We did it! We had the opportunity to visit Krakow for the second time to update our culinary journey. We know that the city is developing all the time and gastronomy is certainly not lagging behind. Therefore, full of fascination and curiosity we got on a plane and headed to the Krakow airport. Right after getting off the plane, our stomachs were clamoring for something to eat. Fortunately, Krakow airport offers more than just a hot dog from a kiosk. In the main departures hall there are a couple of interesting restaurants where you can have a delicious breakfast or hot lunch. A big plus for that!
From there we headed straight to the city center via Krakow VIP airport transfer. We wholeheartedly recommend this company, they really care about their clients. The first time we were in Krakow we also took a Krakow airport transfer. In just 30 minutes we were already in our rented apartment in the Jewish part of Krakow – Kazimierz. Already during our first stay I was enchanted by this district, so I wanted to come back here as soon as possible!
Influences from Polish history
Krakow, like no other city, has experienced the influence of so many different cultures in its history. Administrative turmoil over the centuries meant that the presence of Jewish, Ukrainian, Armenian and strong Austro-Hungarian influences shaped the character of Krakow for many years. It could not have omitted the culinary art. In Cracovian homes, dishes were cooked which many people today have no idea about. Galician cuisine from the times of the Austro-Hungarian partitions was distinguished by the richness of flavours and variety. Dishes known from Austria were once commonplace in Western Galicia. Although nowadays, with access to so many international products and dishes, we rarely wonder whether, for example, the appearance of bagels in recent years, we treat it as a trend from across the ocean, not realizing that the bagels, which New York or Montreal are famous for, probably had their origin in the capital of Małopolska.
Culinary navigation
As you know, for health reasons, we try to take care of our diet and the naturalness of the ingredients we use. Therefore, our task was to find a restaurant where we can taste new things with a calm head, not thinking about our sugar problems. At the same time we wanted to find places with really good food that we could in good conscience recommend on the blog, regardless of whether the reader would be interested in the story behind it or not.
We haven’t been in Krakow for 3 years and our recent visits have brought many positive surprises, mostly concerning the number of good restaurants that have opened in the last years. Apart from the availability of cuisine from all over the world on an increasingly better level, it turns out that there are also more and more places that refer to Krakow’s history.
Some sightseeing and history
There was also a chance to sample some classic street food, a visit to an ice cream parlor that makes desserts using homemade recipes, and a visit to the Bagel Museum. Sometimes, you have to indulge yourself a little!
In addition to the culinary tours, we also had the opportunity to renew our familiarity with the monuments, history, and major tourist attractions of Krakow. We were on: Wawel Hill, we strolled around the Planty and the Main Square and bought some souvenirs in the Cloth Hall. The visit was rounded off by a stay in the Wieliczka Salt Mine, where we could try how…. a whole wall of salt tastes 😉
Where to eat healthy and tasty in Cracow?
Eating healthy is no longer just a fad or a new trend. It is a fundamental part of life of a significant number of people, their lifestyle and habits. It is difficult to enumerate the positive effects of healthy food, because it is a prerequisite for a healthy, light and beautiful life. Since this topic is so popular, we can confidently recommend to you a couple of restaurants that we had the opportunity to be in:
Green Up
Located on the first floor of Aparthotel Lwowska 1, the restaurant Zielony Do Góry is very often treated at first sight as a vegetarian restaurant. But this is not the case at all. The restaurant occupies a large, open space lined with floor-to-ceiling windows and decorated with green leafy plants. The restaurant’s focus is more on healthy, perfectly balanced dishes prepared with local ingredients.
Cakester Cafe Krakow
It is a healthy lifestyle cafe and patisserie. The team will comfort everyone with a selection of homemade gluten-free, dairy-free or vegan cakes and breakfasts. You can even find sugar-free ice cream and waffles on the restaurant menu.
Chimera Salad Bar
Isolated from larger crowds of people, this gorgeous buffet-style courtyard overflows with atmosphere year-round. Chimera’s popular salad bar, replete with potted plants, climbing ivy, natural sunlight and surreal wall paintings, may be the most enjoyable, affordable place to eat a healthy meal in town.
Bistro Bene by Tomasz Leśniak
The menu of the restaurant is very diverse, you will find here and the whole FIT section – and in it – smoothies, yogurts with granola, rice, vegetables with hummus, and the most healthy dessert with Chia. Apart from that, there is a diverse range of Bowls, soups and other yummies.
Vegab
Vegab is…vegan kebab! They offer plant-based kebabs made with tofu and available in a variety of flavors. They also have hot dogs, gluten-free pastries, and smoothies.
Pumpkin
Pumpkin – restaurant’s menu offers a wide range of fit breakfasts: omelettes, scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, yogurt and lots of prepared sets. The wide lunch offer will pleasantly surprise you with the deliciousness and style of the dishes served: salads, soups, meat and grilled fish.
Let’s loosen our belts…and jump on the sausages!
Sausages from the blue “Nyska” at Hala Targowa are considered to be the first Krakow street food. You can eat them there for 24 years, so they appeared in the times when nobody in these parts knew what street food meant.
Sausages baked over beech wood are not just any product. It is a real, good quality sausage and a Krakow classic, to which queues have been forming for years, a place known to everyone and I could not miss it.
Alternatively, we can also mention delicious and crunchy casseroles from roundhouse on Kazimierz.