Michelin has published its first-ever restaurant guide covering the whole of Poland, highlighting the country’s impressive culinary scene.
The new, expanded guide adds 92 new restaurants to those previously recognised in Poland, including four newly awarded a coveted Michelin star. Meanwhile, Bottiglieria 1881 in the city of Krakow retains its position as the country’s only restaurant to have two stars, an honour it first received in 2023.
Until this year, Michelin’s guide for Poland included only Warsaw, Krakow, Poznan, the Pomorskie region (around the city of Gdansk) and Wroclaw (which was added last year). Its latest version, however, covers the country as a whole, including both urban and rural areas.
Michelin now recognises a total of 196 restaurants in Poland. The number with at least one star has risen from seven to 11.
Among the newly starred establishments is Steampunk, located in a converted former water tower in Pszczyna, a town of 26,000 in southern Poland.
Michelin describes entering the restaurant – with decor, as the name suggests, inspired by steampunk culture – as like “stepping into another world”. The food, by chef Ziemowit Owczarz, formerly of Bottiglieria 1881, is “a fantastic example of modern Polish food”, including beef rib and mushroom pierogi in a sauerkraut broth.
Other restaurants with newly awarded stars include Alon Omakase in Warsaw – Poland’s first Japanese Michelin-starred restaurant – and Baba in Wroclaw, which has been upgraded from the “Bib Gourmand” category, which recognises more affordable high-quality dining.
New Bib Gourmand restaurants this year include Kwestia Czasu/NAGO in the northeastern city of Bialystok, which draws inspiration from the nearby forests of the Podlasie region, and Piernicova in Torun, whose name is a reference to the city’s famous gingerbread – piernik in Polish.
However, the star of the show remains Bottiglieria 1881, with Michelin saying that its inspectors continue to be “impressed by the level of refinement and creativity found in the chefs’ boldly flavoured and highly original reinventions of classic Polish cuisine, confirming the restaurant’s two stars for another year”.
Under Michelin’s system, the highest rating of three stars is for restaurants “worth a special journey”. Only 157 establishments worldwide currently hold such a distinction. Two stars are awarded to restaurants “worth a detour” and one to those “worth a stop”.
The guide also offers a green star for establishments committed to sustainable gastronomy. The only restaurant in Poland to hold that award remains Eliksir in Gdansk, which sources ingredients from local producers and recycles leftover ingredients into other dishes and drinks.
Michelin this year also gave a special service award to Babinicz in Szczawno-Zdroj, a small town of around 5,000 people in western Poland. Staff at the restaurant “stood out for their natural warmth and charm, describing dishes with easy-going confidence and real enthusiasm”, noted the inspectors. (Notes from Poland)