Krakow turns in October. The terraces fold up, the Planty go copper, and every cafe in the city prints the words pumpkin spice on a chalkboard. Most of those drinks come out of the same supplier bottle. This guide is the short list of places where the autumn menu is made in the kitchen: house syrups from roasted pumpkin, hojicha that tastes of roasted tea and not of sugar, matcha whisked from a named grade. Three cafes we recommend without hedging, one more worth the walk, and the restaurants cooking pumpkin, game and truffle until the end of November.
The photos in this guide are the cafes' own, not stock and not Google. Prices are from the menus as published in October 2026.
- Pumpkin spice
- COPPAHouse pumpkin syrup, Krowodrza
- Matcha
- Café BelmontThree grades of Yume, Kazimierz
- Cold morning
- Bruk CafeFrom 8:00 on weekdays, by the station
- On the plate
- Restaurant WeekPumpkin and game until 25 Nov
- Price
- 20 to 27 zlA seasonal drink in an independent cafe
COPPA · the full autumn card
A small specialty bar on Mazowiecka in Krowodrza, run by Kasia and Tomek since August, and the only cafe in the city we know that wrote an entire second menu for the season. The Pumpkin Spice is the headline and earns it: their own syrup from roasted pumpkin and warm spices with a note of orange, on Roastains espresso, creamy without the syrupy finish that ruins the genre. Around it sit an Iced Apple Pie Latte that tastes like baked apple, a Banana Bread Latte built to barista Karola's recipe, and a Dark Chocolate Mocha on a double shot for anyone who wants winter early.
If coffee is not the point, the Oat Cinnamon Hojicha is the drink of the list: roasted Japanese tea, oat milk and warm spice, nutty and calm. The White Vanilla Matcha leans dessert, with house vanilla, tonka and white chocolate. And because this is also a tiramisu bar, the autumn card ends in a steel goblet: plum with crumble, or hazelnut praline. Milk is classic, lactose-free, oat or pea at no extra charge.
Photos: COPPA.
Café Belmont · the matcha
When the question is matcha, the answer in Kazimierz is Belmont, on Berka Joselewicza by the Hala Targowa end of the district. They whisk from Yume Matcha in three grades and will tell you which is which: Asa for every day, mild and clean; Hana, fuller and sweeter; and Hoshi, the ceremonial grade, dense and intense. That choice is rare in Krakow, and it is the reason the cup tastes green and smooth instead of chalky. On a grey October afternoon order the Hoshi as a hot latte and sit by the window. Mornings run on onigiri made in-house: an onigiri and matcha set is 29 zl, with coffee 25 zl. The full specialty coffee list is there too, and the seasonal glass changes with the bar's mood; ask what is new.
Photo: Café Belmont.
Bruk Cafe · the cold-morning answer
Autumn is also the season of early trains in the dark, and that is Bruk's moment. Five minutes from Kraków Główny on Krótka, it opens at eight on weekdays and nine at weekends, Sundays included. The coffee is the point: a clean, balanced espresso and a flat white that holds its shape. Pair it with the chocolate tart, dense under a dust of cocoa, or eat properly: a hot ham toast with a fried egg, or a vegan bowl of pearl barley, lemon hummus and caramelised carrot, both 39 zl. Matcha drinkers get a longer list than most matcha bars, from a plain latte at 21 zl to banana or orange matcha at 24 zl. Stary Kleparz is around the corner; on bazaar Sundays this is breakfast before the stalls open.
Photo: Bruk Cafe.
Also worth the walk: Przesada
On Piłsudskiego, a few minutes west of the Planty, Przesada runs an "Autumn Vibes" section on its menu with its own syrups: a Pumpkin Spice Latte on house pumpkin syrup with a double espresso, and the more interesting Brown Cardamom Latte on muscovado and cardamom, both 24 zl. For a table of friends, the 0.6 litre pot of black tea with cloves, cinnamon, orange and cardamom is 25 zl. Prices from the cafe's published menu.
Autumn on the plate
The best autumn cooking in Krakow this year is on the Restaurant Week menus, which run until 25 November at 69.99 zl for three courses plus a 12.99 zl booking fee. These are the plates that taste most of the season, from the menus posted by the restaurants:
- 4 Seasons, ul. Sucha 1d, Łagiewniki. Pumpkin dumplings with Bursztyn cheese and truffle, or guinea fowl in Madeira sauce with porcini.
- Kuryer, ul. św. Marka 37, Old Town. Barbarie duck with smoked plum, or butter kopytka with pumpkin, sage and pecans.
- Hint Food&Drinks, ul. Ogrodowa 10. Kopytka with autumn truffle and a confit yolk.
- Qrudo Food&Wine, ul. św. Wawrzyńca 19, Kazimierz. Wild boar escalopes with juniper.
- Chabry, ul. Bożego Ciała 14, Kazimierz. Rabbit in Madeira with dried Sechlońska plums, or pumpkin soup with kopytka.
- SADY, ul. Grzegórzecka 11. Beef cheek in gingerbread sauce, or roasted vegetables with blue cheese and pumpkin mousse.
Booking rules and all 54 restaurants are in the Restaurant Week lineup. Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, inside the festival; if you want a table that weekend, book it this week.
Order the seasonal drink where the syrup is made behind the bar. Everywhere else, order a flat white.
A pumpkin latte from a bottle tastes the same in every city. The three cafes above make the season themselves, which is why they are worth crossing Krakow for in October and November.
Questions people actually ask
Where can I get a pumpkin spice latte in Krakow?
At COPPA on ul. Mazowiecka 60, made on a house syrup of roasted pumpkin and spices with a note of orange. Przesada on ul. Piłsudskiego 5 also pours one on its own syrup, 24 zl.
What is the best autumn coffee in Krakow?
COPPA's autumn card for seasonal drinks: Pumpkin Spice, Iced Apple Pie Latte, Banana Bread Latte, Dark Chocolate Mocha. Bruk Cafe at ul. Krótka 1 for a classic flat white and chocolate tart by the station.
Where is the best matcha this autumn?
Café Belmont, ul. Berka Joselewicza 12 in Kazimierz, with three grades of Yume Matcha: Asa, Hana and the ceremonial Hoshi. Daily 9:00 to 19:00, onigiri and matcha set 29 zl.
Is there hojicha in Krakow?
Yes, at COPPA: Oat Cinnamon Hojicha in autumn, roasted tea with oat milk and warm spices, plus a hojicha tiramisu.
Which restaurants have autumn menus?
Until 25 November, the Restaurant Week menus at 69.99 zl: pumpkin dumplings at 4 Seasons, duck with smoked plum at Kuryer, truffle kopytka at Hint, wild boar at Qrudo, rabbit in Madeira at Chabry, beef cheek in gingerbread sauce at SADY.
How much is a seasonal coffee?
About 20 to 27 zl in an independent cafe. Seasonal lattes around 24 zl, flavoured matcha 24 to 27 zl.
Breakfast on a cold morning near the station?
Bruk Cafe, five minutes from Kraków Główny: from 8:00 on weekdays, 9:00 at weekends, hot ham toast with egg or a vegan barley bowl, 39 zl.