A Culinary Journey Through Polish Food
Traditional Polish food in Krakow at its best, shared at your own table at SADY, a restaurant built on local, seasonal cooking. Zurek, homemade pierogi, the classic Polish pork schnitzel, roasted duck, apple desserts and more arrive one by one, each with its story, alongside four small tastings of traditional nalewki.
What's Included
Experience Details
About This Experience
Polish food has a reputation for being hearty. What many visitors miss is how good it is when it’s cooked with care, from ingredients the kitchen knows by name. This is traditional Polish food in Krakow the way Poles remember it: dishes that have been on family tables for generations, brought to your own table one at a time, to share, each with the story of where it comes from. It takes around two hours, and it’s one of the most enjoyable ways to get to know Poland.
One Table, Many Dishes
The dishes arrive one by one and go in the middle of the table, so everyone tries everything and the conversation keeps going between plates. The staff introduce each dish as it arrives, and a short description on the table tells the story behind it: the traditions, the flavours and the bits of history that come with it. By the end, you’ll know why zurek belongs at Easter and why every Pole has an opinion on pierogi.
The table is private to your group, there’s no rush, and water and seasonal kompot, the light fruit drink found on Polish family tables, are there throughout.
The Venue: SADY
Sady means “orchards” in Polish, and the name is personal. The family behind the restaurant has grown apples in Lanckorona, a hilltop village south-west of Krakow, for generations, and SADY was built around the flavours of that childhood: fruit picked straight from the tree, vegetables from the garden, preserves made for winter.
That thinking runs through the kitchen. It cooks with local, seasonal produce from farmers and growers it knows by name, and the head chef bakes the bread every morning. The room matches the food: vintage porcelain and furniture found at flea markets and antique fairs, fresh flowers, candlelight and orchard artwork on the walls. SADY is in the Grzegorzki neighbourhood, a short walk from the Old Town and Kazimierz, and one of the nicest places to eat traditional Polish food in Krakow.
What’s on the Table
The menu is a journey through Poland on a plate, from Easter tables and grandmother’s kitchens to Silesian Sunday lunches, autumn forests and the orchards around Lanckorona:
- Zurek, a tangy soup made with fermented rye. It’s the soup Poles serve at Easter, and everyone is convinced their own grandmother makes the best one.
- Homemade pierogi with crispy fried onions. Almost every Pole has a pierogi memory: a kitchen table covered in flour, small circles of dough being filled and folded. These are the real thing.
- Silesian potato dumplings (kluski slaskie) with butter: soft, round potato dumplings with a little dimple in the middle, a fixture of Sunday lunch in Silesia.
- Kotlet schabowy with potatoes, Poland’s answer to the schnitzel: pork loin pounded thin, coated in breadcrumbs and fried until golden. For generations of Poles, the sound of the meat mallet on a Sunday morning has meant one thing: lunch is on its way.
- Roasted duck with traditional red cabbage, a classic of Polish celebration tables.
- Crispy potato pancakes with herring and wild mushrooms. Mushroom picking is close to a national pastime here, and every autumn families head into the forest with baskets.
- Fluffy apple pancakes (racuchy) with kogel-mogel, a rich, sweet whipped custard with a name you’ll be repeating for days, and traditional apple pie (szarlotka). A fitting finish in a restaurant named after an orchard.
A Taste of Nalewki
Along the way you’ll taste four nalewki, traditional Polish fruit and herbal liqueurs made by steeping fruit, herbs or spices in spirit and leaving them to mature. Polish country houses once took real pride in them, with families guarding their own recipes. Here they come in small glasses, poured alongside the food rather than instead of it.
Who It’s Good For
Anyone who’d rather taste Poland than read about it. If you’ve only got a few days in the city, this is the easiest way to try traditional Polish food in Krakow in one sitting, without guessing your way through a menu full of unfamiliar names.
Friends get a table of dishes to pass round and plenty to talk about. Couples get a date with a bit more story to it than the usual dinner for two. Families can introduce the children to pierogi and see which dish wins them over. Celebrating a birthday, an anniversary, a hen do or a work do? Tell us when you book and we’ll plan the extras with you directly. You’re dealing with the team that runs the experience, not a booking platform’s help desk.
Booking Your Traditional Polish Food Experience in Krakow
The experience takes around two hours and runs every day of the week. Pick your date and time when you book. Booking a few days ahead gives you the widest choice.
Good to Know
Please tell us about any allergies or dietary requirements when you book, so we can check them with the restaurant in advance.
- Free cancellation — cancel up to 24 hours before the tour starts for a full refund
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a seated experience of traditional Polish food in Krakow, at SADY restaurant. Dishes arrive one at a time to share around your own table, and the staff introduce each one with the story behind it.
No. You stay at your own table in the restaurant for the whole experience, so there is no walking between stops. The dishes come to you one by one and the pace is relaxed.
Zurek (a tangy fermented rye soup), homemade pierogi with crispy fried onions, kotlet schabowy (the classic Polish breaded pork cutlet) with potatoes, Silesian potato dumplings, roasted duck with red cabbage, potato pancakes with herring and wild mushrooms, and fluffy apple pancakes with kogel-mogel (a rich, sweet whipped custard) and traditional apple pie.
SADY cooks with local, seasonal produce from farmers and growers it knows by name. The family behind the restaurant has grown apples in Lanckorona, near Krakow, for generations.
Nalewki are traditional Polish liqueurs, made by steeping fruit, herbs or spices in spirit and leaving them to mature. You taste four of them in small glasses, alongside the food.
Yes. Every booking has its own table and is never shared with other groups. If you're celebrating something, tell us when you book and we'll plan the extras with you directly.
Yes, children are welcome.
Tell us about any allergies or dietary requirements when you book and we'll check with the restaurant in advance.
It takes around two hours and runs every day of the week. You choose your date and time when you book.
SADY is in the Grzegorzki neighbourhood of Krakow, a short walk from the Old Town and Kazimierz. The full address and a map link are in your booking confirmation.
