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
Kraków
Mercy Brown
A hidden speakeasy behind an unmarked door, serving precise cocktails to a members-club hush.
Kraków
Wodka Café Bar
A tiny room with dozens of infused and flavoured vodkas lined up behind the bar.
Kraków
Endzior
The round pavilion on Plac Nowy griddling the giant open-faced zapiekanki Krakow is known for.
Kraków
Andrus
A hole-in-the-wall doing maczanka krakowska, the city's pulled-pork-in-a-roll classic.
Zakopane
Bakowo Zohylina Wyznio
A large timber karczma decked with folk carvings, serving kwasnica, roast meats and highlander platters with live goral music most evenings. One of the town's best known traditional venues.
Zakopane
Gazdowo Kuznia
A rustic wooden karczma near Krupowki with an open grill, roasted lamb and pork knuckle, and regular folk bands. Popular with groups for a full highlander feast.
Zakopane
Cafe Piano
A small, characterful central cafe on Krupowki, a quiet spot for a coffee or a drink away from the busy street stalls.
Gdańsk
Restauracja Gvara
Modern Polish tasting menus using Pomeranian and Baltic ingredients, one of the city's more ambitious kitchens. Set several courses at a calmer remove from the tourist quays.
Wrocław
Bar Mis
A classic milk bar (bar mleczny) serving cafeteria-style Polish staples such as pierogi, nalesniki, and soups at very low prices. Cash-friendly and popular with students and locals.
Gdańsk
Kubicki
A Gdansk institution on the Motlawa since 1918, serving classic Polish and Baltic dishes including duck and fresh fish. Old-school dining rooms with river views.
Warsaw
Restauracja Podwale 25
A beer hall and grill just outside the Old Town walls, known for giant pork knuckle (golonka) and Masovian dishes. Big portions, garden seating, and a good beer selection.
Wrocław
Vega
A long-running vegetarian bistro on the Rynek offering meat-free Polish and international dishes at modest prices. A handy central option for plant-based eaters.
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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