Ariel

Ariel is something of an old stalwart in the Kazimierz district, and it has served as a cradle for the Klezmer revival, one of the of the most inspiring artistic phenomenons in today's Poland. Some of the most distinguished groups still play here, including Ira and Klezmer and the Cracow Klezmer Band. Ariel is also a popular choice for an old-fashioned Jewish dinner, with intriguing dishes such as stuffed goose necks (very old skool), and favourites such as Jewish dumplings and Herring in sour cream. You'll find Ariel at the heart of the Jewish district on the evocative Szeroka street, where they have four rooms inside a historic old townhouse. In Summer its a fine place to sit outside.

The most spectacular chicken soup I have ever tasted, no seconds come close.

I went to the Ariel in Aug 2011 and thought it was great! Great surrounding,great food and the trio 'SHOLEM' were brilliant!

It was 3 years ago when we ate at the Ariel and I came back to visit the website to I could send the link to a friend telling her it's an amazing place to eat. I couldnt believe some people rated it so low, so even though it was 3 years ago, I just had to send in a review so people know how good the Ariel really is. We sat in the Garden, the service was first class, the food was amazing, the atmosphere was superb, If you are looking for somewhere to eat that's more than just a restaurant, then dont take my word for it.. Went back for lunch the next day, just before our flight home.

I loved this restaurant. I have NO idea why its got any bad reviews! The staff were very friendly and attentive, even though the restaurant was extremely busy, the food was BEAUTIFUL and the atmosphere was great. Anyone who said the food was overpriced is insane! In my opinion it was very reasonably priced. Loved it.

After getting prompt service for our starter and main course on our visit in late October 2010, it was shocking to wait for upwards of 45 minutes for our dessert and coffee. The staff had promptly turned their attention to a bus party which had just arrived and the girl in charge seemed to be more interested in singing along to the trio that had then started to play traditional Jewish music. A request for our order to be completed was simply ignored!
Overall a big disappointment especially as this was one of the nights we had specifically booked for our trip to Krakow. Given the excellent alternative range of restaurants in Krakow I would recommend avoiding the Ariel.

I had my 41st Birthday Party with friends from Alwernia and had the Pleasure of the Jascha Lieberman Trio whilst eating the finest food in Kazimierz I would Highly recommend this Restaurant as the pinnacle of food in Krakow. 25/10/2009

Terrible. overprice, overcooked food. Anyone who is giving it a 5/5 rating, and thinks it is a "good value" must have not eaten in any other decent restaurants in Krakow. Not worth your time or money.

We visit Cracow 5 years ago had a great fantastic dinner by Ariel. Will go the 25th of March again to Cracow and for sure i can tell you that we will have the 27th of March a dinner by Ariel again,
Best regards and see you the 27th.
Ido Fresco

My wife and I had the most beautyful concert ever. I don`t easily cry, but it came some tears. Jascha Lieberman Trio was fantastic. And the atmosphere in the restaurant was very special. The food was very good, as everywhere in Poland.Service was good, even he was a bit unpatient(to much tot do).
For us it was a evening we will always remember.

Visited as part of a packaged holiday (Rreat Rail.) Found the food good- the carp was very agreeable. The highlight of the evening was the Jascha Lieberman Trio- superb performers. I was a little amused to note that the picture on the wall behind them was a copy of Constable's "The Hay Wain." Is this to make us Brits feel at home? The service was unhurried and courteous

"We arrived in Kazimiersz, looking for an authentic Jewish Restaurant, with an authentic setting, a great meal & Klezmer Music!”

We found this eventually in Ariel. The evening spent here was quite nice. The place although very kitsch, had a delightful atmosphere; the staff was friendly yet eager to please, helpful and very quick! (This isn’t the only place this happens; this seems to be customary wherever we ate!)
The Klezmer concert we had during dinner was entertaining, as were the celebrities singing and playing in it! It is something one must have experienced while in Krakow. However there are two downsides to the evening, other guests do not care about their fellow guests who wish to listen to the music, they continue to talk boisterously! Secondly, the waitress when asked for a red wine (7zlt.), does not ask what type and assumes you mean the kosher wine (17zlt.) What a shock when you get the bill, especially when the glass of wine isn't big.

I just came back from my third visit to Poland. I ate at Ariel. The food isn't that good, but it is traditional jewish foods and i'm not jewish so i don't know how it is supposed to taste.
BUT
Jascha Lieberman Trio is awesome. I'm 18 and not that into classical music but these guys are incredible. It's worth eating there simple to hear them play. I've got their CD and i listen to it every single day.
Jascha Lieberman was even invited by steven spielberg himself to play at at concert for the surviving jews of schindler's list.
Hate the food, love the music.

