OK, OK, so not much imagination went into the name of this place or the menu, which is of the pretty standard beer, meat and vegetables variety, and nobody likes a restaurant that forces you to pay for them to look after your coats while your eating but these are small gripes.

Podwale 5, and the sister establishments it has spawned in other large Polish cities, are a fine example of the possibility for simplicity to bring success. The decor and music (some of which was played live) are in the warm, hearty, staropolski style- think log cabin/old stone building crossover with wooden furniture and you're basically there and there is a great atmosphere all around the place as the bustle of the numerous staff mixes with the hum of combined customer voices, naturally getting louder as the night goes on and more bottles of vodka and 1 litre tankards of beer are consumed.

Podwale pride themselves on the beer side of things but the food is definitely worth visiting for, even if its only for the freakish attraction of the massive portions. Whatever you order, the quantity will not disappoint but in particular the 55zl tray of 'all the best meats' is truly a thing to behold. The menu says it serves a minimum of 2 people but if you and a friend can eat all that between you then you deserve an award of some sort- i'd recommend dragging a third party along to help out.

So, thumbs up and don't forget that the Krakow branch (Pod Wawelem behind the Royal Hotel) givews away free beer too!

4 / 5

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