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
Warsaw
Cud nad Wisla
A riverside bar on the Praga bank of the Vistula, open in warmer months with deckchairs, DJs, and a sunset view of the left-bank skyline. Casual and seasonal.
Lublin
Dolce Vita Coffee & More
A stylish spot on Krakowskie Przedmiescie for cocktails and coffee, with terrace seats over the promenade. Popular in the early evening as the street fills.
Toruń
Jan Olbracht Browar Staromiejski
A brewpub inside a Gothic granary on Szczytna, brewing its own beer served in vaulted brick cellars with pub food.
Lublin
16 Stolow
A contemporary restaurant near the centre focused on seasonal Polish produce and a short, changing menu. One of the city's picks for a special occasion.
Katowice
Browar Mariacki
A brewpub on Mariacka Street brewing its own beer in a converted warehouse, with Silesian and grilled dishes alongside.
Katowice
Wspolwinni Katowice
A MICHELIN Guide listed restaurant near the Culture Zone, with a seasonal menu that crosses southern European and modern Polish cooking.
Katowice
Amfora Restaurant & Cocktail Bar
A Middle Eastern restaurant and cocktail bar with a back garden, one of the more distinctive kitchens in central Katowice.
Łódź
Anatewka
A long-standing Jewish restaurant off Piotrkowska Street, drawing on family recipes and Łódź's pre-war heritage.
Łódź
Galicja Restaurant
A Manufaktura restaurant serving Polish and Central European classics across a period upstairs room and a brick cellar.
Łódź
Owoce i Warzywa
A retro café-bar just off Piotrkowska Street with a reputation for some of the best coffee in the city.
Częstochowa
Cafe & Restaurant Dobry Rok
Cafe & Restaurant Dobry Rok sits on Aleja NMP, serving Polish and Italian dishes across a menu that works for lunch, dinner or coffee.
Częstochowa
Restauracja U Braci
Restauracja U Braci serves Polish cooking alongside Italian and Mediterranean plates at 7 Kamienic in Częstochowa.
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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