Minta eats... Kraków

You do not need an excuse to go to Kraków. But if you were to complete a list of reasons why it is worth visiting the city, you would certainly have to include the bars and restaurants that make you want to come back over and over again. Małgosia Minta has selected for us the most interesting. She recommends starting the tour with coffee and shakshuka accompanied by a small bowl of homemade pickles, and finishing it off with a Basque feast and biodynamic wine.

Coffee. It is the first thing you need in Kraków. Fortunately, good coffee is also the first thing that waits for travellers leaving the railway station – not counting the stands which sell traditional bread rings called ‘obwarzanki’ and form an integral part of the cityscape.

Wesoła Cafe (17 Rakowicka Street) is one of the best cafés in Kraków. It offers coffee beans from boutique roasting houses and uses alternative brewing methods – in short, all that a modern-day coffee lover needs. You can nestle with your laptop or a newspaper at one of the tables by the brick wall, or you can find a spot at the wide window sill and grab a quick stand-up espresso. Do this in line with the motto adorning one of the walls: ‘It is better to drink coffee than not to drink coffee’. And you can be sure to drink the right kind of coffee here.

After this caffeine boost, you can head for the city. Although, stereotypically, Kraków is a city that wakes up only around noon time, it does not leave early birds in the lurch. At least Ranny Ptaszek, or ‘Early Bird’, (5 Augustiańska Street) does not. This breakfast café was opened less than a year ago by a mother and daughter duo. They certainly believe in eating a good breakfast; otherwise, they would probably not have created the place. Inside, there is enough space for only two tables and a few bar stools, which are lined up by the high window sill. You will see colours that would enchant Wes Anderson, stamped walls, a row of mugs hanging on hooks, and china clay birds – placed on the counter. It is cosy, but not stuffy, and the eclectic hotchpotch of elements (I cannot decide if I would rather take home the washbasin or the chandelier) presents an integral and visually attractive whole that differs widely from many of the places aspiring to a hipsterish style and looking as if taken straight from a photocopier. The same is true of the food.

The menu resembles a case study of the egg – you can have it as a shakshuka in sweet tomatoes with cumin, or fried and served with stewed chickpeas and a Hungarian sausage on the side; you can find it hidden inside a sabih sandwich stuffed with eggplant, tahini sauce and a rich pickle and mango salsa, or order the ‘I Love Mondays’ sandwich and have it on a slice of bread with hummus and spinach. For those who prefer to eat plenty and healthy, Ranny Ptaszek offers ‘bowls of goodness’ (for example with colourful rice, cinnamon-sprinkled pumpkin, seeds,red cabbage with raisins and tahini sauce). But if you want my advice, go for the sabih and shakshuka – you will leave the place happy.

Massolit Bakery (17 Smoleńsk Street) is another well-loved breakfast location in close proximity to Wawel castle. It attracts passers-by with its broad window, which allows you to watch bakers at work. The bakery has sprouted from an older bookshop café called Massolit Books (4 Felicjanek Street), which is popular with locals for its excellent selection of English titles and the American press. Back in the ascetic white interior of the bakery, you will find something for the body rather than for the soul – that is bagels (not to be confused with obwarzanki!). They are baked on the spot in New York fashion and served plainly, with Philadelphia cream cheese or hummus, but also classically, with marinated salmon and capers. The menu also includes pies packed with apples and adorned with a wavy crust, chocolate cakes, New York cheesecakes, challah breads and small Jewish biscuits.

Massolit has recently opened yet another branch. It is called Massolit Cooks and is located in the Kazimierz district (25 Józefa Street). You can go there for breakfast or lunch and for the sake of the very attractive interior, with its characteristic round window in one of the faux aged walls. Close by, you will find Cheder (36 Józefa Street), a place with some of the best vibes to make you want to stop, sit around and slow down. The café cannot be mistaken for any other, as the smell of cardamom makes your nose tickle right after opening the door. It looks as if it has always been there – no fashionable brass decorations, no Swiss cheese plants and no Pantone colours of the year. It is cosy, bohemian, and Kazimierz-esque – perfect for those who long for old Kraków and are looking for a traditional Jewish atmosphere. And, simply, their cardamom coffee is very tasty.

