7 amazing places to eat in Krakow, Poland

Looking for the best places to eat in Krakow? From hipster cafes to cute courtyard dining, I’ve got you covered…

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If you want to bookmark places to eat in Krakow for your next trip then come on in…

I went to some really nice places to eat in Krakow during my trip there. From cute cafes to restaurants to tiny little ice cream parlours that pack a punch when it comes to flavour, Krakow has it all.

Krakow surprised me straight from the off. There were cosy hipster cafes, alfresco dining options in charming hidden courtyards, and a new discovery for me – pierogli, otherwise known as Polish dumplings! I actually don’t think I had a disappointing meal over the whole trip, which is pretty impressive. Here, I’ll be sharing my favourite places to eat in Krakow so that you can do the same and make sure you can eat your way around the city in style. Let’s go!

What food is Krakow famous for?

Well, I think I just dropped a spoiler for this already, but never mind. One of the foods I hadn’t tried before visiting Krakow were the delicious little lumps of heaven, otherwise known as Polish dumplings, otherwise known as piergoli. More details on those later. However, they’re not the only food Poland is famous for – here are a few more…

Zapiekanka – Polish pizza-style baguette with melted cheese
Obwarzanek krakowski – a soft and doughy pretzel-style bread
Kaczka po krakowsku – duck with sour cream and mushrooms
Bigos – a cabbage and meat stew
Barszycz – a rich red-coloured beetroot soup
Sour zurek – otherwise known as soup in a bread bowl
Maczanka krakowska – street-food style burgers made with pork
Kremówka papieska – like a custard slice but with cream instead of custard

Is it expensive to eat out in Krakow?

I found Krakow to be a really affordable city to spend a few days in – it’s cheap to travel to and it’s pretty cheap when you’re there as well. All good news. Of course, it’s more expensive in the more touristy areas, but overall Krakow isn’t an expensive city to visit.

How much is a meal out in Krakow?

Average restaurants – 5-10 € for a meal
Good restaurants – 7-10€ for a meal
Premium restaurants – Around 15€ for a meal

How much money do I need for a week in Poland?

Well, this is pretty subjective really. However, full disclosure, I took £300 with me for the trip of four nights and three days. That was plenty to cover meals, drinks, and activities.

Like this post? You might like these blogs on my other budget-friendly city breaks

The best places to eat in Krakow

NapNap Café Krakow

We were lucky enough to be staying just across the road from NapNap Café, and what a find it was! Despite the benefits of being able to eat in with Airbnb, there’s something to be said for going out for breakfast, and we ended up going there most days for breakfast because it was just such a nice place. So what can I tell you about NapNap Café in Krakow?

Well, it’s colourful and cute. It has a little bit of a hipster vibe without the whole aloof too-cool-for-school thing. The thing I remember most is all the different coloured post-it notes on the wall with hand-written by tourists who had previously visited NapNap. What could be a more ringing endorsement than “It’s lit. Greetings from America.” Right?

Everything else about NapNap Café was just as good. I had the scrambled eggs with cheese and ham that came with a dressed side salad, and was everything I wanted in brunch form. We also all had fresh fruit juice and coffee, which both tasted just as good as they looked. If you’re in the area I would definitely recommend stopping by if you get a chance!

NapNap Café address: Zwierzyniecka 5, 31-103 Kraków, Poland

View the NapNap Café menu here

Lody Tradycyjne Bracia Hodurek ice cream shop

The other benefit of NapNap Café in Krakow was that it was right next door to this incredible ice cream shop, Lody Tradycyjne Bracia Hodurek. I think we managed to maintain our willpower and keep on walking a couple of times but we eventually gave into inevitability!

I ordered a refreshing blueberry flavour ice cream which was absolutely delicious. You can order a regular cone, waffle cone, or a tub and they come in a huge variety of flavours, with everything from salted caramel, Nutella and mascarpone, Krakow pretzel, Snickers and more. I’m surprised and slightly disappointed that we didn’t go here more than once.

This place also gets rave reviews on TripAdvisor, so definitely check it out!

Lody Tradycyjne Bracia Hodurek address: Zwierzyniecka 3, 31-103 Kraków, Poland

No 7 Restaurant

This was pretty much our last supper before we had to head home, so it had to be good. And luckily, it played ball! No 7 Restaurant in Krakow is located on the Main Square, but it actually has a secret ‘extra’ space around the back. My advice is to skip the square and head round there. You wander down this narrow alleyway which unveils a charming courtyard which is just lovely! It’s fully enclosed, with buildings surrounding it on all sides, and it has the sense of being this little secret enclave away from the madness of the main square. Add in the cobbles, potted plants dotted around the place, and the greenery creeping up the walls and it all feels a little bit magical. Definitely a lot more characterful than the square!

As the weather was still pretty tropical for Poland we were even able to sit outside. Having looked at the photographs of the interior, it’s also lovely. Think rustic brick walls and cosiness. Whichever time of year you’re visiting No 7 Restaurant is a great choice.

