Metropolitan

Metropolitan Overview

One of the most consistently praised establishments of recent times in Krakow, Metropolitan scores equally highly for the quality of its food and for its service. Open since 2000 on Slawkowska Street, barely 50 metres from the Main Market Square, Metropolitan has an easy, international ambience that could be in any European capital, or New York, even.

One of the best things about Metropolitan you may not even notice straightaway: the absence of appearing to try too hard. The décor is uncluttered, with plenty of wood and occasional Art Deco touches, but all in a way that suggests it has always looked like that and simply wants to get on with the job. The menu manages to be both simple and innovative – simple in that there are dishes any cosmopolitan traveller would recognise; innovative in that their ingredients and presentation offer that little bit more than you might ordinarily expect.

Like everything else, Metropolitan’s wine list starts very reasonably indeed, but then heads on up to comfortably accommodate more rarefied palates. Classy cocktails are dispensed with skill and panache, and you can sit at the bar before taking your place to eat. A fixed price brunch buffet with American-style bottomless coffee is available mornings, and from Thursday through Sunday, fresh steamed mussels form part of the dinner menu.

There’s not much more to add, except that the staff is routinely praised for its friendliness and efficiency – as an overview, you could do worse than imagine a high-class brasserie with a particularly fine cocktail bar attached. Popular for breakfast, brunch, lunch, afternoon coffee, or drinks and dinner, there are many Krakow residents as well as visitors who wouldn’t go anywhere else.