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
Zakopane
Bar Mleczny
Classic Polish milk bar fare, cheap plates of pierogi, soups and cutlets aimed at filling hungry hikers without ceremony. Cash-friendly and fast.
Gdańsk
Mercato (Hotel Hilton)
The Hilton's riverside restaurant on the Motlawa, Italian-leaning with a strong seafood list and terrace views of the crane. A polished option right on the waterfront.
Kraków
Bar Mleczny Tomasza
A modern milk bar off the Rynek plating pierogi, pancakes and soups at canteen prices. The go-to for a filling Polish lunch without the tourist markup.
Poznań
Piano Bar Restaurant & Cafe
A central Poznan fine-dining room with a seasonal Polish and European menu and a long wine list. One of the city's steadier upscale addresses.
Sopot
Bar Przystan
A no-frills fish bar in Gdynia and along the coast serving fried and grilled Baltic fish by weight. A benchmark for cheap, fresh seaside eating in the Tricity.
Warsaw
Epoka
A two-Michelin-star restaurant beside the Hotel Europejski, rebuilding historic Polish court recipes from old cookbooks into a modern tasting menu. Reserve well ahead.
Wrocław
Hala Targowa
The 1908 covered market near Ostrow Tumski, packed with stalls selling fresh produce, cheeses, baked goods, and quick bites. The best spot to graze and shop like a local.
Gdańsk
Bar Mleczny Neptun
A classic milk bar on Dluga serving pierogi, soups and cutlets at low prices in a self-service canteen setting. The cheapest honest Polish food in the old town.
Lublin
Kardamon
One of the city's more ambitious kitchens, plating modern Polish and international dishes with a strong wine list off Krakowskie Przedmiescie. Book ahead at weekends.
Sopot
Restauracja Morska
A contemporary seafood-led restaurant near the seafront pairing local fish with a refined tasting approach. One of Sopot's higher-end tables.
Warsaw
Bar Mleczny Prasowy
A revived communist-era milk bar on Marszalkowska serving żurek, pierogi, and cutlets at low prices. Order at the counter and eat under retro tiling.
Wrocław
Charlotte Chleb i Wino
A French-style bakery and wine bar in Wroclaw's Four Denominations District known for fresh croissants, tartines, and all-day breakfast plates. A few minutes' walk from the market square.
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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