The best restaurants Krakow

A true return to the past for this restaurant with its well thought-out decoration. It's like being invited by a distant family. Wall frames, vintage wallpaper and dark rooms but open to the outside, so enjoying natural light in summer. The menu is composed of tasty dishes but the quantity leaves a little to be desired. The homemade lemonade is of excellent quality and the wine list is interesting. We will come here especially to enjoy a beer accompanied by Jewish-inspired tapas. A real beautiful address, warm and frequented by local youth.

It's a small restaurant with an outsized charm. Its red-walled dining room, enamelled with Zille paintings and smelling of fresh flowers in vases between the candles that light up the room, creates a fantastic "entre-soi" atmosphere. The food is also very good, mainly Polish specialties: herring tartare, potato velouté with bacon, bacon canapés and pickles. Vodka is offered as an after-dinner drink. Live music on Wednesdays from 8pm and Fridays from 9:30pm. A place with great value for money.

Located on the Place du Grand Marché, this restaurant's first attraction is its modern, well-kept setting, its spacious rooms and warm gray tones enhanced by rich fabrics. But it's the cuisine that really counts here. Delicate, sophisticated, gastronomic. You'll fall in love with its seasonal dishes, made with farm-to-table fresh produce from sustainable agriculture (a rare gesture in Poland, and one to be applauded). Although this establishment has won over the local critics, it has yet to win the Michelin international accolade, so make the most of it.

Balaton has the distinction of being one of the oldest restaurants in the city. This venerable restaurant has been in existence since 1969 on the Royal Way, which is quite an exceptional achievement in Krakow. The secret of this longevity is not difficult to understand, just sit down in the restaurant and taste the incredible Hungarian cuisine served there. Enjoy trying the Hungarian version of the Slavic dishes you surely know by now, but don't miss the goulash and the excellent Hungarian wine.

Lake Morskie is one of the natural wonders of the nearby Tatra mountain range. One is a little less surprised then to discover the grandiose setting of a mountain chalet in the large basement, consisting of a dozen vaulted cellars that make up this restaurant. The atmosphere and flavors of the Tatra mountains are very much present here. Rustic furniture, waitresses in traditional costumes, live traditional music and delicious grilled game, nothing is missing but the pure air of the altitude.

Mostly Polish cuisine rather refined in this restaurant which since the 1870 s is a real institution in the city. The décor can remind you of a glorious era of communism, large draperies, impressive paintings, vast room where tables are separated by rents for more privacy. Service sometimes a little long.

This large, rustic-style bistro on Szewska Street has several large wood and stone rooms, allowing for different atmospheres. The cuisine is Italian, and the pizzas are a hit! Boscaiola is the little sister of Trattoria Mamma Mia... a must in town for its wood-fired pizzas, prepared 100% with authentic Italian products. So the quality is the same, in a slightly livelier, trendier space. It's up to you to choose the setting that suits you best.

Lace tablecloths, old paintings and objects inspired by shtetl life in a room reminiscent of the dining room of a Jewish home. In the beautiful architecture of a former mikveh (Jewish ritual bath), this restaurant faithfully reproduces the atmosphere of Kazimierz just before the war. Good Jewish food and, on some nights - not every night as advertised - live klezmer music. In recent years, the restaurant has suffered from its success and one has the impression that one is paying more for the setting than for an original meal.

Kogel Mogel is the Polish version of eggnog, the winter drink that was particularly common in the country during the Soviet era. This restaurant therefore adopts a retro vintage style, reminiscent of the high-end restaurants of the 1970s nomenklatura. In contrast, the menu, full of references to the communist era, presents the dishes of the Polish proletariat and, in fact, the food is truly delicious. The meals, as at home, are preceded by their basket of pickles, bread and lard.

Zapiekanka is one of the Cracow specialties, despite its origin in neighboring Czech Republic. Nevertheless, it is here that this street food has gained its credentials and has become a trend throughout Poland. The ground zero of this phenomenon is the former slaughterhouse-market that stands in the middle of Nowy Square. The vast majority of its stalls have been converted to making these bruschetta covered with melted oscypek cheese. Small rule: limit the ingredients to the maximum and beware of the sauce, it stains very quickly.

You won't find authentic Mleczny Bars on the city's main thoroughfares, for the simple reason that the proletariat and the workers who go there aren't present. The Mila is one of the rare exceptions, frequented as it is by local workers and students. You'll get the full immersion experience: the tiny room with its canteen-style tables is manned by impatient matrons who don't speak a word of English, amid the heavy fumes of potato pans. The menu, untranslated, is ridiculously low-priced.

The restaurant of the Japanese Art Museum has been the reference of Japanese cuisine in town since its opening. It's more about culinary fusion than gargantuan portions, with a consequent attention to detail and flavors that pay off on the plate. The place is very popular with locals, but not so much with tourists, who have not yet appropriated one of the best terraces on the Vistula, overlooking the Wawel hill. It is also a very good tea room with pleasant desserts.