7 Best Restaurants in Krakow, Poland

Venetian owners Roberto and Francesco believe in a hands-on approach to running their restaurant, so they're nearly always present: taking orders, chatting with customers, and checking to make sure that everything is okay. In fact, the homemade pastas, tiramisu, and sgroppino cocktails (made with Prosecco and lemon sorbet) are more than okay—they are excellent. The Italian community in Kraków call this place their second home.

This restaurant's name means "Peasant Kitchen," but this is the most entertaining interpretation of that theme imaginable. All meals come with complimentary bread and lard, and the menu is an artery-clogging cross section of traditional Polish peasant cuisine. For a starter try the żurek (stone soup) made from soured barley; then indulge in the very traditional main course of cabbage rolls stuffed with sauerkraut and grits in a mushroom sauce. To tell the truth, this is simple, unsophisticated food; and yet it has remained unceasingly popular for more than two decades.

The only Corsican restaurant in Poland—and one of the first memorable restaurants of the post-communist era—Paese was an immediate success, and it remains so two decades later. The restaurant consists of a series of pleasant, simple, tavernlike rooms. The menu is extensive enough that you're bound to find something appetizing—perhaps Calvi tenderloin, served in blue-cheese sauce and best accompanied by dumplings. Should you decide to sample the excellent tarte tatin, order it at the beginning of your meal, as it is always freshly prepared from scratch. Despite their essential constancy, both the interior and the menu get subtle face-lifts every now and again.

Legend has it that this downstairs cellar was once an alchemist's lab. These days, Under the Angels is one of the more tastefully furnished restaurants in Kraków, with excellent interpretations of Polish cuisine. Try smoked sheep's-milk cheese warmed under the grill, then one of the delectable preparations of pork loin. You will also find well done simple dishes such as traditional Polish soups and the ubiquitous pierogi.