I have dined five times at Ariel mainly for the wonderful concerts, food has always been ok. However on 10th January 2009 I visited Krakow with friends eager for them to experience an unforgetable concert at Ariel, but to my horror it was the worst evening I have ever had. The food was terrible and the concert was appalling. I was so disappointed and so upset for my guests. I will never visit Ariel again.

This restaurant is a ripp-off!
Food is all right but not excellent, but when paying the bill, it comes together: the credit card is automaticcally charged in euro's with an extraordinary fixed (!)valuta-rate. In our stay in Poland, this was the one and only time this happened to us. Go somewhere else, there you can really enjoy the Polish hospitality and honesty.

We dined at the Ariel on the 18th Oct and although the food was OK it is overpriced. On a table next to us a diner had problems with her credit card not being recognised - tact was not the waiter's strong suite and he did not spare her embarassment. So what if Stephen Speilberg ate there, he's a film director not a food critic.

Visiting Ariel was such a nice experience. The food was very good, services perfect. But we did not understand the bill, -and found the meal more expencive than expected. There were a lot of people that evening, so we could only enjoy the paintings close to us. BUT the music from Jascha's Trio was impressive. I bought their CD (too expencive...) and I play it over and over again. Me, who never ever have enjoyed classic music(even though I've played in brass band for years!!). This music...-since words are of no use here I can only say... -THANKS.

best meals we had in 10 days,(plural as we came back the following day.Recomended by a friend who stumbled on it accidently,good service sat in garden.Little expensive but worth it

if I had read these reviews before visiting, we would probably have avoided it, but in fact it was one of the most memorable evenings of our week in Krakow. We had lunch there - the soup and dumplings were excellent, and we were told there was a concert that evening, and there was a charge. We booked and had a lovely meal; Irena enjoyed the carp, yes there were a few bones but the fish was good; I had the pork which was excellent. The sweets were excellent too. The service was prompt and helpful. The Jascha Lieberman Trio were fantastic - we really didn't expect the concert to be of such high quality; poignant emotive music from three classically trained and highly gifted musicians.
The restaurant did seem to be half filled with a party of about 16 people, with their Polish guide, who seemed to be on a set menu, and all got up and left immediately the music was over. Made me wonder if that was why there have been such a lot very different experiences of the restaurant.
And we liked the quirky decor, dimly lit like everywhere else in Kracow.

Only bad restaurant I went to in Krakow. It was the worst food (& wine) and the most expensive of our four days. All six of our group had different dishes and were unimpressed and had that "just been robbed" feeling when we left. Stay away from the carp...there is an anagram of the same word which describes it very well...

The evening I spent at Ariel is among the most memorable of my life! The place was atmospheric and welcoming, staff respectful and helpful and the food was fantastic.The music from the Jascha Lieberman Trio was world class and a such a privledge to experience & witness. It is written on my heart forever.

The evening I spent at Ariel is among the most memorable of my life! The palce was atmospheric, stafff respectful and helpful and the food was fantastic.The music from the Jascha Lieberman Trio was world class and a such a privledge to experience & witness. It is written on my herat forever.

Overcooked poor quality expensive food in the gloomiest diningroom we,ve ever experienced.Several portraits of Hebrew scholars - all of them male -hanging on the walls were our only dining companions.sack the chef and the decarator and enrol the waitress in Charm school

May 08, visited the Ariel with friends for the concert and the food. Both were excellent! The rooms were very tight, but we all found space and had great service and the Jascha Lieberman Trio was just too wonderful!

I dined here with two friend in May 2008. The food was uninspiring. The waiter attempted to steer us to higher priced selections whenever possible. THe music was very enjoyable but there was an undisclosed fee per patron for it which showed up on our bill. As well we were charged for items not delivered, and were offered items without being told there would be an extra charge for them. This is definitely a "tourist trap" which I would avoid in future.

Me and my wife dined here in may08. It was late evening and we were welcomed by a wery friendly waiter (David) He made our evening perfect. He let us try a lot of different wines to be sure of our satisfaction.Helpfull,serviceminded and friendly:-) The food was delicious. A big plus for the waiters availability.Many places they seem to ignore you a bit, but not here.A great place.

Very good food, and a very good and happy atmosphere. If you visit Krakow you should try this place. With live jewish music

We ate there Late June and had a wonderful meal. We loved the atmosphere in the courtyard, and our meal was quite good, though admittedly a little pricey for Krakow. The Berdytchov soup (beef, cinnamon, and honey) was INCREDIBLE - try it!

