Lightest spend
The story walk
Tapas and a drink
- Length2 to 2.5 hours
- FoodPolish tapas
- AgeAdults only
Price for your party
The cost of food in Krakow, from a street snack to a tasting menu
Tipsy Polish food walk with pierogi and shots
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A tasting as dinner for your group
Enter the number of diners and compare each tasting as a dinner bill.
- Tipsy food walk2.5 to 3 hours · starting at, per person €33
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View - Full meal tour4 hours · starting at, per person €90
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View - Folk show dinner2.5 to 3 hours · starting at, per person €38
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View - Story walk, tapas2 to 2.5 hours · starting at, per person €6
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From-prices on GetYourGuide, shown at the ECB reference rate. Your exact price is confirmed during booking.
Working out the cost of food in Krakow? Here are the official price examples, what changes the bill, how much is dinner in Krakow at different levels, and how tipping works.
Editorial team, krakowfoodtour.click · Updated November 9, 2026 · Takes 7 min
The essentials
- CurrencyPrices are in zloty: Poland does not use the euro.1
- A mealUndated official examples: PLN 6-30 a course, PLN 15-80 for three.2
- A beerUndated official examples put a half-litre at PLN 5-12; check the menu.3
- PayingCard payment is the norm in cities and at attractions.4
- TippingAbout 10% is common, and some bills include it.5,6
Is it expensive to eat out in Krakow?
Is it expensive to eat out in Krakow? The Polish Tourism Organisation answers plainly that Poland is not an expensive country, and that value for money is one reason many tourists come.7 In practice that means a hearty Polish meal and a beer are an everyday pleasure here rather than a treat you save for the last night.
The same office adds the caveat that matters. In restaurants, it adds, the bill turns on the kind of menu and how upmarket the place is.8 A plate of pierogi in a simple canteen and a tasting menu in a starred dining room are both Krakow food, and they sit at opposite ends of the bill. When you compare prices, compare like with like: a canteen against a canteen, a terrace against a terrace.
The money you spend also depends on where you sit. A terrace on the Main Square sells the view as well as the meal, while a side street a few minutes away often has a shorter menu and a quieter room. Read the menu outside before you sit down, check whether prices are per portion or per weight, and you will rarely meet a surprise when the bill arrives.
Bill by bill
What shapes the cost of a meal in Krakow
| Meal | Official range | What changes it |
|---|---|---|
| A single course | PLN 6-302 | The menu and the venue8 |
| Starter, main and dessert | PLN 15-802 | Where you sit |
| Half-litre of beer | PLN 5-123 | The type of place3 |
| Tip | About 10%5 | Already on some bills6 |
Price examples from the Polish Tourism Organisation; menus show the current figure.2
The official price examples for a meal and a beer
The Polish Tourism Organisation publishes a short, undated list of price examples on its money page. It gives a decent meal at PLN 6-30 for a single course and PLN 15-80 for three courses, and a half-litre of Polish beer at PLN 5-12, depending on the type of place.2,3 The ranges are wide on purpose, because a bowl of soup in a canteen and a plated main in a restaurant both count as a single course.
Treat those ranges as a guide to proportion rather than as today's menu. What they show well is the shape of the bill: a main course costs a fraction of a three-course meal, and a beer costs far less than either. The menu in front of you is always the current price, so read it before you sit down rather than after you order.
Prices on menus are in zloty, the legal tender, and the euro is not the national currency.1 Some places quote euro for convenience, but you pay in zloty, so a card that charges no foreign fee or a little local cash is the cheapest way to settle the bill. If a terminal offers your own currency, say no and pay in zloty to skip its exchange markup.
How much is dinner in Krakow at different levels
How much is dinner in Krakow depends first on the kind of place. At the budget end, canteens and street stalls do the job, and Malopolska's portal singles out Krakow's street food as the way to eat locally for less.11 The zapiekanka from Plac Nowy, a long open sandwich baked with mushrooms and cheese, has fed the city nightlife for decades.10
In the middle, a sit-down Polish dinner of soup, a main and a beer is the classic evening, and it is where the official ranges are most useful.2 At the top, Krakow has a restaurant with two Michelin stars, Bottiglieria 1881, where a table can mean a wait of as long as 90 days.13 Between those ends, the Bib Gourmand list marks places Michelin judges to offer high-quality cooking at a great price.12
A couple of Krakow names on that list are easy to find. Israeli cooking won NOAH its Bib, and Folga, on Estery Street by Plac Nowy, is praised by Michelin for fair prices across a wide menu.14,15 Both are good places to see how a modest bill and a serious kitchen can meet. Book ahead for the evening, since tables at well-reviewed places fill early at weekends.
