern carte, small Polish growers.

Tip: Counter walk-ins often available at 18:00. The dining-room tables take booking only.

Weźże Krafta ★ 4.6

ul. Dajwór 16, 31-052 Kraków

Weźże Krafta in Kraków's Kazimierz on Dajwór pours 25 Polish craft taps and serves wood-fired Neapolitan pizza. Order the polish craft ipa. At ul. Dajwór 16.

Tip: Wood-fired pizzas to share; the outdoor seating in the Tytano courtyard runs in summer.

Szara Gęś ★ 4.5

stare-miasto · Rynek Główny 17, 31-008 Kraków

Szara Gęś on Kraków's Rynek Główny runs a Polish carte in a Cloth Hall-facing dining room. Located in Stare Miasto. Kitchen leans polish-french.

Tip: Reservation only on weekends. The Cloth Hall side tables go first; ask when booking.

Singer ★ 4.5

ul. Estery 20, 31-056 Kraków

Singer on Kraków's Plac Nowy in Kazimierz, named for the sewing-machine tables that double as bar tops, runs the late-night Kazimierz drinking room.

Tip: Cash only. The mulled wine is the autumn order; absinthe shots after midnight.

Harris Piano Jazz Bar ★ 4.5

Rynek Główny 28, 31-010 Kraków

Harris Piano Jazz Bar in Kraków's Rynek Główny cellar has run live jazz nightly since 1996. Whiskey-heavy bar, candle-lit cellar, free entry on weeknights.

Tip: Live jazz nightly from 21:30; weekend slots fill by 22:00. Reservation by phone.

Starka ★ 4.4

kazimierz · ul. Józefa 14, 31-056 Kraków

Starka in Kraków's Kazimierz cooks classic Polish in a townhouse cellar with a courtyard garden, and pours its house-aged Starka vodka in 8 to 25-year-old.

Tip: Book the courtyard for sunset; the cellar room is the better seating in winter.

Filipa 18 ★ 4.4

stare-miasto · ul. Świętego Filipa 18, 31-150 Kraków

Filipa 18 in Kraków's Kleparz is the neo-Polish room inside Hotel Indigo. Located in Stare Miasto. Priced at $$$. At ul. Świętego Filipa 18.

Tip: Tasting menu Tuesday to Saturday 17:00-22:00. Book a week ahead for weekend dinner.

Wódka Cafe Bar ★ 4.4

ul. Mikołajska 5, 31-027 Kraków

Wódka Cafe Bar in Kraków keeps 100+ Polish vodkas behind the bar and pours flights of four for 30 zl. Counter seating, small Polish snack carte.

Tip: The four-shot tasting flight at 30 zl is the order; the apple-cinnamon flavoured pour is the easy entry.

Winosfera ★ 4.4

Plac Szczepański 8, 31-011 Kraków

Winosfera on Kraków's Plac Szczepański is the stylish corner wine bar with Polish and international wines, and a terrace overlooking the square.

Tip: Eight or so wines by the glass change regularly; the terrace is the summer seat.

Pod Aniołami ★ 4.3

stare-miasto · ul. Grodzka 35, 31-001 Kraków

Pod Aniołami in Kraków sits in a 13th-century cellar on Grodzka with a beech-wood grill at the centre of the room. Kitchen leans traditional polish.

Tip: Ask for the vaulted-cellar room over the courtyard. Open daily from 13:00.

Cargo Grill & Deli ★ 4.3

kazimierz · plac Nowy 9, 31-056 Kraków

Cargo Grill & Deli on Plac Nowy in Kraków's Kazimierz fires dry-aged Polish beef and fresh European seafood with a wine cellar to match. Priced at $$$.

Tip: Book the dining room for dinner; daytime walk-ins lean toward the deli side of the room.

Multi Qlti Tap Bar ★ 4.3

ul. Szewska 21, 31-009 Kraków

Multi Qlti Tap Bar on Kraków's Szewska pours 18 rotating Polish craft taps and runs a pizza counter through the night. Open until 02:00 weekends.

Tip: Half-pints to mix-and-match; the pizza window runs the cheap-and-cheerful food backup.

