Food & Drinks
Food & Drinks in Poland
Where to eat, drink and linger.
Polish cooking runs from pierogi, zurek and bigos to milk bars, Baltic fish bars and a serious fine-dining scene in Warsaw and Krakow. These are the places we recommend across the country, chosen on merit and grouped by city.
All Food & Drinks in Poland
Toruń
Karczma Gesia Szyja
A rustic inn in the old town leaning into goose and other regional specialities.
Kraków
Miod Malina
A warm, folk-painted room off Grodzka mixing hearty Polish plates with a few Italian touches.
Gdańsk
Gdanski Bowke
A riverside tavern on the Motlawa serving Pomeranian classics and its own beer.
Wrocław
Kurna Chata
A rustic timber room near the Market Square doing filling regional dishes.
Zakopane
Karczma Zapiecek
A cosy timber inn on Krupowki serving mountain classics after a day on the trails.
Poznań
Ratuszova
A vaulted cellar on the square, a long-standing choice for hearty regional plates.
Lublin
Hades Szeroka
A friendly, good-value spot for Polish plates near the castle.
Kraków
Pod Wawelem
Big portions, house beer and a beer-hall buzz right under the castle hill.
Poznań
Weranda Caffe
A pretty, plant-filled café known for generous breakfasts and cakes.
Lublin
Grand Café
A café on Krakowskie Przedmiescie for a coffee-and-cake pause on the promenade.
Kraków
Charlotte
A French bakery-café on Plac Szczepanski with morning croissants, fresh bread and coffee under the trees.
Warsaw
Charlotte Menora
A French bakery on Plac Grzybowski with sun-trap tables, ideal for a slow morning.
Polish food is hearty, seasonal and built around soup, dumplings and slow-cooked meat, and it is some of the best value in Europe. You can eat a filling plate of pierogi at a milk bar for a handful of zloty, or book a tasting menu at one of the country's Michelin-starred restaurants. Both belong on a food-focused trip.
What to eat
Start with pierogi, the filled dumplings, then work through zurek (sour rye soup), bigos (hunter's stew), placki ziemniaczane (potato pancakes) and, in Krakow, the ring-shaped obwarzanek from street carts. Our Polish food guide runs through the dishes and drinks in full, and what food to try is the short version.
Where to eat it
Eat at least once in a bar mleczny, a plain milk-bar canteen serving traditional dishes at low prices, a tradition that survived from the communist era. At the other end, the MICHELIN Guide Poland lists starred kitchens led by Bottiglieria 1881 in Krakow, the country's only two-star restaurant. In between sit strong regional cooking, speciality coffee and Baltic fish bars on the coast.
By city and by region
The deepest restaurant scenes are in Krakow and Warsaw, with Wroclaw, Poznan and the Tri-City close behind. Cooking shifts by region: highland cheese and grilled meats around Zakopane, fresh fish on the coast, and hearty stews in the east. Browse by city to eat where you are staying.
Food & Drinks by city
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