Restaurant Pod Baranem

Sometimes it can be difficult trying to recommend a Polish restaurant that serves good food but doesn't feel like a museum. Pod Baranem may have some old-fashioned touches here and there but it still feels fresh and relaxed, and unlike some other restaurants, you will actually find Poles eating here - a sure sign that Pod Baranem has got it right. Start with the excellent herring - served either with cream or 'po krakowsku' (in the Cracovian style). Then move on to Duck cooked in the Old Polish way. Fish devotees will be pleased to know that the family who run this restaurant have their own smokerie, and there's a fine selection of Neptune's catch on offer. You may also find a gentleman tinkling the ivories if you come during the evening.

Well executed Polish cuisine.

Good attention is shown to creating and ensuring soups and sauces pack a great depth of flavour.

The sort of place that positively encourages you to return to ensure you've sampled all the delights available on the comprehensive menu.

Recommended.

Everything I read in the reviews online is true, this restaurant is exceptional! I've never even contemplated writing an online review previously, however after my serendipitous experience tonight I've rushed back to my Hotel room to write this. Everything from the superb meal to the first-rate service made for a memorable evening, and the perfectly tempered room with a fireplace and relaxing music worked to create a perfect ambience.

I ordered the creamy Herring with onion for starters....absolutely outstanding with the quality leagues ahead of other restaurants I've dined at over the past week. For mains I settled on the Fillet steak Chateaubriand with a side of potatoes and summer salad. I pleasantly found the meat cooked exactly as ordered (medium), juicy and full of flavour with the sauce - just divine. The vegetables and salad were also delicious without being pretentious.
Topping this off with dessert was a task however I soon discovered the slice of Black Forest cake garnished with fresh cream and blueberries(?) was not the usual 'two bites and I'm full' over-rich cake experience. Instead, the cake was reasonably light however moist and tasty enough to elegantly finish off the meal.

All in all I must say, this is definitely one of the best dining experiences I can recall and Pod Baranem is well deserving of any accolades. I will be back for more. Well done!

I have to agree with Kopel. It was because of his review that I chose to eat here. As a coeliac, eating out when travelling can be problematic. To be greeted with a separate gluten-free menu instils immediate confidence in the restaurant's ability to understand your needs.
My husband (who is not a coeliac) and I ate here recently & were very impressed with the food. Our wild boar & venison were cooked to perfection. I was even able to have cheesecake for dessert!
I would certainly recommend this restaurant to anyone (not just coeliacs) who wish to experience excellent Polish cooking.
Annette (Australia) 8.10.2010

i was really hoping to like this place. the idea of a gluten free restaurant in krakow was music to my ears!! i have a pretty bad problem with gluten and the thought of worry free polish dining really appealed. unfortunately, as with pretty much every restaurant i've tried in krakow i was not impressed. the food was below average and the portions were tiny. the prices are ridiculous for what you get. the service was basic. there only seems to be one sauce which is simply given a different name for each dish. so my golabki came in a mushroom sauce which was exactly the same as the forest sauce which came with the venison. i have had better food and better service in most small town bar mleczny and usually the staff there can alter dishes to make them gluten free. i've had it with krakow's restaurant rip offs.

This is an outstanding restaurant offering perhaps the best traditional Polish dishes I have ever tasted. Quality ingredients and a very talented kitchen staff made dishes I'd known from being a child a complete revelation. The friendly and very helpful (bilingual +) waiters were brilliant. Although quite formal, just a bit of Polish will be enough to crack a smile open from them.

The real cherry on the top of the experience was an entire gluten-free menu, offering gluten-free alternatives of many of the main menu items. My wife is a coeliac sufferer, often dreading visits to unknown restaurants. She loved it so much, we went every night for 5 days! The decider for her was when, on our second visit, she was brought gluten-free bread with no prompting from either of us. She is convinced this is the best gluten-free restaurant in Europe, bar none.

None of our 3-course meals, with generous amounts of beer and wine, cost more than GBP40. For that quality and service - that's a bargain! There much the rest of Europe could learn from Krakow restaurants, and Pod Baranem in particular.

I stayed in Krakow for the weekend 13th to 16th November. Visited this restaurant on the saturday. It was the best meal of the whole weekend! Would highly recommend this restaurant. The service was exellent. The food was delicious. Fillet steak barbican style (fillet steak, peppercorn and conyac sauce, with two strips of bacon wrapped around the sides) was brilliant, chicken fillet in herb sauce, delicious! The waiter was great!! Fantastic service to match the food. Also great value for money! Made a great day in Krakow even better.

Would suggest this restaurant to anyone visiting Krakow.

Check out the website!!!

We visited this restaurant based on previous reviews and were not disappointed. In fact, it was wonderful! Great food (wild boar is divine) and great service. You may need to book (we arrived unannounced on a Sunday and were lucky to be accomodated). This place is definately on our list for our next visit.

What a find. Just go here and have one of the best meals you will ever have.

Wow! What a find. I'm going to cancel tomorrow night's reservation (my last night in town) and eat here again. Wonderful selection of wild game (not the farm-raised "wild" game you find in the States), attentive service, comfy country atmosphere and great prices. This was a wonderful find and I highly recommend that you stroll a bit out of the central square area and give this excellent restaurant a try.

Came upon this restaurant by chance and what a great find. We had been recommended an other restaurant which had a Michelin recommended status but it was not a patch on the POD BARANEM. What a fabulous standard of meat , beautifully cooked reasonably priced and great service.

We had an excdellent lunch here, great food, friendly and helpful service and all very reasonably priced.

My wife and I came here for our 35th. wedding anniversary.
We were not disappointed.
Interesting, Polish olde world decor.
Complimentary starter of pork lard infused with onion,garlic, croutons and? and? - brilliant.
Wild mushroom soup in bread - brilliant.
Herring in cream sauce, which turned out to be herring with a creamy coleslaw - very nice.
Veal in mushroom sauce - absolutely brilliant!
Fried pork chop - brilliant.
The above two were served with fried cabbage and sauteed potatoes - excellent!
We had Cava which was reasonable at 79Zl and were asked if we were celebrating something and we told them of our wedding anniversary and received two fabulous gateaux desserts with a candle on each, complimentary - beautiful!!
Service impeccable.

A short walk from the centre but well worth it.Good service, excellent wine/drinks list & most of all very good food (Especially the chateau briand!)

Fab restaraunt! Not far from our hotel either so ideally situated. The food was excellent & the waiter was efficient without being overbearing or intrusive and spoke incredible english. One of the best meals we had in Krakow.

After trying several "traditional" Polish restaurants, Pod Baranem was by far the best - the best barscz, amazing fish and great piernik for dessert. In the early evening on a weekday it was nearly empty, and the service was by far the best I've had in Poland.

WOW I have just returned from Krakow after spending 4 days there.I had visited this site before going and fancied Pod Baranem so I went on my first night in Krakow and ended up going there 3 nights out of 4.The food is just delectable, superb, great, fantastic, wonderful, tasty, gorgeous, appetizing, brilliant have I left any out???? If you are going to Krakow you must visit Ocwiecim, wawel castle and Pod Baranem.The waiters are helpful, charming, smart in appearance, speak some English- just everything you would want and a lot lot more than you would expect. My praise cannot be high enough for this superb place to eat, I will be visiting Krakow again and yes this restaurant will be top of my list of places to visit. Many thanks to all who work there.

This is one of my favorite restaurants in Krakow! It's a little upscale, but pretty affordable for Westerners. The sledz appetizer (Krakow style) is the best in town (try with a Zubrowka wodka aperatif). I also really enjoy the duck. I find the service exceptional and the food here great.