KRAKOW — Bottiglieria 1881, tucked in an unassuming spot near Bocheńska Street in Kraków, has earned its second Michelin star. It is a historic recognition for Polish gastronomy: the restaurant is the first in Poland to have achieved this honor.
“All of our seats are reserved a month in advance, but the food we serve is not for a select few, but for anyone who wants to embark on a culinary adventure”, Przemysław Klima, the head chef and co-owner of Bottiglieria 1181, told Gazeta Wyborcza when the restaurant received its first Michelin star in 2020, just 10 months after he took over. “We serve some guests as often as once a week, and others come once every six months. There are no hard or fast rules, but under no circumstances is our restaurant only for special occasions. Every day is an occasion to eat something special.”
Three years ago, Bottiglieria 1881 reached the Olympus of Polish restaurants recognized in the Michelin Guide. Before Bottiglieria, only two Polish restaurants, both of them in Warsaw, had been awarded a star: Atelier Amaro, and Senses. Today, Przemysław Klima’s gastronomical team is forging new paths and can boast its status as the first restaurant in Poland to achieve something even higher.
The 2023 edition of the Michelin guide included a record 49 Polish restaurants — 22 of them which had not been included before. Of these, 18 are found in Kraków, and one of them, in the southern village of Kościelisko.
Point of pride
“Botti”, as the restaurant’s faithful patrons call it, is not the only bragging point of Kraków’s culinary scene. MOLAM – a Thai restaurant near Dolne Młyny has been included on the Bib Gourmand list as one of six places in Poland newly noticed by the publishers of the Michelin guide.
Other spots that made the list include Fromażeria i Tu in Poznań, as well as Koneser Grill, Le Braci, Kieliszki na Próżnej, and alewino in Warsaw. We recommend two other top restaurants for patrons looking to explore the country’s culinary scene: Nuta Restaurant in Warsaw, and MUGA in Poznań, each of which has received its own Michelin star.
What’s the hype?
Wojciech Nowicki, who visited the restaurant after it received the honor, noted the beauty of the presentation. “The precision of preparation and decoration is extraordinary, from the first appetizer, tartlets with eel, radish and herbs, cookies with an extremely delicate and green mousse-cream, after which the eel taste stays in the mouth for a long time. something beautiful,” he said.
There are two tasting menus.
There is also the local bread served warm and light, butter with smoked salt, or Mangalica lard with paprika. “Tt’s a shame to admit, we threw ourselves on lard without restraint,” Nowicki quipped. “It’s the taste of Hungarian sausage with a fluffy lightness.”
The menu “Botti” offers is short and carefully curated. Today, there are only two available tasting menus – the full experience (PLN 590, 132 euro) and somewhat lighter costing PLN 40 (9 euros) less. In both cases, guests are served black pudding, cherries and tomatoes, bread with fresh country butter, beef and caviar, dumplings, fish with peas, venison, white poppy seeds, sorrel and a dish enigmatically called “childhood memory”.
The full tasting menu is extended with smoked fish, called “gold of the forest” and candies. The dishes can be accompanied by a basic selection of wines (up to PLN 390, or 87 euro) or a prestigious version, for which you have to pay less than PLN 600 (about 130 euro).