Now it is time for something more substantial. It is time for Karakter (17 Brzozowa Street). The name is appropriate, for this is indeed a place of character – with a very meaty menu. Karakter was opened by the creators of the popular ZAZIE Bistro, a restaurant largely influenced by the classic French cuisine, and it has soon won a group of loyal fans who have lost their heads and hearts for the simple dishes served here, especially those based on offal: lamb tongues with sepia-dyed polenta, bone marrow from the oven, cream soup of smoked pork fat and roasted potatoes, sweetbreads fried in butter (served, for instance, with mushrooms and ravioli filled with green peas) and, last but not least, beef tartare and steaks. The restaurant has inherited from the ZAZIE Bistro a list of mussel dishes, which complement the main menu (for example fennel-and-pastis or green curry mussels), and it tops off its menu with a list of wines, including natural and biodynamic ones.

If you are looking for a theme restaurant, you just have to visit Euskadi (4 Brodzińskiego Street). The place is small, with an inconspicuous sign, but the dishes cooked by the local chef are worth crossing the river for. Euskadi, as the name suggests, is all about the Basque Country. This is evident in the menu, which offers a feast of small, frequently changing dishes. The best thing to do is to order a selection and a bottle of Albariño or Verdejo then share them with your companions. Small peppers with bacalao mousse and sepia sauce, prawns with the inimitable serrano ham, perfectly fried and only gently set tortillas with potatoes – even the smallest or simplest tapas are made with infinite care using high-quality ingredients, including fish and seafood imported directly from an Italian fish market and seasonal meats. Among the best dishes are octopus with potatoes (polpo de gallega) and, however banal it may sound, beetroot salad with caramelised nuts and blue cheese, which owes its unique taste to the vinegar imported by the chef.

Euskadi focuses on the cuisine of one particular region; in a similar vein, more and more locations in Kraków  are opting for narrow specialisations. Here are some examples: Hummus Amamamusi (4 Meiselsa Street), opened not long ago, with a range of perfectly mixed hummus; Meat’n’Go (10 Dolnych Młynów Street), a ‘meat’ bar serving specialties such as Reuben sandwiches with corned beef cheeks or pulled pork; Handelek (16 Św. Filipa Street), a small bar selling open sandwiches to take away; Ramen People (19 Dajwór Street), with a short menu of ramens (mind you, the place is tiny and will fit only up to six or seven diners!); Ka Udon Bar (14A Rakowicka Street), where you can eat Japanese noodles and crispy tempura (the entire menu is vegetarian!) and also drink some cool wine. In a sense, Zaczyn (4 Barska Street), may also be included in this list. It is formally a bakery, but one where you can buy sandwiches made from their own-brand  sourdough bread. Their loaves sell quickly, so grabbing a sandwich with tahini sauce and Sicilian orange, or one with bean spread and rosemary oil, will make a suitable reward for getting up early.)

To finish this exciting day full of flavours, head to Mercy Brown (28 Straszewskiego Street) or Sababa (2 Szeroka Street) where you can drink an excellent cocktail. If you prefer wine, visit Krako Slow Wines (6F Lipowa Street) or Żonglerka (20 Syrokomli Street). The latter is located in an old tenement house at the corner and takes its name (‘Juggling’ in English) from the neon light that used to adorn the building. It opens in the morning (try their avocado-and-sweet potato toast and a glass of pomegranate juice) and closes in the evening (go for wine, only naturals ones are served here, and a board of Polish craft cheese specialities with toppings). It is one of those places that you would like to pack into your suitcase, take home and keep always at hand. But it seems that you will simply need to visit it again.

Special thanks to the Puro Kraków Hotel for their help with producing this material.

Translation Elżbieta Pawlas/Solid Information Solutions