Villa Barbara

Operated by the well-known Chef Beata Śniechowska, this modern bistro is one of those spots where you just know you’re going to have a good time. Closely set tables add to the intimacy and buzz of the atmosphere, while bright and friendly service quickly puts you at ease. The cooking offers reinterpreted versions of classic Polish dishes with brilliant results: the signature 'Our Pierogi' and the well-balanced 'Duck Breast with 5 Polish Flavours' are prime examples. Make sure you enhance the experience by asking the engaging, thoughtful sommelier to match a range of Polish wines to your dishes

Situated on the edge of the Old Town, inside the Hotel Jazz, there’s a stylish, faux-industrial quality to this friendly restaurant. Exposed brickwork and concrete flooring combine with pared-back décor and varnished wooden tables for a classic bistro feel. The cooking has a similar ethos of unfussiness, with a welcome lack of over-elaboration in dishes that combine quality ingredients with precise technique – such as the array of dumplings or scorched herring with baked potato. The wine list’s hidden highlights include local Polish riesling.

The lucky locals have got the perfect neighbourhood spot in this wine bar and bistro, located a little out from the city centre. Its rustic-chic design feels perfectly of the moment, with exposed brickwork and lo-fi furnishings, while the wholesome cooking and interesting wine list are similarly on-trend. Dishes of low-fuss, big-flavour food could include the likes of minced pork cutlet with tarragon or the playful date madeleines with toffee sauce for dessert. The thoughtfully curated, lesser-known wines are the perfect accompaniment.

As enviable locations go, this is certainly up there. The smart brasserie is located inside the impressively domed Centennial Hall and overlooks the Wrocław Multimedia Fountain, where stunning illumination displays take place in the summer. The well-priced menu offers dishes that balance flavours and textures wonderfully, showcasing the technical strength and understanding of the kitchen. Intense mushroom soup with rabbit sausage and smoked sour cream is a prime example. Work up an appetite with a stroll around the nearby park or Japanese gardens.

Away from the city centre, Milo has the relaxed, welcoming feel of a neighbourhood bistro that you could come back to again and again. Run by friendly young owners, it’s a simple little spot with a small on-view kitchen, where the team craft largely traditional dishes such as pork schnitzel or chocolate fondant. An occasional creative streak shines through too, as in the unusual combination of ricotta ravioli and roasted white chocolate.

A former car wash and workshop has been transformed into this welcoming bistro that lives up to the ‘Garden’ part of its name. Promoting a local and seasonal ethos, the chefs utilise home-grown produce, while the sprawling terrace includes an outdoor kitchen and BBQ area. The concise menu is supplemented by blackboard specials, each dish coming with an appealing price tag and extracting bags of flavour from the ingredients. The same team run the Piekarnia bakery next door, which provides bread, cakes and pastries to bookend your meal.

Few restaurants can claim a location quite like Arche Klasztor, which sits within a large red-brick property that has had past lives as a monastery, hospital and school – in fact, one wing is still used as a monastery inhabited by the Franciscan Sisters. History seeps its way into the cooking too, which modernises traditional Polish recipes such as potato pancakes with sour cream. Some of the dishes are even said to be based on the nuns’ original recipes.