Looking for lunch in Krakow? We constantly update this guide to the top food spots in the city, to offer a curated selection of the best places for a midday meal.
In a city packed to the brim with hidden eateries, food trucks, pop-up kitchens and traditional restaurants, ya’ll are spoiled for choice when it comes to eating lunch in Krakow.
Delve into our selection of the finest places to chow down at midday. It comes complete with Polish pierogi, Middle Eastern mezze, and a whole load more.
There are options in Old Town, in the more hipster areas of Kazimierz, and even south of the river over in upcoming Podgorze.
Let’s get started…
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This is just one of our many guides to Krakow restaurants
Hummus Amamamusi
There’s no better hummus in town
Off-the-beaten-track and all the better for it, this tight-knit little hole-in-the-wall on Kazimierz’s Beera Meiselsa street can often be found buzzing with the chatter of locals.
What’s more, its ALWAYS scented with the twisting aromas of dry-roasted cumin and chilli, of fresh coriander and all manner of other exotic spices straight out of the Levant.
The dish of choice – just as the name of the joint would suggest – is hummus. That classic chickpea paste comes in all shapes and sizes. It’s served alongside a generous helping of raw vegetables, pita breads and homemade loaves for dipping.
There are also in-house organic wines to sample and one impossibly adorable resident dog for the company.
Prices have increased at Ammamusi in the last few years but we still think it’s worth a drop-in for true hummus buffs. As of 2024, it surely still reigns as one of the best casual lunch spots in town.
Alchemia
A hipster hotspot with a creative menu
Set between the bustling beer bars and interesting hipster spots of Kazimierz district, this unforgettable and highly-recommended joint (it’s been in pretty much every single Krakow Lonely Planet guide we can remember!) is a veritable must for anyone’s lunch outing in Krakow.
Famed primarily for its off-beat gig calendar and resident crowd of Czech beer-sipping locals, Alchemia only branched out into food as a side show.
The menu has changed a lot in the last few years. As of 2024 it seems they’ve settled on an array of sharing platters based around hummus, Cracovian pretzels with spinach, and a few more exotic additions – pad Thais, red curries.
We’d say that the outdoor seating on Plac Nowy is the proverbial cherry on top come summer. If that’s too busy (as it often is), then check just around the corner. There’s a separate entrance to a more modern eating space that not that many people know about. There’s usually room in there.
Pizzatopia
Fast-food pizza
There’s now a whopping three outlets of the successful street-food pizza joint that is Pizzatopia in the city and we, for one, are very thankful for it.
They’ve taken the classic pizza restaurant ideal and merged it with a fast-food framework. The result? Great pizzas you shouldn’t have to wait for.
The concept is simple: You get a margarita pizza as the base and can whack on any topping you like without altering the price.
They make it for ya right there before your eyes like they do with sandwiches in Subway and before you know it you’ve got a pizza in your hands. It’s 40 seconds or so from choice to chomping.
You can eat in if you like. The interior is simple and functional. We tend to prefer taking away and eating either in the Planty Park (the Old Town outlet is right by the park entrance) or on one of the benches on Plac Nowy (the Kazimierz outlet is on Plac Nowy itself).
Curry Up!
One of the best Indian street food places in the city
Curry Up! is unquestionably one of the best quick-eat Indian joints in the city. It’s run by a Polish chef who went on a culinary pilgrimage to Asia way back when and came back with a determination to serve up proper Indian street food to Cracovian natives.
It’s a success. The menu changes regularly but usually comes with an element of homecooked tarka dahl and a paneer curry for the veggies, not to mention some pretty spectacular onion bahjis that are just about as crispy as they come.
There’s only like one table to sit at. It’s very much a take-out joint but that’s okay, since the riverside parks are only three mins’ walk to the south and the lovely Plac Wolnica square is just over the road.
Dynia Restobar
If pumpkins are your thing
Pumpkins ain’t just for Halloween!
No sir, a medley of pumpkin-themed dishes plumps up the menu at this stylish joint. Interiors of exposed-brick walls and washed-out timber beckon you within on Krupnicza Street.
That all leads to a menu of interesting sandwiches packed with grilled veg and cheese, salads and pastas both vegetarian-friendly and doused in marinated chicken.
To drink, there are also home-made lemonades and interesting mocktails. They are certainly best sipped outside in the al fresco garden. It’s surely one of the top places to eat outdoors in the whole city, and all just a stone’s throw from the UNESCO Old Town area and Planty Park!
Chimera Salad Bar
Eat your heart out at Krakow’s biggest salad buffet
Beneath a canopy of greenery in the midst of the Krakow Old Town, this popular little spot serves up its trademark salad buffet with gusto.
Portions are big, the options are endless and the cooking is second-to-none. That makes for a fine lunch option that caters to both through-and-through veggies, healthy eaters, and carnivores alike.
There’s also a selection of homemade juices to accompany, along with some craft beers (but only in bottles) and desserts of the craft and creative varieties.
