Once upon a time in Kazimierz…

Once upon a time In Kazimierz…, Kazimierz was originally a town in its own right. Over the years it was gradually absorbed into the city of Krakow  becoming its district in which two communites, Polish and Jewish, once lived side by side. Those two communities differed in just about everything: language, customs, creed and culture. And yet like all good neighbours, they mingled together, worked alongside one another and rubbed shoulders in the same places all over the quarter, day in and day out. This is what kept them so close to each other. All barriers between them appeared to just disappear and melt away…

The restaurant “Once Upon a Time in Kazimierz” takes us down memory lane to that bygone era. As one turns from Miodowa Street into Szeroka Street, for so long the very heart of the Jewish quarter, one suddenly finds oneself confronted with a row of curious shop fronts that must have had their origins in those days weather-beaten window shutters, shabby-looking display windows and shop signboards still proudly announce their owners’ names, today with their much-weathered paint and names flaking off: Nowak, Holcer, Kac, Weinberg, Rattner, Kohan. The interiors of these business premises, be they little grocery stores or dimlylit workshops, are fitted out exactly as they used to be. Now they are separated from each other only by imaginary partition walls, as the real ones have long been pulled down, turning the adjacent premises into a single cosy and inviting space, symbolizing integration between two peoples, their religions and culture.

“Once Upon a Time in Kazimierz” is a truly unique restaurant. In fact, it is the only one of its kind. Its ambience is inescapably felt and appreciated by just about everyone who comes here, both locals and visitors from the world over…

Rabbi Michael Stern “Ahavat Israel”

“Once Upon a Time in Kazimierz” appears to have been caught in time warp. The delights of Polish and Jewish traditional cuisine it offers will set you off on a sentimental journey into the past and allow you to soak up the almost palpable atmosphere of Kazimierz district as it once was in days of old…

Priest Tadeusz Romanowski

At Chajim Kohan’s general store

Here you will find an array of curious artifacts whose original function has long been forgotten, e.g. from Koter or Fabot. Right next to a mysterious locking doorframe stands an antique stove proudly bearing the star of David on its facade.

At Szymon Kac Tailor

Feast your eyes on the nimble handiwork of the Master himself, proudly, displayed around the interior on several hangers, or touch the flywheel of an ancient sewing machine, or just have a
peek at it.

At Benjamin Holcer’s joinery and carpentry workshop

Sit down at an original carpenter’s workbench, observe around you assorted tools of the joinery trade and dilapidated pieces of furniture looking as if they’ve just been shipped in for renovation. On one wall hangs a portrait of one Mordechaj Gebirtig, in his day a highly renowned Krakow carpenter, poet and musician. Gracing the workshop’s display window, which looks out onto Szeroka Street, is a solitary, wooden rocking-horse, which possibly once provided inspiration for Jacek Dybek when he wrote that old tune “The Rocking Horse” which went something like: “…here it is. Szeroka Street, amazed you stand there awhile…”

At Stanisław Nowak’s grocery store

There are plenty of  groceries of all sorts to be found here. High above the shelving hangs a portrait  of the proud shopkeeper himself, while right next to the counter an old, locally crafted gilt plaque candidly informs all customers that a prime selection of smoked meats and sausages is available here at all times…