I sat in the garden on a nice day (even though it rained a bit but luckily we were under a roof) and had a reasonably priced meal, about 90 zloty for two with drinks and desserts. The meat dishes (turkey and chicken) were quite good and the sauces were excellent, the only thing is they don't come with a side, you have to pay extra for one. The szarlotka for dessert was a bit cold, like it was just taken out of the fridge, they really should heat them like at other places, but the shredded apple with nuts and raisins was excellent.

I went to Ariel today with my dad who came into town wanting to try some great jewish food. The atmosphere was nice, the service was pretty good, that not saying much since it was tuesday afternoon, and we were one of the few sitting in the garden. They list specialties on the menu and on the website that really arent that tastey. It seems to me as though they've had the same menu for a long time, and dont work with fresh ingrediants or put new things on the menu. I wouldn't go there again unless they make some changes, all the food was basically very boring and no distinctive flavors, just BLAH.
BORING

Nice atmosphere, good service, good wine and food ok. A bit expensive...

Had a meal there last week and heard mixed reviews. In my honest opinion the best meal I have had in Poland and one of the best ever. Waiters very friendly and good recomendations. Had a carp dish to start,goose in cherries, passover cheese, Kosher wine and the special coffee. Would deffinately visit again and worth a few zloty's more to dine where Speilberg did.

my wife and i had a meal and paid for the entertainment.what a superb night.if we ever visit krakow again we will make a return visit.highly reccommended.

This was the only disappointing meal I had in Cracow. It was also my most expensive. My turkey was overcooked. The evening concert was very nice though.

im 12 and im doing a fake trip to europe and i decided to pic thi resterant so if u guys thats been there tell me truthfully how it taste thanks holla!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Horrible food!!!
The food was so overcooked that I had to check the poor turkey for bones cause I could hardly get my fork trought it, overcooked and dry.Garbage.Same with one of my collegues that ordered the same as myself.None of us ate this.My Boss ordered fish, it was impossible to see or taste what kind of fish this was, and there was not 1 single bite without fishbones. Dessert: Old dry chocolatecake.
Good coffee and beer...But still hungry whan we left. I will advice my clients NOT to go here, EVER!!

My husband and I had a meal at the Ariel one evening whilst staying in Cracow. The music was extremely good and the meal, which was one of the vegetarian options, was also very good. We had a really nice time and would recommend the Ariel.

We booked this via e-mail as we were having a "Jewish day" before going to Auschwitz. The staff helpfully recommended dinner followed by evening jewish concert(8pm) on Sunday. It was nice, very touristy but what do you expect. Service too fast, my husbands plate was cleared before I had finished and the courses arrived in very quick sucession. Tables very cramped.. uncomfortable for a big Dutch man and it was very hot. Nothing they could do about this but I did not feel good and we left at the intermission. You needed to book for the concert (and pay extra which I was not warned about)as we saw people being turned away. If you have more time and more flexibility then there were other "jewish" restaurants which looked good in the area.

The food was acceptable (chicken liver stuffed goose necks) but you had to order vegtables and salad seperately, poor quality, tired or tinned.

On the whole, fitted in with our "jewish" day, touristy. Would not go back and if had more time would perhaps look around for something else but not a bad choice if you do not. Not good value for money and this was the only restaurant that I felt this about.

Excellent. Great value and lovely food. Waiters very helpful. Very varied menu.

Lovely experience. Helpful waiters who gave up handy hints. try the tea with vodka and ginger - wow. Well worth a visit.

Food was excellent, atmosphere great, menu very varied, service good even maybe a bit too helpful!! Lovely experience - well worth a visit!

Waiters switched on and friendly. Big portions of well cooked though rather heavyweight food. Stuffed goose necks are not for the faint-hearted!

Excellent Jewish Food – helpful waiters who took time to explain and recommend the food.
Food reasonable price – wine expensive

Ariel was recommended by a Polish friend so we had to go! Unfortunately we were in a hurry so only tried the Jewish Dumplings - absolutely delicious....just wish we knew the recipe!
Would have been nice to sit in the lovely courtyard as it was sunny, but Ariel was so popular, all the tables outside were taken - i can see why!
Would recommend to all that venture that way.
Finally - thank you to the friendly and efficient staff

Fantastic food. Definately recommend a visit on a Sunday evening when they have music. My evening there was a fantastic end to a fantastic trip

In July, 2004, my wife, son and I dined at Ariel's in Krakow. The food was excellent and likewise the atmosphere and service. I would say to anyone visiting Krakow, put dining at Ariel's on your must-do list.