Editor Pick
A Great Value and Superb Place to Try Local Food
- March 23, 2009
- Rated 5 of 5 by
dangaroo from Warsaw, Poland
Od Zmierzchu Do Switu was one of the first restaurants I ever visited in Krakow a few years ago, travelling without any guidebooks or reading up on anywhere has as many flaws as it does delightful discoveries.
On arrival after a long train journey, I found myself pretty hungry and Od Zmierzchu Do Switu was the unpronouncable and infact unnamed restaurant being recommended from person to person. I'm glad to report that little has changed, other than the increased amount of tourism heading to Krakow has occasionally increased the numbers of foreign visitors to this small, packed (particularly around lunch times) and old school little restaurant. Food is outstandingly cheap, starting off at about 7zl with huge meals costing double that.
The portions are generous and the menu covers the staples of Polish cuisine, just about anyone you will talk to will recommend trying the Zurek (a soup made of sour rye flour with sausage or bacon and in this case an egg in it) and the recommendations are well deserved. This is without doubt the tastiest Zurek, I have ever eaten and I would be extremely happy to get my hands on their exact recipe. While the large portion of soup is enough for most people, considering the prices and the fact you've probably either done a lot of walking or are eating off a hangover, you might as well splash out - try some of their tasty pork chops. The bigos here is also good but I'd give it a wide-berth if you're planning on eating the zurek as the rich combinations of cabbage, egg, sausage and rye will not please your dorm buddies or partner.
This place (which incidentally translates to "From Dusk Till Dawn") is open late but doesn't really seem to keep any standard opening hours. They do as they please and considering that it's quite busy all day and at times absolutely packed - you can't really blame them. The staff do their best to communicate with foreigners and usually quite succesfully. Beer and vodka is also good value here.
This restaurant can be found in the northern part of Kazimierz, close to the corner of Ul. Swietego Sebastiana and Ul. Berka Joselewicza. It is well worth hunting out.