So what is the menu like at No 7 Restaurant? There’s a little bit of everything, from pierogli, soup in a roll, pasta, and burgers. I opted for a goat’s cheese filo and beetroot salad, which was absolutely delicious! Of course, the delusions of eating healthily stopped there and I couldn’t resist ordering dessert. I ordered a chocolate fondant dessert which was served with cream and redcurrants, all on a gorgeous slate tray that I’d quite like for my kitchen now. Oh yes, and there was the big cauldron of Aperol Spritz to go with it.

All in all, No 7 Restaurant was a winner so I would highly recommend it!

No 7 Restaurant address: Rynek Główny 7, 31-042 Kraków, Poland

Caffe Ferrani Krakow

Don’t skip the Jewish Quarter when you’re looking for places to eat in Krakow.

We headed to Caffe Ferrani for dinner on our last night in Krakow. It’s located in the Jewish Quarter in the city, which is a beautiful part of the city that we’d wandered through earlier in the day and wanted to see more of. The only catch was we’d got a little bit carried away drinking wine and chatting in the apartment before we left – oops! What that meant was that it was pretty much last orders by the time we arrived. Caffe Ferrani is set in a gorgeous square in the Jewish Quarter alongside another few restaurants with outdoor seating. One of the main reasons we chose this restaurant was because of the cosy outdoor heaters!

However, that didn’t stop Caffe Ferrani from being pretty charming. I ordered duck with redcurrant sauce which isn’t what I would usually order, I just fancied it. Wow, was it good. Rich, indulgent and delicious, I probably could have eaten the portion twice over. Along with the bottle of crisp white wine we shared this was pretty much the perfect meal.

Caffe Ferrani address: Szerzoka, Krakow 31-053 Poland

Karczma Halit

A heads up: we visited this traditional Polish restaurant as part of the one-day tour we did of Auschwitz and the Salt Mine. So if you’re for something a little bit off the beaten track then this isn’t it, because it’s packed with groups of tourist on tours every single day. However, even though everything was screaming that this was a tourist trap, I was surprised.

All in all, Karczma Halit was packed with old world charm.There are low ceilings and beams, dark wood everywhere, wood panelling and cosy little booths to sit in. And now onto the food. I don’t know if you’ve heard of pierogi before? I certainly hadn’t, but it’s a kind of polish dumpling. As soon as I saw them on the menu my interest was piqued.

So was can I tell you about pierogis? Well, they’re a traditional filled dumpling that can have both a sweet or a savoury filling. The dumplings are boiled and then pan-fried for a slightly crispier finish. In terms of the filling, they can vary from everything from potato, cheese, sauerkraut, ground meat, mushrooms or fruit. These ones were cheese and potato.

We lucked out at this restaurant because the dumplings were filled with cheese and potato. I mean, I don’t think there are many more tempting things in the world than a cheese and potato dumpling, right? And I was not disappointed as they were delicious! The only negative was that they were so filling I probably could have taken a nap instead of heading of for the tour of the Salt Mine. Tourist trap or not, Karczyma Halit gets the thumbs up!

Karczma Halit address: Daniłowicza 9, 32-020 Wieliczka, Poland

Café Stare Miasto

This was another gorgeous coffee shop that we stumbled into almost by accident. I don’t know about you but I’m a real sucker for exposed brickwork – add in the arches and this is pretty much my perfect interior space. Chilled, cool, and not too done. I loved it.

There are actually quite a few places with exposed brickwork in Krakow as from Cafe Stare Miasto. Let me tell you a secret: I didn’t have a note of the name of this café when I started writing up this blog post. That meant I had to put on my detective hat and basically look up every coffee shop in Krakow… and what I found is that there are definitely more than one or two cafes and restaurants with gorgeous brick walls and that whole loft living vibe! Who knew?

But enough of me banging on about the décor. Let’s talk about the food! Well, I was going through a bit of an ‘eggs for breakfast’ phase on this trip. I ordered coffee, fresh orange juice and scrambled eggs on toast with cheese and ham. It was wonderful, and pretty much the perfect meal to set me up for a day of sightseeing. You won’t regret going here!

Cafe Stare Miasto address: Gołębia 2, 31-007 Kraków, Poland

Bhajan Café Krakow

Looking for vegetarian or vegan restaurants in Krakow? Try this one for size!

This was another surprising pitstop in Krakow. I don’t think I’ve mentioned it already but I was in Krakow with my twin sister and two friends, one who is a vegetarian and one who is a vegan. Therefore, there was always going to be at least one vegan or vegetarian restaurant that we stopped at! And it happened to be the rather charming Bhajan Café. The good news is that this place also does coeliac free curries. As someone with a parent who is coeliac, the more restaurants that cater to this the better, so this was good to see.

We picked this spot because it was close to the river, where we’d booked to do a lovely boat trip in the sunshine. Honestly, who would have guessed it was only April? It was so hot! So what is the menu like at Bhajan Café? Well, they had a variety of paneer and tofu curries, including paneer tikka masala, madras paneer, and palak tofu, which is tofu in a pea sauce. We ended up ordering a set meal for four people, which was perfect. It’s always great to be able to try a bit of everything, right?

They also serve mango lassi, which I really wish I ordered! There are also flavoured lattes. It was a bit too warm when I was there but the turmeric latter sounds delicious!

Bhajan Café address: Stradomska 17, 31-068 Kraków, Poland

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