Best Zapiekanka in Krakow: Plac Nowy’s Legendary Market Hall

Quick answer: The best zapiekanka in Krakow comes from the hatches around the Okraglak, the round market hall in the middle of Plac Nowy in Kazimierz – order at whichever hatch has the shortest queue after midnight, when they’re busiest and freshest.

Zapiekanka – an open-face toasted baguette piled with mushrooms, cheese and whatever else you choose, finished with ketchup – is Krakow’s answer to late-night street food, and Plac Nowy is where it started. For the rest of the neighbourhood, see our Krakow local guide.

A market square with a strange history

Plac Nowy sits in Kazimierz, immediately south of Krakow’s Old Town. Its centrepiece, the Okraglak, is a round market hall built in 1900; from 1927 the city leased it to Krakow’s Jewish community, which used it as a ritual poultry slaughterhouse until the German occupation ended that use. Afterwards it went back to general market trade.

Where the zapiekanka comes from

The hall’s outer hatches now sell zapiekanki almost around the clock, and a flea market of second-hand clothing, books and antiques sets up around the square at weekends, with a produce market on weekday mornings.

What’s around it

Bars, restaurants and an underground bowling alley line the surrounding streets, and the square is fully pedestrianised, about ten to fifteen minutes on foot from the Old Town.