Starka Restaurant
Local Life Krakow is about to select candidates for Best Places awards, dedicated to rewarding and encouraging excellence in products, service and ideas. You are helping us to make the best choice.
Starka Restaurant has 18 votes. Click here to see the results.
You can vote once a day for your favourite place.
Editor's review
Starka Restaurant is famed in these parts not only for their sumptuous Polish cuisine, but also for their head-spinning brand of vodkas, such as cranberry or ginger flavour, concocted on these very premises. The restaurant's atmosphere is classic old Kazimierz, with warm red walls covered by Zille paintings setting the perfect tone for pleasant meal. On the menu are treats such as sour rye soup, sauteed wild forest mushrooms on toast, as well as a succulent marinated pork neck. Patrons can round off their meal with traditional Krakow cheesecake or delicious Polish apple pie. Reasonable prices, free WiFi access, air conditoning, and children friendly make Starka a fantastic addition to the Kazimierz gastronomic scene.
Editor
Editor & Krakow Local
Reviews
W ten letni sezon Starka otworzyła w podwórku ogródek i fajnie było spędzić ze znajomymi czas na obiedzie - oczywiście w środku też jest uroczo i niepowtarzalnie, klimat miejsca specyficzny i dobra polska kuchnia, zaczynając od przystawek a kończąc na deserze.
Great food and atmosphere in Kazimierz. We look forward to coming back here once it is a bit easier to travel :)
We are having the best Christmas Party's here every year! Fantastic restaurant and great atmosphere!
What a fabulist meal we had in Starka! great place, very good value and amazing food! Thank you Starka !
W ostatnie wakacje byłem w Krakowie, gdzie idąc ulicą Józefa na Kazimierzu natknąłem się na specyficzną restaurację o nazwie Starka, która to nazwa oznacza (jak wpisałem w google) tradycyjną, wytrawną wódką żytnią. Wstąpiłem nie tyle na wódkę co na obiad i jest to miejsce naprawdę godne polecenia - smakowało wybornie! Na koniec spróbowałem tutejszych, domowych likierów - bardzo dobre!
I love this place. The food here is sooo good. I've been here a few times now and had great food and great fun every time. The atmosphere is just great because this place makes everyone happy. Tables are busy, people are smiling, staff are so friendly, food is de-li-ci-ous. I really recommend. And it's such a fabulous place to try really good Polish cuisine! There are lots of places that sell it but they don't make it properly. Starka make Polish food in the proper way and with the right ingredients aaaand with lots of love, clearly.
Went here for work dinner - had the steak, cant remember what sauce I ordered but oh my god it was divine. I kept asking if it had truffles cause it tasted so good and so much like truffles but it wasnt so whatever magic they are doing here - i just hope they keep doing it. That steak cut like butter... best steak I've had in Krakow
I will definitely be returning.
The service is superb, the food excellent, and the prices unbelievable. Very very highly recommended!
Have been visiting Starka 2-3 times a year for the past 6 years, every time I am in Krakow. Never been disappointed, but miss having rabbit on the menu.
Visited first time this year and had a great meal, very reasonable price. Will definitely go back
Good polish food, the staff are very welcoming and speak very good english, we had excellent lunch here.
Fabulous ! Amazing food , wonderful atmosphere. Staff are very attentive. Not to mention the exquisite vodkas made on the premises that you buy to take home if you ask !
Had a lovely evening in a pleasant atmosphere. All dishes were lovely to look at and delicious!
Great food and excellent atmosphere. Not what we expected but turned out better. Very tasty Polish fare and finished off with a nice Polish vodka
Been there once or twice, the food is always delicious. Somewhat cozy atmosphere, Starka is just the place for a quiet meeting with a bunch of friends. Recommended!
As always, fantastic food and a great atmosphere created by the staff. But please - bring back the delicious creme brulee - we miss it!
Visited again in June with my wife and in-laws (who were visiting Krakow for the first time) so this was their first taste of Polish cuisine which they absolutely loved, especially the flavoured vodkas!
Booked again for next year and we will definitely be dining here again. Go on, give it a try, well worth making your way down to this area from the main square.
In a city with many great restaurants, Starka tops them all. I've probably tried 2/3rd's of the menu at this point, and I'm always impressed. Make sure to try their Zurek (sour rye soup), which is my favorite Polish soup and the best version I've had yet. As for recommendations on main courses, just order one! You can even close your eyes and randomly choose one with your finger. They're all that damn good! The staff is wonderful, the prices are reasonable, and to top it all off, they have a great selection of homemade infused vodkas. My friend from Seattle who came to visit about a year ago still talks about this place. Need I say more?
