What to eat in Zakopane
Smoked cheese off the grill on the street, sauerkraut soup in a warm inn, ribs and knuckle for bigger appetites after the mountain.
- Grilled oscypek
- €6.16, from a kiosk or a restaurant
- Kwaśnica
- €5.71, sauerkraut soup with smoked rib
- Golonka
- €13.46, pork knuckle roasted on cabbage
Podhale has its own cuisine, heavier than the coast and built for a day in the mountains. Grilled oscypek is eaten from a kiosk on Krupówki, kwaśnica in an inn when it is cold outside, and golonka and Janosik's ribs are for an evening when the appetite outgrows the plan. A set lunch is €6.39.
A cheese you recognise by its shape
Oscypek is smoked cheese made from sheep's milk, spindle-shaped with a pressed pattern on the rind, and its name carries a protected geographical status — it is made only in Podhale, and only seasonally, while the sheep are out on pasture. It is grilled until it softens on the outside and served with cranberry, as street food from a kiosk on Krupówki or in a restaurant. A portion is €6.16.
Soup for a cold day
Kwaśnica is a sauerkraut soup, cooked with a smoked rib until the meat starts falling off the bone. It is thick and sour, with potato if you want it, and is ordered after coming back from the trail, once your body is cold. A portion is €5.71.
Golonka and Janosik's ribs: an evening for a bigger appetite
Golonka is a pork knuckle roasted on cabbage, served whole, for €13.46. Janosik's ribs, named after a highland outlaw of Podhale legend, are roasted with cranberry and cost €15.29. Both dishes are shared between two before they are ordered for one.
A lighter option with the same cheese
Shepherd-style chicken is fillets topped with melted oscypek, €12.32, and it is the closest thing to a lighter meal on a menu otherwise built on meat and cabbage. A set lunch is the cheaper choice, €6.39.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
What is oscypek?
Smoked cheese made from sheep's milk with protected geographical status, made seasonally in Podhale. Grilled with cranberry it costs €6.16.
What does lunch cost in Zakopane?
A set lunch is €6.39.
What to eat after hiking?
Kwaśnica, a sauerkraut soup with smoked rib, €5.71.
Ready for Zakopane?
Where to next
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→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
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