Bar Mleczny Tomasza

Bar Mleczny Tomasza is a milk bar, the Polish canteen tradition, updated for a modern kitchen but keeping the low prices. It sits on ul. Swietego Tomasza, a couple of minutes off the main square, and it is the sort of place to fill up on honest Polish food without paying tourist rates in the Old Town.

The menu runs to the milk-bar staples: pierogi in several fillings, pancakes, and a rotation of soups, plated fresh and cheap. A milk bar (bar mleczny) grew out of Poland's subsidised worker canteens, so the idea is simple, filling home cooking at a fair price. Portions are generous and the food comes fast.

This is a modern, tidier take on the classic milk bar rather than a bare 1970s room, but the spirit is the same: order, sit, eat, move on. It is a lunch spot more than a place to linger, popular with locals and students as well as visitors who have found it.

It suits anyone wanting a cheap, filling Polish lunch in the middle of the Old Town without the markup of a square-side restaurant. For the more traditional, older-style version of the same idea, Bar Mleczny Pod Temida on Grodzka is a good comparison.

Swietego Tomasza runs parallel to the north side of the Main Market Square, so you are right in the centre. Maly Rynek and Endzior over in Kazimierz are both within easy reach for the rest of the day. See the Krakow guide for what is nearby.

The place trades under the name Milkbar Tomasza, so look for that sign at św. Tomasza 24. Beyond the pierogi and soups, it has built a following for its all-day breakfast, including cooked plates such as a Spanish omelette, which sets it apart from the strictly canteen-style milk bars (InYourPocket).

It keeps to a Tuesday-to-Sunday week and closes on Mondays, though times can change, so check current hours before a morning visit.