Chimera isn’t your usual pay-at-the-counter cafe. Instead, it’s a buffet joint with different rates for different sized dishes.
It’s fantastically located for when you finish/just about to start a walking tour in the Old Town.
Jadlodajnia U Stasi
One of the city’s most famous pierogi places
For those in search of a serving of classic Polish pierogi, U Pani Stasi is arguably the finest option on Krakow’s long list of so-called pierogarnia.
It’s an age-old joint that still packs a Communist-era punch. The interiors shock those who stroll in from Mikołajska Street with stripped-down utilitarianism and traces of the 80s (think plastic chairs and tables like the ones you used to have in school).
However, there’s another piece de resistance. U Stasi boasts some of the most celebrated dumplings in all of Krakow – nay, Poland.
Expect everything from the ubiquitous ruski (packed with potato and cream cheese) to meat-filled options, and remember once they are gone, they’re gone! Yup, it’s not unusual for the place to be shutting by 1pm beacuse all dumplings are AWAL.
Milkbar Tomasza
A stylish version of the old Polish milk bar
A slightly puffed up version of the traditional Polish milk bar (a sort of rough-around-the-edges food joint that was popular in the Communist era), this casual little eatery on the edge Tomasza Street cooks up a smorgasbord of national favorites.
Pierogi predictably reigns supreme. However, there’s also a dash of more creative additions – think veggie chilli and tortilla wraps. Backing that up is hipster décor with communal eating tables.
If it’s an early lunch, then you might be in time to catch their tempting breako menu. That’s got full Englishes that many an expat has testified is, simply, the best in the whole town.
Pod Wawelem
Dine in the shadow of Krakow Castle
A longtime staple of the Krakow lunch and dinner scene, Pod Wawelem sits in an unbeatable spot in the shadow of the Wawel Castle. Inside, long, Bavarian-esque tables are manned by crowds of lively locals right throughout the year.
The kitchen churns out sprawling platters of meat kebabs and grilled dishes. In addition, the whole lot is accompanied by huge litre beers. In the summer, try to settle here early to grab one of the outdoor pub tables in the Planty Park, enjoying fine views of the swaying sycamores and cyclists that abound.
Hamsa Hummus & Happiness
There’s nowhere better for sharing platters and long lunches
A laid-back, low-key lunchtime spot that comes complete with beanbags and timber-crate seating in its outdoor area, Hamsa Hummus and Happiness is arguably Krakow’s premier Middle Eastern food spot.
Patrons choose from a menu of mezze treats. There’s the deep-fried jibneh cheese balls (which come highly-recommended). You’ve got that ubiquitous falafel. You’ll munch on smoky baba ghanoush.
Every meal is made to accompany the in-house hummus (also fantastic) and served with traditional flat breads that seem plucked straight from the earthy kitchens of the Levant.
Put simply: this Krakow lunch spot is not to be missed!
DO NOT LEAVE without sampling the in-house radler beer. We dream about them.
Hala Forum
Loads of lunch options in one place – plus the city’s best beer garden
Forum is one of the most iconic venues in the whole city. It’s housed in an old Communist hotel on the western banks of the Vistula River.
The hotel itself was abandoned back in the 80s but the ground floor was overtaken by a pretty experimental bar-come-eatery back in the late naughties which has grown and grown into a multi space of food halls, cocktail bars, outdoor seating and more.
We think it’s one of the best places to go for lunch in Krakow when the sun is shining. The reason? You get a view up the river all the way to the castle. It can hardly be beaten.
Inside, the space is known as Hala Forum because it’s now a complete food court. There’s something like 10 individual restaurants serving Mexican wraps and sourdough pizzas.
The only downside is that it gets super, duper busy on weekends.. Like so busy you can hardly move.
Kropka Kraków
Edgy cooking in a cracking setting
One of the newer additions to this list of the top lunch spots in Krakow is Kropka Kraków. These guys have been making waves down in the more off-the-beaten-track area of Podgorze since opening their doors a few years back.
The mantra is creative European-Asian fusion dishes served in the mezze style. Expect a tapas of herring in honey mustard, burned-cabbage tacos, squid with celeriac dressing, and duck hearts in black garlic. It’s edgy but fundamentally tasty cooking.
We reckon the location is fantastic. There are indoor and outdoor seats on offer on the edge of the wonderful Rynek Podgórski, the main square in this indelibly local corner of town.
Youmiko Sushi
The best sushi place in Krakow
Bringing a little cosmopolitan dash to this list of the finest places to lunch in Krakow, Youmiko Sushi and its medley of hosomaki, nigri and gunkan is now being touted as the city’s top Japanese stop-off.
The blackboard menu of rice-packed rolls changes daily, meaning all the vegan and veggie options here stay fresh and creative.
On the side, there’s a range of oriental teas to get through. What’s more, the location in the heart of Kazimierz makes Youmiko a fine place to chow down while touring the historic wealth of the Jewish Quarter.
