Cracovia Polish-American Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Westminster

I recently moved to Westminster, and this place was close to me. I thought this would have been an exotic meal for a romantic night, all we got instead was overpriced food and bad service. I saw the negative reviews on yelp and other sites but you can't always assume that's going to be the same experience for you. Wrong! The food isn't worth the money and the attitude from the staff proved to me this place is a joke. Came in and we were sat down and quickly was brought water and menus. I wanted to have a drink but no one asked us anything about other drinks. We ordered the platter for two thinking we could try a little of everything . THAT WAS A MISTAKE . The soups we both got were ice cold! I couldn't touch mine and my partner refused to eat his. Then they brought us a "salad" this slimy piece of iceberg lettuce drenched in dressing and tasted absolutely nasty. Then came the sausage and the cabbage rolls along with some beetroot salad and some perogis. We opted for the cheese perogi and these slimy suckers were cold too! . The sausage was just ok and the cabbage rolls had this weird mushroom-like sauce that tasted just like a cheap jar of sauce you'd get at the store, not what something we'd ever order again. There was some sort of pancake like thing and some sort of polish version of tzatziki sauce. Those items weren't as nasty as everything else on the menu. We both had at least half of our food still on the table but they wanted to offer us dessert(?) We paid the enormous bill and headed straight home, which isn't but a few minutes and we both made a huge run to the bathroom. I felt like I was going to throw up and my partner did throw up . I guess I was lucky only to have diarrhea all while my partner was blessed having expulsion from both orifices . You can only get through things one step at a time and we both absolutely called it an early evening. Super romantic way to end your weekend that you planned in advance. The next day we both felt a lot better but we ended up not really doing much because we still didn't feel great. I don't know why I didn't do my homework before going to this nasty place, when I searched the counties public health inspection reports this place is on the verge of getting shut down! Rat droppings, bug spray and chemicals being stored next to food, hot water not working you name it, its on the counties list of violations. I called the health department and asked a couple questions about how a restaurant could possibly be in business with so many violations. The question the woman on the phone immediately asked me was which restaurant I was asking about, and when I said Cracovi- literally before I finished my sentence she interrupted me to tell me the health department knows all about this place. They visit pretty regularly because the idiots running this restaurant apparently can't figure out they're operating in filth. I felt sick to my stomach listening to her go on about how they keep "barely" passing the inspections, and I won't be the last to call about this place either. SO I will never be returning to this place, and I don't recommend anyone...

We're not familiar with Polish food at all so we asked for recommendation on everything. Food/Taste/Flavor: 4/5 - some dishes didn't quite hit the mark but others were spectacular

Zurek was tongue cuttingly sour but addicting. The first taste was a bit of a shock but you want to come back for more bites

Gulasz was familiar in taste and reminds us more of a curry flavor with the spices. The mashed potatoes and caramelized onions was a great pairing in texture

The Taste of Poland with 3 pierogi (one of each filling), golabki (cabbage roll), krokiet (breaded and fried crepe) with ground pork, link of kielbasa (polish sausage), one pork rib, glass of kompot (fresh fruit juice), and side of beets. The pierogi reminds us of Indian samosas. The cheese and potato was creamy and makes you salivate. The other two were pretty good as well but outshined by the first. We got the cabbage roll with both sauces and it was delicious! The roll itself is juicy with the tomato sauce adding a tartness and the creamy mushroom sauce adds a earthiness and texture. We would recommend the mushroom sauce 100%. The krokiet is fried really well and the skin is so yummy. The inside was similar to the pierogi filling. The sausage is super smokey but has a slight grainy texture. The pork rib wasn't special nor was it fall off the bone. The fruit juice was interesting and made us think of cinnamon and apples. We would recommend the fried cheese and potato pierogi and golabki out of these items we tried. However, it was really fun trying all the flavors and texture on this tasting platter

Ambience: 5/5 - cultural music and good vibes. The decorations are quite dark which was a bit odd since it was so bright outside still

Service: 5/5 - super friendly and willing to chat. Gave us great recommendations and description of the food

Value for price: 2/5 - on the more expensive side but some really delicious food. Great to try but would be hesitant to come...

Each time we have eaten at Cracovia has been a satisfying experience, but when I brought my Dad for Father's Day, it was an exceptional treat. We both ordered from the special price fixed menu, which was a three course dinner with soup or salad, an entree plus sides, and a dessert. My father ordered one of their signature soups, an unusual creamy pickle specialty, and I had a wedge salad. They also brought him a free shot of vodka, which he was surprised to enjoy, not being a vodka drinker. We were told it was crafted by the owner.

The entree was a smörgåsbord of food. There were ribs, pierogi, stuffed cabbage rolls, and placki (potato and onion pan fried pancakes). With the meal I had a refreshing light Polish beer, which had subtly unusual hops notes. The ribs were succulent, although it should be noted that the sauce is quite sweet. The mushroom cream sauce that came with the cabbage roll had an abundance of flavor. I enjoyed the cheese and potato and sauerkraut and mushroom pierogi, although the seasoned ground pork was not quite up to my expectations. Both my dad and I had sauerkraut for a side, along with a beetroot salad for him, and sweet cabbage for me. For dessert there were pinwheel style chiffon cakes. A bit airy, and sweet, but undeniably good.

When I eat out, I ordinarily have leftovers. Most restaurants have such proportions that I can bring home enough for a snack, light meal, or even another full repast. On this occasion I ended up with no such leftovers. The meal proved to be beguiling, and, I instead found myself taking advantage of the gorgeous summer's evening to totter home, as the leftovers had ended up inside...