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GRAND CAFÉ
ICONIC PLACE IN THE CITY OF KRAKOW
The Grand Hotel Café was opened on 12 February 1900, in the golden age of Krakow’s cafés. It soon became legendary and became the most fashionable focal point for artists, professors of the Academy of Fine Arts, writers, poets and numerous Krakow inhabitants who appreciated not only the taste of the specialities served at the Grand Café, but also the exceptionally inspiring atmosphere of the place. Numerous photographs and memorabilia come from this period, The most valuable of which – such as Jacek Malczewski’s caricatures of his friends drawn on café napkins – framed, still adorn the walls of the Grand Café. It was in this iconic Grand Hotel café, at the beginning of the previous century, that eminent Polish artists and representatives of the Young Poland era would meet every day: Jacek Malczewski, Leon Wyczółkowski, Teodor Axentowicz, Jan Stanisławski and Konstanty Laszczka. The Grand Café was also frequented by Kazimierz and Włodzimierz Tetmajer, Lucjan Rydel, Feliks Jasieński or the famous Nobel Prize winners Stefan Żeromski and Władysław Reymont, who stayed in the city for a while.
Based on over 100 years of tradition, at the Grand Hotel café, you can order today, just like the former visitors of the place, the famous Galician cream puff, Krakow’s cheesecake, fruit meringue or rose ice-cream à la Grand. Everything is based on old, original recipes, but served in a new version and composed in a modern way.
Book table GRAND SIGNATURE RESTAURANT
A TRADITION LASTING OVER 120 YEARS
A place hallmarked by famous writers, the Nobel Prize winners, painters, hosting renowned figures from the world of science, culture and art. An eye-witness to many historical events the GRAND SIGNATURE Restaurant is the only place in Krakow that can boast of such a long and rich history.
Opened in the second half of the 19th century, it became famous for its excellent cuisine, appreciated by the aristocracy and landed gentry who visited the hotel in large numbers, as well as Krakow’s intellectual elite. Its lovers included world-famous writers
such as: Henryk Sienkiewicz, Władysław Reymont, Stefan Żeromski or Joseph Conrad.
Today’s Grand Signature cuisine refers to the rich tradition of the place by using old recipes, such as Krakow’s dippy dip , sour soup on rye and oat ferment , or cream puff à la Grand served for over 100 years. However, the Chef does not treat these inspirations too
literally, creating rather modern compositions based on local products and contemporary food trends.
Download Menu GRAND CAFÉ
UNIQUE COFFEE FLAVOUR
The taste of exceptional coffee at the Grand Hotel café was mentioned 120 years ago by the famous Polish Nobel Prize winner Henryk Sienkiewicz, who used to drop in here every morning for – as he wrote – “a coffee with cream famous for its deliciousness”. Perhaps it was here, at the Grand Hotel, that Sienkiewicz created the plots of his literary works, including “Quo vadis” novel, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1905. We will never know, but the unique atmosphere of this place certainly had an impact on the Polish artists like no other place on the map of Krakow and continues to exert such impact to this day. Only here, while sipping a small black coffee, can you admire the bronze busts sculpted by Professor Marian Konieczny of the members of the historic “Cinderella Club” meeting at the Grand Hotel, headed by the Professors Krawczuk, Zieliński and Podraza. The enthusiasts of Krakow, history and art can sit down at the “Professors’ Table”, where Krakow professors gather, as they did 100 years ago, to discuss without any haste, over their morning Grande coffee and cream puff , the world changes taking place so rapidly…
GRAND HOTEL RESTAURANT
“ZAKLĘTE REWIRY” (THE ENCHANTED TERRITORIES) OF YESTERDAY AND TODAY
The Grand Hotel restaurant became a “media hero” in the interwar period thanks to its former waiter Tadeusz Kurtyka, who published under the pen name Henryk Worcell. Based on his own experiences and observations, the author presented the famous restaurant from the 1930s using his “hands-on” experience, in his book “Zaklęte Rewiry”, published in 1936. The book “Zaklęte Rewiry” immediately became a bestseller and was published again and again many times. In 1975, the Grand Hotel restaurant was given again a lot of coverage, this time in an excellent feature film directed by Janusz Majewski under the same title, starring Marek Konrad and Roman Wilhelmi. Times change, but Krakow’s Grand Signature restaurant continues to cultivate old traditions at the same place, at the same time finding its place in today’s reality, as evidenced by the recommendation in the Michelin Guide.
