Kraków is compact, and almost everything here sits between Rynek Główny, Kazimierz and Krowodrza. Four of the twelve places come from my own list of saved spots: Bread & Butter, Bococa, Nolio and HEVRE. The rest are breakfast places, cafés, a milk bar, pierogi, zapiekanki and a Polish restaurant that travel guides recommend, 34travel first of all; each one is checked on Google: still open, rated 4.2 or higher. The descriptions are put together from Google Maps reviews; I haven't added my own notes yet.
Prices are Google's average spend per person, valid as of 7 October 2026. Rate: 1 zł ≈ $0.26.
In short
- Cheap and Polish: Milkbar Tomasza, with pierogi, soups and a lunch of the day for 20–40 zł. Come when it opens.
- Best breakfasts: Bread & Butter and Poranki. Both have weekend queues, both are worth it.
- Pierogi on the go: Przystanek Pierogarnia near the Rynek, and after the bars a zapiekanka at Endzior on Plac Nowy, until 2 am.
- A Polish dinner: Starka in Kazimierz — pierogi, beef cheeks and house vodkas; book ahead.
- Book for dinner: Nolio, Neapolitan pizza; no table in the evening without a booking.
- Dinner in a synagogue: HEVRE in Kazimierz, a bar and kitchen in a former synagogue with its old interior intact.
Breakfast and coffee
Bread & Butter Breakfast & Brunch Kraków
Kleparz · breakfast & brunch · 40–60 zł (≈$10–16) · Tue–Sat 8:00–14:30, closed Sun–Mon
Google Maps · Facebook · Pędzichów 23
According to Google Maps reviews (4.8 from 1,600+): a breakfast place 15 minutes' walk from the centre. Reviewers praise the shakshuka, Turkish eggs, pulled pork burrito and apple pie pancakes; portions are big and the coffee is excellent. You order by QR code on your phone or at the till, and the staff happily swap things for vegetarians. There can be a queue, but it moves fast, about ten minutes.
Poranki
Kazimierz · breakfast, coffee & cake · 40–60 zł (≈$10–16) · Mon–Fri 7:30–16:30, Sat–Sun 8:00–16:30
Google Maps · Instagram · Plac Bawół 4
According to Google Maps reviews (4.8 from 3,000+): a café serving breakfast all day. Reviewers praise the caramelised apple pancakes, orange French toast, avocado and salmon toasts, and a chocolate cookie with homemade peanut butter. Dishes are huge, one is enough for two, and there are lots of options for different diets. Sometimes you wait for a table. 34travel recommends it too (article).
Bococa Bistro
Krowodrza · bistro & breakfast · 40–60 zł (≈$10–16) · Mon–Sat 8:00–21:00, Sun 9:00–19:00
Google Maps · Facebook · plac Inwalidów 7
According to Google Maps reviews (4.5 from 1,200+): a calm bistro on plac Inwalidów, a little away from the tourists. Mornings bring generous breakfasts and good coffee; later there are soups (some remember the corn soup for years) and burgers. It's quiet in the morning and fills up with bookings by lunchtime. The downsides: some find it too quiet, and service can be uneven.
Body Espresso Bar
Krowodrza · specialty coffee · 20–40 zł (≈$5–10) · daily 8:00–20:00
Google Maps · Facebook · Dolnych Młynów 3/1
According to Google Maps reviews (4.6 from 640+): a small third-wave coffee shop next to Tytano. The baristas know their beans and suggest what to try; reviewers praise the cappuccino, a floral espresso and the matcha latte. Good music and a well-thought-out interior. For many it's the best coffee in Kraków. 34travel recommends it too (article).
Busz
Stare Miasto · café-bar · 20–40 zł (≈$5–10) · Sun–Thu 12:00–1:00, Fri–Sat 12:00–2:00
Google Maps · website · Mikołajska 13
According to Google Maps reviews (4.7 from 1,200+): a café right in the centre with carefully done lighting and lots of plants — coffee and desserts by day, open until 1 or 2 am. Reviewers praise the matcha latte (ask for lavender syrup), the big tea list and the hot chocolate with marshmallows blowtorched in front of you. Downsides: staff get stretched at peak times, and one review complains of rudeness and a lost booking. 34travel recommends it too (article).