Krakow is a wonderful city for walking, particularly in Old Town and Kazimierz with its restored synagogues, churches and numerous coffee shops. Based upon the advice of North American tourists I met wandering in Kazimierz I walked to the Starka Restaurant at 14 Jozefa Street. It was easy to spot with its red awning near the western end of the street on the north side. I was immediately struck by the warm, friendly atmosphere and the welcome of the owners. My main meal was a fabulous pork dish with a cherry sauce, perhaps the best pork dinner I had in Poland. Another highlight was the homemade flavored vodka. I dont drink but I tried the cranberry vodka, served ice cold. It was like a dessert wine and if I wasnt travelling for the next weeks I would have bought a bottle from the restaurant as it is not sold commercially. In a word, I highly recommend the restaurant.
Awesome, quaint and laid-back with good food, great presentation, and easy-going staff. Had a great time! Thanks
I adore this place. Wonderful vibe, new menu which is slightly more expensive than the old one is superb and the food never disappoints. My favourite dishes are fried camembert and salmon. For the dessert - creme brulee.
Top place.
Fantastic food and staff. I cannot recommend this place highly enough - and I have eaten in an awful lot of restaurants in Krakow! Try the salmon with pistacchio or the duck is always excellent. Sernik (cheesecake) is an outstanding dessert. Most importantly, the waiters are genuinely friendly and welcoming. Just go!
This was an ideal place for our group's last night in Poland - quality food and interesting surroundings all rounded off with a Mad Dog vodka! A memorably evening in Krakow
In first days of August I was walking around Kazimierz to see the district and find a place where to dink something. I've found Starka restaurant by chance, and I've immediately loved the atmosphere there. It was so nice and relaxing that I went there for all my dinners.
What to say about the home made flauvored vodka? No word it must be tasted :-) Really a nice place and nice staff and I've enjoyed the conversation with the two guys there...unfortunately I don't know their name ( so stupid I've not asled them )but they made more pleasent to spend time in Starka. Hope to return soon in the wonderful Krakow and spend another night at Starka.
We found this restaurant through this site, and decided to visit. It was well worth it! Not only did we have a super meal, with very warm and friendly service, but we also discovered a side of Kazimierz that we had not seen before. The street the restaurant is on has lots of interesting shops and bars to have a look around. Galleries too. We loved Starka and we recommend it to all your readers. Joanna and Keith.
We went to Starka twice - beautiful setting, warm and very friendly service, the food is of very high quality, and the prices,,, to call them fair would be an understatement. In a word - FANTASTYCZNY. Thank you!
Went with friends on the last Saturay in Feb, was rather dissapointed, Starter of Mushrooms and toast overpriced , we also sent back the apple pie, we had heard so many good thing asbout Starka maybe just a bad night
I went there for a pre Christmas Eve dinner and loved it. I had a superb mushroom soup and a fish for a second dish. Both were outstanding. Also the atmosphere was beautiful - relaxed yet the service was very professional and friendly. I also tried some flavoured home made vodka
( nalewka) and that was a killer too:)
... and this place is designed by one of the most famous wroclavian architector, Mr Andrew Pospiech.
I love this place! I've been there couple of times and I enjoyed it every time! The food was great and the staff very friendly and helpful. You can tell that people who work there are passionate about it. It's more than just a restaurant. Will come back for sure!
Excellent food and very helpful service. Try the delicious duck if you can, and the mushroom soup. Homely atmospher. Full marks!
On our recent visit to Krakow we ate at Starka twice - we went back a second time because we enjoyed the first meal so much. There is a short menu but everything we tried was excellent. The vodkas are fun too. Very good value for money.
Following previous reviews I ate here (on my own) on Friday night and the staff were welcoming enough and were relatively quick in seeing to me and again reasonably attentive. The food was lovely, sausage to start followed by the rabbit and finished with some apple pie, all of which was perfect in my opinion. I tried the raspberry vodak too and that was pretty good as well. I would recommend a visit.
