Old Town Restaurant & Wine Bar

Nestled between Krakow’s picturesque Old Town and its hip, alternative Jewish Quarter is a quiet street called Swietego Sebastiana, where an inconspicuous fine-dining establishment beckons the hungry into its traditional dining rooms for a spot of local cuisine.

Old Town Restaurant and Wine Bar  is minimally decorated with antique wall-affixed gas lamps, black-and-white photographs of the Krakow of the early 20th century and rustic brown wooden chairs surrounding white tablecloths. With large, open windows allowing a breeze to gently carry in the aromas of the herbs growing on the window sill, the atmosphere is as effortlessly elegant as the servers.

When asking for recommendations, the staff at Old Town Restaurant immediately point out the most traditional of Polish dishes, such as peppered pork sausage, herbs and a poached egg served in a “bread pot,” or pork loin in a mushroom and plum sauce with steamed young cabbage and roasted oblong potatoes. Wine pairings, cocktail suggestions and a spot of vodka whet the appetite before what may seem like a heavy few rounds of plates. But typical Polish stews and meats are whimsically light and enjoyable even on an uncharacteristically hot June day.

Never rushed but always attended to, the servers send diners off with a digestif of apple vodka, a house-made liqueur that tingles the senses and satisfies every palate.