Where to eat
Milkbar Tomasza
Stare Miasto · Polish food, milk bar · 20–40 zł (≈$5–10) · Tue–Sat 8:00–18:00, Sun 9:00–18:00, closed Mon
Google Maps · website · Św. Tomasza 24
According to Google Maps reviews (4.7 from 6,600+): a small, very clean milk bar in the Old Town serving breakfast, snacks and a lunch of the day (soup and a main from the board on the wall). Reviewers praise the pierogi, especially the fried meat ones, Polish pancakes and soups; fair prices, big portions. Seating is tight: at lunchtime the queue can reach 45 minutes, so come when it opens.
Pod Aniołami
Stare Miasto · Polish restaurant · daily 13:00–23:00
Google Maps · website · Grodzka 35
According to Google Maps reviews (4.4 from 3,100+): a restaurant on Grodzka, on the way from the Rynek to Wawel, known for meat grilled over beech wood. The best tables are in the old cellar, and there's a garden in summer. Reviewers praise the duck, borscht, pierogi and wine list, and the attentive waiters. It's a step up in level and in price; the pickled vegetables on the side aren't for everyone.
Nolio Restaurant
Kazimierz · Italian & Neapolitan pizza · 40–120 zł (≈$10–31) · Mon–Wed 16:00–22:00, Thu–Fri until 23:00, Sat–Sun 13:00–23:00
Google Maps · website · Krakowska 27
According to Google Maps reviews (4.7 from 9,500+): a minimalist dining room and terrace on Krakowska. The Neapolitan pizza with a light, puffy crust is, for many, the best in Kraków; reviewers single out the aubergine and rocket pizza, the bruschetta, the raviolo, a tartare served on pizza dough and the Eton mess. Value for money is called very good. Without a booking you won't get an evening table, and some find the tartare the weak spot of the menu.
HEVRE
Kazimierz · restaurant & bar in a former synagogue · 20–100 zł (≈$5–26) · Mon–Thu 10:00–0:00, Fri–Sat until 1:00, Sun until 23:00
Google Maps · Facebook · Beera Meiselsa 18
According to Google Maps reviews (4.5 from 6,800+): a bar and kitchen in a former synagogue in Kazimierz, with its old interior kept and a vintage feel. Brunch in the morning; duck, gnocchi, beer and cocktails later on. Many drop in for a drink after dinner and are won over by the room itself. The brunch gets less praise than dinner, and the staff can be curt.
Przystanek Pierogarnia
Stare Miasto · pierogi shop · 20–40 zł (≈$5–10) · daily 10:00–20:00
Google Maps · website · Bonerowska 14
According to Google Maps reviews (4.6 from 2,100+): a tiny corner pierogi shop serving through a hatch — quick, cheap and tasty. Reviewers praise the pork pierogi, the vegan lentil-and-carrot ones and the beetroot soup. There are only two or three seats, so take them away. By evening some fillings have run out — come earlier.
Starka
Kazimierz · Polish restaurant and vodka · 60–180 zł (≈$16–47) · Mon–Thu 13:00–22:00, Fri 13:00–23:00, Sat 12:00–23:00, Sun 12:00–22:00
Google Maps · website · Józefa 14
According to Google Maps reviews (4.7 from 9,600+): a cosy two-room restaurant with a small garden in Kazimierz — Polish food with a modern touch and a long list of flavoured vodkas. Reviewers praise the mixed pierogi (spinach, meat, cheese), the beef cheeks, the steak and the beetroot and carrot salads, finished with a couple of shots of house vodka. Book ahead: without a reservation people wait at the door.
Endzior
Kazimierz · zapiekanki · 20–40 zł (≈$5–10) · Mon–Sat 12:00–2:00, Sun 15:00–2:00
Google Maps · website · plac Nowy 4B
According to Google Maps reviews (4.2 from 3,700+): the best-known zapiekanka hatch in the round pavilion on Plac Nowy — a long half-baguette baked with mushrooms, cheese and any extras you like (mustard, chives and so on for pocket change). Locals point you to this one over its neighbours; the chorizo version gets praise. Open until 2 am — the perfect snack after the Kazimierz bars. Downside: at peak times the wait is long.
One last thing
Bread & Butter is closed on Sundays and Mondays and Milkbar Tomasza on Mondays, so for breakfast early in the week go to Poranki or Bococa, which open every day.
More on Kraków: what to see, bars, breakfast, cocktail bars near the Rynek, Kazimierz bars.