Smak Ukraiński Restaurant — Restaurant in Krakow

Our first time at a Ukrainian restaurant. I will do a course by course breakdown of what we had, after my initial thoughts on the establishment. The ‘straunt (short for restaurant) is tidy and cosy, adorned with traditional Ukrainian folk patterns, hosted by waitresses wearing classic Ukrainian attire. There were two drunk boys harassing a baby- not the restaurants fault, I just found it funny if not a little odd… the baby HATED them. The lady who served us (I wish I had got her name) was very kind and warm, talking us through the menu which was rather intimidating at first. STARTER For our starter, we both got bacon wrapped plums. ‘Bacon wrapped plums???!!’ I hear you ask! Yes, bacon wrapped plums. They were delicious! The bacon was crispy, perfectly salty, not too greasy, and the ideal fattiness. This, combined with the fruity sweetness of the plum enwrapped with it, made for a yummy appetiser; despite the curious idea, it really paid off. Ukrainians know how to appetise!

STARTER pt 2 We also got meat dumplings as a starter, deciding to forego a dessert to sample this iconic Eastern European delicacy. They were also very good! They look very bland in this image, and I suppose they are, but the sour cream and vinaigrette they are served with make them really shine. The meat within them is also very nice, perfectly seasoned, with a soft bite- not at all a soggy or greasy mouthfeel, which I feared when ordering.

MAIN I forget what my friend got, so I will have to speak exclusively about mine. My main was not too exciting, but I knew this when I was ordering it. I was honestly just craving fried chicken, so thats what I got. It was bland, but really crispy (in the best way). Nothing special, but good all the same.

WINE This place has an extensive wine list, with a selection of Georgian, ‘New world’, and other wines. I opted for a white wine from Georgia, which was very delicious; translucent, apple heavy, with a tart citrus aftertaste.

Overall, I liked this little restaurant and...

I’m Ukrainian and I’m such disappointed that customer service they provide depends on a waitress mood! We just had visited this place yesterday and I was so happy about service and food that we decided to come for a lunch today and actually were planning to eat there everyday ( it was Sunday a weekend, extremely busy, full of people however the girl who was assisting us was extremely attentive and polite, we were sitting downstairs at the veranda and still she was running up and down checking on us and insuring our stay is wonderful) so what happened next day was totally opposite experience: my sister ordered for me borscht and plate of bread with salo and pickles, tea and after there was no chance for me to order anything else😅this time we were sitting at the entrance , the restaurant was half empty however the waitresses were just continuously ignoring our table ( maybe personal issues) nobody cleaned the table however they were paying attention to others . Until I lost my temper and called one and asked what’s going on, basically she didn’t care, with slightly attitude she mentioned that another waitress supposed to attend us but actually to put any efforts by herself to fix negative vibes she was absolutely not interested Sad how one person can completely destroy any positive experience you had experienced before, shame that staff is not professional enough to show all Ukrainian hospitality and welcoming to the customers But there are many others offering Ukrainian traditional dishes will be happy...

We went there with a large group (26 people) and were led into the basement. It was traditionally decorated and it looked very cozy. Sadly it was hot down there, even in a tshirt, but that probably was just because we were a lot of people in a small room, all moving and talking. We were seperated into three tables and had ordered beforehand since, like mentioned, we were a big group. The server at our desk was really kind and attentive, but the other server didn't seem as nice. But everyone can have a bad day, right? The food was alright, I had the chicken fillets with toast. The chicken wasn't really seasoned and in the menu, there was no mention of the egg in which the toast was soaked in. Luckily I am not allergic, its just that I don't like eggs. The fried potatoes with cumin were really great. I would order them again. While we were eating, the servers were in a corner on their phone... yes I understand they had their break and how I was only able to notice it because of the way I sat at the table, but it did have an impact on the atmosphere. To sum it up, I do think I would go there again, just not with a big group, and I would definitely ask for more clear descriptions of the dishes.

[Sadly I have no photos of this because me and my friends decided to leave our phones at home for our trip to Krakow in order to not be on the phone the...