Spend wisely
Where to put your food budget
Say what you want from your meals and see where the money goes furthest.
If I want to keep every meal cheap
Street food and markets
The regional portal points budget travelers to the street food spots.11
If I want one big Polish dinner
A sit-down Polish restaurant
Three courses run PLN 15-80 in official examples.2
If I want dinner and drinks in one fare
The tipsy food walk
From €37, with the cherry liqueur and shots included.
If Good cooking without a big bill
A Bib Gourmand address
The Bib marks kitchens that cook very well for a modest bill.12
If A once-in-a-trip splurge
The two-star tasting menu
Reserve early; some guests wait up to 90 days.13
Dinner budgets
A snack walk, a tipsy walk or a full meal
Our pick
The tipsy food walk
Bites and shots included
- Length2.5 to 3 hours
- FoodPierogi, bigos
- DrinksLiqueur, shots
Biggest meal
The full meal tour
Dinner with dessert
- Length4 hours
- GroupUp to 8
- TipSkip lunch first
A food tour as dinner: what it costs
A guided tasting can stand in for dinner, and comparing it with a restaurant bill is fair. The tipsy walk this site books runs 2.5 to 3 hours from €37, and the listing names pierogi, zapiekanka, bigos, herring, a pickle and smalec on bread, with a cherry liqueur and Polish shots. That is a tasting of several dishes and several drinks for one fare, which is the sum to hold against a restaurant bill plus a round of drinks.
For €101 and up, a 4-hour tour serves a complete dinner, dessert included. An all-you-can-eat dinner with a folk show outside the city starts from €43. An €7 storytelling walk with tapas and one drink is a nibble, not dinner. Each fare is a starting price; the date and the option decide the final amount in the booking box.
Run your group size through the calculator further up to compare the totals. A tasting is worth it when you value the guide, the drinks and the route decided for you; a restaurant is cheaper when you already know what you want to order. Many travelers do both, a tasting early in the stay and restaurants after it.
A day of eating
Where the money goes from breakfast to the last drink
Morning
Market breakfast
Bread, cheese and fruit from a city market.9
Midday
The big meal
A course runs PLN 6-30 in the official examples.2
Afternoon
A street snack
A zapiekanka on Plac Nowy, a city classic.10
Evening
A tasting or dinner
The tipsy food walk starts from €37.
Late
A beer and the tip
A half-litre is PLN 5-12 in official examples.3
Tipping and service charges
Tipping adds a little to every bill, and the custom is relaxed. Around 10% is customary, according to the Lodz tourism organization, though the exact amount depends on how the service felt to you.5 A rounded-up total is normal for a quick coffee or a snack, and nobody expects a percentage on a zapiekanka bought through a window.
Some restaurants put the tip on the bill themselves. The same source says some add a so-called official tip of 10% automatically, usually stated in the menu.6 Read the last lines of the bill before you add anything, so you do not tip twice by accident. If the line is there and the service was poor, you can ask about it politely.
Guides on food tours are tipped at your discretion too. The fare covers the tour, the food and the drinks named in the listing; a tip is a thank-you for the evening rather than a charge. Small notes make it easy, so ask for some change when you pay for your first coffee of the day. A guide who has spent 3 hours on your group will remember a kind word as well as the money.
Video
What things really cost in Krakow
Scotsman Kevin on YouTube · The video only starts loading on your tap.
Poland is not an expensive country, hence one of the reasons many tourists chose to come here is value for money.
Money checklist
Before you order
Ordering3
- Read the menu before you sit down
- Make lunch your big meal
- Look for a Bib Gourmand address12
Paying by card or cash, and saving money
Cards are widely accepted in Poland, particularly in big towns and at tourist attractions, so most restaurants and bars in Krakow will take yours.4 Market stalls, kiosks and street food counters are where a little cash still helps, along with the tip at the end of a tour. Withdraw cash from a bank machine rather than an exchange booth on the busiest streets, and check the fee the machine shows before you confirm.
