Bar Mleczny Krakus: A No-Frills, Traditional Polish Milk Bar in Kraków

During my two-plus months in Poland, I’ve been on an absolute milk bar tear. If you’ve read any of my other posts you may know that I’m currently in the midst of my “early-thirties financial capitulation phase,” you know, the one we all go through, right? So, I’ve needed to consciously keep costs down (but without compromising on gourmandizing experiences). 

That’s at least what I tell myself while l despondently stare at my reflection in the mirror while brushing my teeth each morning. I digress.

So, milk bars (aka bar mleczny) have been a godsend for this Big Body to enjoy authentic, homestyle Polish cuisine at an affordable price. And, there’s none better than the legendary Bar Mleczny Krakus over in the Podgórze district of Kraków.   

Here’s why this Kraków milk bar is worth making the trip out of the Old Town and Kazimierz.

He Needs Some Milk! 

Website, Address, & Details:

• Location: Bolesława Limanowskiego 16, 30-534 Kraków

• Price: $ - this is affordable Polish dining and home cooking at its finest. Most dishes are USD 2 to USD 5.

A quick milk bar primer will do us all some good. A Polish milk bar, ubiquitously referred to/labeled as ‘bar mleczny’ across Poland, is a no-frills, canteen or cafeteria serving up traditional Polish staples at an affordable price. They were subsidized by the government during Communist times to ensure that every worker had access to a canteen (many small companies didn’t provide a canteen).

Present-day milk bars are privately owned, however, they are still partially subsidized by the government, which allows them to keep costs down and continue providing affordable food. True to their name, milk bar menus offered up dairy-based dishes (cheese-stuffed pierogi being one of my favorites) and, of course, milk. 

Krakus, presumably named after the beloved 12th-century Polish prince, is a certified Cracovian milk bar, a roughly 30-minute walk from the Old Town and a bustling morning/midday haunt for Podgórze residents. You’ll also find a handful of tourists making their way over from the Jewish Ghetto Memorial, Oskar Schindler’s factory, and Krakus Mound (the last one would be me). 

A near-floor-to-ceiling yellow, black, and green menu towers over patrons, queued patiently, ready to greet the seasoned, stoic milk maven manning the register. There’s an efficiency to milk bars as they often boast sizable lines, meaning you’re never really more than 10 to 15 minutes from a piping hot plate of Polish home cooking.

Are you going to be a little nervous ordering? Definitely. but that’s why you travel - to step outside your comfort zone.

The dining room is simple. White and black tile flooring, wooden tables with steel legs, red and white tablecloths with a single flower centerpiece to add some color, and a scullery window to return dishes. It would be inauthentic if it was anything but. “A hippopotamus would look very curious, flying like a butterfly.” (from one of the greatest films ever - Tubby the Tuba at The Circus).

Pale Ale Travel Note: Don’t worry, there’s an English menu just under the giant yellow menu posted on the wall! I also recommend looking up the menu before you go and learning how to pronounce the dish(es) you want in Polish as this can help guarantee there’s no confusion.  

While I actually had one of the best traditional Polish meals of my two months just several nights before at Goscinna Chata, I felt that they slightly “missed” the cabbage rolls (golabki). While I’m typically a mushroom cream sauce fanatic, there was just something a little bit too tangy to their sauce which distracted from the natural sweetness of the cabbage casing and rich, savory ground meat mix packed inside. 

Krakus was an emphatic cabbage roll redemption. This time, the broth, a light creamy chicken stock, let the seasoned minced meat shine through. I knew there was meat in there this time. Oh boy, did I. The tender cabbage leaves still retained enough integrity to ward off against me ruining yet again another pair of shorts due to food mishaps. 

Just enough sauce to accentuate. Not too much to drown it and lead to the dreaded soggy cabbage roll your sister-in-law brought out from the kitchen one family game night. 

I had gone with plain white rice on my last several milk bar excursions, so opted for boiled potatoes (ziemniaki). Usually, I need something done to my potatoes to get excited about it (ex. Some mashing, shredding, or frying). 

However, these boiled potatoes were seasoned so well and struck a well-timed point between mush and freshly harvested potatoes that, with a little bit of sauce to nestle in their fluffy interior, I couldn’t have asked for a better side. 

Other favorites I recommend are, of course, pierogi, goulash, chicken filet, and schabowy (fried pork chop/schnitzel). When in doubt, just point at whatever plate the veteran milk maven has returned from the kitchen with for another customer and ask for the same. 

Pit a Polish milk bar against any fine dining restaurant over 7 days, and I’ll confidently go out on a limb that I’m walking out of the milk bar exponentially more satisfied (and flush with cash).  

Pale Ale Travel Tip: Make sure to check out my mega-doc with over 100+ restaurants, cafes, and bars in Poland (and it’s free!). 

Make It a Double Krakus Day

Are milk bars the sexiest thing on the planet? Of course not. But are they legendary institutions of heritage that have powered Poland for more than a near century (well…coming up in several decades)? You can bet your bottom dollar złoty.

Finally, I’m sure I’m not the first to coin the term ‘Double Krakus Day’, however, if you make your way over to Bar Mleczny Krakus for traditional Polish cuisine like you read about, consider heading over to Kraków’s oldest man-made structure and prehistoric mound, Krakus Mound, roughly one kilometer (less than a 20-minute walk) to the south/southeast.

It boasts some of the best views of the city and is a nice reprieve from the fish tank full of tourists in the Old Town - especially if you make the 52-foot climb to the top.  

Grab a few waters or piwos (beers) from the nearest Zabka (or snacks if you’re still hungry) and spend an hour or two just laying out on the lush green grass (during summer) and enjoying the day.   

Pale Ale Travel Note: Keep in mind that the term prehistoric isn’t meant to denote that it was constructed during the time of the dinosaurs. Poland’s establishment and written history only go back to the second half of the 10th century, so that’s what the term is simply alluding to. 

If you have any questions about traveling to or eating your way around Poland, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me via email at [email protected]. 

Eat well everyone,

Big Body