I went to Starka in April, with my wife. I would reccomend this restaurant to anybody who visits Krakow. The food was excellent at a very reasonable price, so much so that we returned a couple of nights later. The vodkas are fantastic, many different flavours. The host, Joanna, greeted and served us, with a friendly smile, nothing was too much trouble. In fact, one of the dishes, chicken with mashed potato was excellent. I have since e-mailed her to find the recipe for the gravy so i can do it myself, and within a day i have had a reply, with the full recipe! Brilliant service and after-service. Thank you
Went as a party of 10 and it was no trouble to them at, service with a smile throughout. I went for the 2 course lunch and although not huge it was certainly enough and absolutely no complaints at 18zloty. We all ordered different things but everything thing came out at once. The home made coconut and almond cake with baileys and coffee filling was beautiful. I have no hesitation in recommending this place and the food.
Excellent food. The duck was delicious, and everyone in our group had good sized portions. Service was 'relaxed' shall I say - not overly slow or anything, but 'in good time' and actually I liked this as the whole meal did not feel rushed. Happy to recommend.
Good food, worth the wait (not busy but we waited longer than expected for starters). Pork Sirloin was excellent for both of us although they did not have any dumplings? Sampled 4 different vodkas each, 1 of which was on the house, all very good. Very reasonably priced for 2 starters, 2 mains, 1 bottle of good white wine and 6 vodkas all for just under 200 Zloty. Would recommend to anyone to try and we would visit again
Dear Steve,
Yes, we're reading all co mments! Thank you for visiting STARKA and we invite you again for our home made vodka. If it isn't possible please contact me at joanna@starka-restauracja.pl, and Gabriel(he makes all vodkas) and I will send you a bottle for sure. All the best!
--Joanna
P.S. - thank you for the idea about selling the vodka bottled. I'm sure I can set a more reasonable price for the future :)
Like many other reviews on this page I couldn't really fault anything about Starka. Over two nights we tried 4 different main courses, a starter and a soup - everything cooked perfectly and nothing left - a real credit to the chef. We liked the Honey and Thyme flavour vodka the best, but the others are all good too :) I just couldn't understand how quiet the place was, when it's this good.
Only shame is they only offer the vodka in 1 litre bottles (at 200zlotty each!) to buy to take home. Owners: If you read this, make up a more sensibly priced selection box so we can remember the good times!
It's fancy, but not chique (so do not feel hesitant to enter). The food is well presented and tastes very good. Overall the price is surprisingly low for this quality. You can get a lot worse for this money in Cracow!
The restaurant not hard to find. So it surprised me that we were the only people in the restaurant (Thursday night).
For your main course, I can recommend the pork tenderloin. For desert, the apple pie.
we went on may twice, and we were impressed for the good food, reasonable price, charming atmosphere and very friendly staff
Stumbled across this wee bar. Fantastic vodkas - raspberry was my fav. Great beetroot soup and dumplings which I am still savouring the taste off. Very good and perfect for a winter afternoon of nibbles and nice drinks.
We went to Starka on the last night of our short break in Krakow. We had checked the menu on an earlier stroll through Kazimierz and returned to try the food - the restaurant was convenient for a concert we were attending. The food was excellent - the best of the restaurants we had tried during our holiday. The staff were professional, friendly and knowledgeable. The food was imaginatively presented, and the price was very reasonable. Only sorry we didn't have time to return for a second meal - or to try that impressive range of vodkas. We will definitely pay a return visit when we next travel to Krakow.
I went to Starka on the last night of my visit to Krakow based on the recommedations found on this website. I wasn't diasappointed. Lovely food, big portions, great staff. The place had a relaxed atmosphere and the staff were really friendly and welcoming. Oh, and the vodka was excellent! Really glad we went, and will definitely go back again if we return to Krakow.
Bumped into this restaurant purely by luck. We couldn't stay long as we had to catch our flight back to the UK.
Tremendous interior and well presented and cooked food at a reasonable price. Will be back for the full experience later this year.
Fell across this gem by accident and returned another night it was so good. Quiet intimate environment with pleasent and engaging staff. The food was lovely, well presented and good portion size at a reasonable price. We were not hurried between courses but attended to at reasonable time intervals. Well worth a visit.
We went in here by chance as it was a Saturday night and we hadn't booked anywhere so a lot of places were quite full. Starka is situated just round the corner from the courtyard where some of Schindler's List was filmed in the Jewish quarter. The restaurant was virtually empty with only one other couple having a meal which was surprising as the decor and atmosphere were great for a couple looking for good food. We had some fantastic vodka cocktails and ordered a selection of starters as we weren't enormously hungry. All in all the food was great though, presented well and sizeable portions, very tasty and left us feeling sad that more people hadn't spotted this as a good place to eat.
Add a widget for Starka Restaurant to your website and get more reviews!