The markets are also where food is cheapest. Stary Kleparz, Hala Targowa, Plac na Stawach and the Saturday Parsley Market in Podgorze are where Malopolska's portal sends shoppers for local produce.9,16 Fresh bread, cheese, fruit and a jar of pickles make a picnic that costs a fraction of a restaurant lunch. The Planty park that rings the Old Town has benches for exactly that, and markets are also the best place to see what is in season.
Lunch is the other easy saving. Ask whether a restaurant has a set menu at midday before you order from the full card, eat your big meal then, keep dinner light, and the daily budget falls without giving up the dishes you came to try. Soup is the other quiet bargain: a bowl of zurek or broth with bread is filling, warming and rarely the priciest line on any menu.
A sensible daily food budget
A budget starts with the number of sit-down meals. One restaurant meal a day, a street snack and a beer keep the cost low; a second restaurant meal with drinks pushes it up quickly. Plan the evenings first, since that is where the drinks are, and fit lunch around them. A day with a food tour in it needs no separate dinner, so count the tour as that evening's meal.
Then add the extras. A food tour from €37 covers the tasting and the shots for one evening. Save the starred dinner for a planned treat, and book it months out: waits of up to 90 days are reported for the two-star room.13 Coffee, cake and the odd obwarzanek from a cart fill the gaps, and none of them needs much of a budget line.
Finally, keep a margin for the unexpected round or the second dessert. Krakow is generous with both, and the best evenings are rarely the ones you planned to the last zloty. The official ranges, the menu in the window and the tip customs give you all the numbers you need to set the figure for your own trip.2,5
FAQ
Fast answers to common questions.
Is it expensive to eat out in Krakow?
Not especially.
The Polish Tourism Organisation says Poland is not an expensive country and value for money draws visitors.7
How much is a meal in Krakow?
PLN 6-30 a course, in undated official examples.
The national tourism office gives PLN 15-80 for a three-course meal; check the menu for today's price.2
How much is a beer in Krakow?
PLN 5-12 in undated official examples.
That is for a half-litre of Polish beer, and the price depends on the type of place you drink in.3
Can I pay by card in Krakow restaurants?
Yes, widely.
Cards work widely in big Polish towns; stalls and kiosks are where cash still helps.4
Do I need euros in Krakow?
No, prices are in zloty.
Poland is not part of the euro system, and its legal tender is the zloty.1
How much should I tip?
What does a food tour cost as dinner?
From €37 on our walk.
The tipsy walk includes its food and shots; a 4-hour full meal tour starts from €101.
Sources
- Polish Tourism Organisation (poland.travel) · Money in Poland (notes and coins) ↩
- Polish Tourism Organisation (poland.travel) · Money in Poland (notes and coins) ↩
- Polish Tourism Organisation (poland.travel) · Money in Poland (notes and coins) ↩
- Polish Tourism Organisation (poland.travel) · Money in Poland (notes and coins) ↩
- Lodz Tourism Organization (lodz.travel) · Tips ↩
- Lodz Tourism Organization (lodz.travel) · Tips ↩
- Polish Tourism Organisation (poland.travel) · Money in Poland (notes and coins) ↩
- Polish Tourism Organisation (poland.travel) · Money in Poland (notes and coins) ↩
- VisitMalopolska, tourist portal of the Malopolska Region · Regional cuisine: Taste Your Travels! ↩
- VisitMalopolska, tourist portal of the Malopolska Region · The cuisine of Malopolska: what delicacies to go after? ↩
- VisitMalopolska, tourist portal of the Malopolska Region · Regional cuisine: Taste Your Travels! ↩
- MICHELIN Guide · A New MICHELIN Star is Unveiled in The MICHELIN Guide Poland 2025 ↩
- Polish Tourism Organisation (poland.travel) · Polish restaurants with Michelin star ↩
- MICHELIN Guide · A New MICHELIN Star is Unveiled in The MICHELIN Guide Poland 2025 ↩
- MICHELIN Guide · Folga, Krakow ↩
- VisitMałopolska (Marshal's Office of the Małopolska Region) · Kraków and its surroundings: not only obwarzanek and Kraków-style maczanka ↩