House of Beer ★ 4.3

ul. Świętego Tomasza 35, 31-027 Kraków

House of Beer on Kraków's Świętego Tomasza pours 25 rotating Polish craft taps. Order the polish ipa flight. At ul. Świętego Tomasza 35. Booking recommended.

Tip: A four-glass flight at 25 zl is the way to taste through; the back-cellar room is quieter.

Starka Wine Cellar ★ 4.3

ul. Józefa 14, 31-056 Kraków

Starka in Kraków's Kazimierz runs a cellar dining room with aged Starka vodka by the pour alongside Polish wines, paired with the traditional Polish kitchen.

Tip: Aged Starka by the glass alongside the dining-room duck. Cellar room atmosphere.

Klezmer-Hois ★ 4.2

kazimierz · ul. Szeroka 6, 31-053 Kraków

Klezmer-Hois in Kraków's Kazimierz is the Polish-Jewish kitchen in the 16th-century Great Mikveh on Szeroka. Gefilte fish, cholent on the carte.

Tip: Book ahead for evenings with klezmer concerts. Check the concert calendar in advance.

Ariel ★ 4.2

kazimierz · ul. Szeroka 17, 31-053 Kraków

Ariel on Szeroka in Kraków's Kazimierz is a 16th-century tenement-house restaurant cooking Galician Jewish and Polish dishes across two dining rooms.

Tip: Klezmer concert runs every night (separate ticket); book the upstairs dining room for the larger space.

Fiorentina ★ 4.2

stare-miasto · ul. Grodzka 63, 31-001 Kraków

Fiorentina on Grodzka in Kraków's Old Town is the Tuscan-inspired room with a vaulted red-brick ceiling. Located in Stare Miasto. Priced at $$$.

Tip: The bistecca needs ordering in advance; closed Sunday. Michelin Bib Gourmand recognition.

Viva la Pinta ★ 4.2

ul. Floriańska 13, 31-019 Kraków

Viva la Pinta on Kraków's Floriańska is the dedicated taproom of Browar Pinta, the Polish craft brewery that started the country's IPA wave in 2011. 14.

Tip: The seasonal Pinta cards rotate weekly; the IPA is the brewery's defining beer.

Wesele ★ 4.1

stare-miasto · Rynek Główny 10, 31-042 Kraków

Wesele in Kraków is the editorial pick for traditional Polish on the Rynek Główny: pierogi, roast duck, żurek, with a terrace pointed at the Cloth Hall.

Tip: Reservation recommended for evenings; the cellar room is quieter than the terrace in summer.

Barka ★ 4.1

ul. Podgórska 16, 31-068 Kraków

Barka in Kraków is the riverside-barge bar moored on the Vistula at the Kazimierz-Podgórze footbridge. Order the polish craft beer. At ul. Podgórska 16.

Tip: Open summer only, roughly May to September. Cash and card; queues form at sunset.

Movida ★ 4.1

stare-miasto · ul. Mikołajska 9, 31-027 Kraków

Movida on Kraków's Mikołajska in the Old Town runs a refined cocktail and plate room: Polish Mules with Wyborowa, Polish and Mediterranean food.

Tip: Walk-in; open daily 16:00-03:00. Cocktails and plate menu through the night.

Noworolski Wine Room ★ 4.1

ul. Sukiennice, Rynek Główny 1, 31-013 Kraków

Noworolski's room inside Kraków's Cloth Hall pours Central European wines and pastries under Józef Mehoffer's art-nouveau interiors, a Krakow institution.

Tip: Tokaji by the glass is the period-appropriate pour; the art-nouveau rooms are the photograph.

Absynt ★ 4.0

kazimierz · ul. Miodowa 28, 31-055 Kraków

Absynt on Kraków's Miodowa in Kazimierz pours 20 absinthes the traditional drip-and-sugar-cube way in a Belle Epoque room. Live music on Thursdays.

Tip: The traditional absinthe drip with sugar cube is the order; open daily from 10:00 to past midnight.

Vis-à-Vis ★ 4.0

Rynek Główny 29, 31-010 Kraków

Vis-à-Vis on Kraków's Rynek Główny is the long-running cafe-bar opened in 1978, with a Cloth Hall-facing terrace and ties to the Piwnica pod Baranami cabaret.

Tip: The Cloth Hall terrace is the seat for people-watching; daily from morning to 23:00.