Butcher Grill — Restaurant in Krakow

Meat Sweats and Miracles, A Friday Night at The Butcher Grill

We walked into The Butcher Grill on a Friday night with no reservation, fully expecting to be turned away like peasants at the gates of a carnivorous kingdom. Instead, we were seated immediately, either a stroke of luck or they sensed we were the kind of people who tip well and talk loudly about food.

Started with non-alcoholic beers that were so convincing I briefly forgot I wasn’t drinking the real thing. If sobriety always tasted like this, I’d consider it more often.

The prawns with chimichurri and mango were a tropical love affair, sweet, spicy, and the reason I’ll never look at a shrimp cocktail the same way again.

The Polish beef tartare was fresh and delicious, though it flirted with greatness without fully committing. It had pickles, yes, but the acidity was playing hard to get. A few more pickled mushrooms and we’d be writing sonnets about it.

Service? Spot on. Friendly, knowledgeable, and professional, like if your favorite bartender went to finishing school.

Now, the Heart Attack Burger. It didn’t kill me, but it did try. Tasty, juicy, and unapologetically indulgent. Only gripe, the bun was a bit of a bread bully. Less bun, more fun, please. Fries with sriracha mayo were homemade and hit the spot, crispy, spicy, and probably illegal in some countries.

Maczanka po krakowsku was the rebel of the group, but after sampling two more maczankas in Kraków, I’ve had to revise my judgment. Compared to the juicy, balanced versions I had back at other places, this one was too dry and too salty, more punk rock than classic Kraków, but missing the soul. No jus to dip in, and it felt like it needed a little more love, and moisture.

We wrapped it all up with a lavender panna cotta and espresso, delicate, fragrant, and just the right amount of fancy to make us feel like we had our lives together. Dessert and caffeine, the holy combo.

I’d definitely come back to try their steaks, those beauties were parading past our table like runway models. And maybe the pastrami too, although coming from New York, that might be a mistake, or a pleasant surprise. Either way, I’m willing to risk it.

Wife left with full-blown meat sweats, which in this context is a badge of honor. We came, we ate, we...

My new place for steaks in Krakow. The menu offers a huge range of options, the difficult part is deciding what to choose. I went for a dry-aged Polish rib-eye, you pay per 100g and are given an option of which size to choose (I went for a 300g steak). It was cooked exactly as I wanted it to be, perfectly tender and no overly chewy pieces. The demi-glace sauce was the perfect accompaniment, even for the chips I also ordered. There are potato sliced with cheese/herbs as a side which look great and they are on my radar for my next visit. My wife ordered a chicken burger, and the staff accommodated her menu changes to not include any mayonnaise on the burger without an issue. She also really enjoyed it and I would too, but the beef, steaks and ribs look too good to pass up for me (although I'm glad they include items on the menu for people who don't eat beef and pork). They serve their own beer which is surprisingly well priced for somewhere so close to the market square, considering you might be charged even more for a glass of Tyskie or Zywiec in other places.

The service was to a high standard as well, the staff was very dutiful, and attentive where possible. Our section was busy, and had a table of ~20 sat nearby and only two servers. Despite that, we didn't have too long waiting times, the staff were clearly checking on us, and doing what they possibly could with the circumstances. Certainly there were no problems, and we were treated well, even to the point where I could see the staff supporting each other when one was busy with another table.

On the whole, my first visit here was overwhelmingly positive and I expect to come back regularly afterwards. If you are a tourist to Krakow looking for a nice steak experience, I'd say you can give this place a decent try. It's close to the Market Square, but the quality and standard are in my opinion above some of the other tourist-targeted places nearby. I feel like the goal here is just to serve good food out of passion, and not gouge people for money by having a...

Unfortunately we decided to leave this place without an order. Firstly, we saw good reviews in Google and came here for some burgers. Inside we saw the steaks which looked amazing, so decided to taste them instead of burgers. The first impression was cool, but then..

It is hard to find a clothes hanger there, so I put my jacket on the back of the chair as other people in this restaurant. Then I sit close to my girlfriend on the same sofa to choose dishes together. Then a waitress asked to put away my jacket to the sofa from the chair, I did this, she left. Another waitress come to us for making an order, I asked for ribeye, she asked for sides, I am first time here and was not prepared that I need to choose sides separately, so I said no sides. In result received a reaction of surprise and contempt (it seemed to me), little bit confused decided to order some sauces, but the waitress was not able to help me choosing a sauce, so I asked her for two more minutes to read menu on my own and take the decision for the sides. She said ok and asked me to move my jacket to the clothes hanger and change the sit from the sofa to the chair in front of the table as they expect other people on the next table and there is no much space. Ok, I took my jacket and was going to move it to the hanger, and right at this moment the guy from reception asked me for the same thing:) So I was asked 3 times to move my jacket from one place to another:) Should I wait for the Summer to return?:) You could show where to put the outwear right after you show the free table.

Unfortunately this story with jacket movement and unpleasant communication with the waitress lead us to decision to choose another place. It's a pity, because the food looked very tasty.

P.S. I would like to highlight separately that the guy from the reception was polite and even suggested us bigger table, overall he made a...