Krakow & Warsaw (2025) | apples-burger-blog

Krakow And Warsaw, Poland

Apparently there's a rivalry between Krakow and Warsaw, from when the king (Sigismund III Vasa) moved house and shifted the capital from Krakow to Warsaw in around 1596. Whilst I would say that Krakow is more fun, Warsaw has the better burgers - admittedly from the limited selection I was able to get through (and there are a fair amount of places I missed). They were all decent size and decent examples of burgers, nothing poor, slightly larger and more expensive in Warsaw. All in all, I probably enjoyed Maestro most, with Goood in second if only for size, then GoGo and Smasher. I imagine some people would rate Smasher the best, but it's all opinion and this is mine.

Smasher Burgers

Rakowicka 14, 31-510 Kraków, Poland

Purpose: Burger Assessment
Good for: Crispy edges
Verdict: Quite greasy around the bun, and as it was a brioche this made it fall apart somewhat, especially as the patties were pretty big and extended past the edges. The beef didn't really stand out, even the very chewy crispy edges which is always a shame. They definitely believe in smash and burn, the texture of the edges into the middle from almost crispy to soft was good. The overall taste with the cheese, lettuce, onion, pickle and sauce was alright, and it was a good size, very good for the price, it just didn't deliver as a burger. Excellent french fries, hot, crispy and salty - in contrast to France where they seem to have stopped all that and gone for soggy, skin on. I blame Brussels. No beer, usual soft drinks.
Burger: Smashed
Cost: ££

Web: https://smasher-burgers.pl/en/en

Stars: **

GoGo Burgers

Starowiślna 6, 31-032 Kraków, Poland

Purpose: Burger Assessment
Good for: Chewing
Verdict: The burger is a big old thing, nice textural bread roll of a bun with a chunky patty also with good solid texture, but not overly flavourful very similar to the Smasher offering in that regard. Double cheddar isn't cheddar, not a bad thing as often Cheddar is too cheesy I think, more a cross between cheddar and mozzarella with the stringing nature of the Mozzarella but not a lot of cheesy taste. Having said that, with the nice house sauce, onion, tomato, lettuce and lovely pickles it was very good to eat without being outstanding - certainly not a disappointment. Again good french fries, hot and crispy. No beer, but they apparently usually have some, a couple of softies to keep your liquid intake up
Burger: Satisfying
Cost: ££

Web: https://www.gogo-burger.pl/

Stars: ***

Maestro Burgers

Radna 12, 00-341 Warszawa, Poland

Purpose: Burger Assessment
Good for: Good burger experience
Verdict: The first thing to say is that it's big. And saucy. The bun is of the potato variety, and despite being toasted, the bun struggles to stay together but manages long enough. Solid, nicely seasoned patty albeit ones more not really beefy. Pickled onions work well with the caramelised version plus the pickles and sauce. The cheese is pretty anonymous in taste but looks nice and gives a bit to the overall package which I have to say I enjoyed even with my comments on the patty and bun (there's a burger shop name in there somewhere). Fries arrived truffled, bit of a communication breakdown, but were fine other than that, crispy and warm rather than hot. No draught beer today but a good selection of bottles from the Maryanstadt craft brewery - Helles goes well.
Burger: Almost maestro
Cost: £££

Web: https://www.ubereats.com/pl-en/store/the-maestro-burger/ynpPLQswTr65bq-U9EYcRA?diningMode=DELIVERY&pl=JTdCJTIyYWRkcmVzcyUyMiUzQSUyMlJhZG5hJTIwMTIlMjIlMkMlMjJyZWZlcmVuY2UlMjIlM0ElMjJDaElKRXdLZW9GN01Ia2NSclNsbTJ5WEs2NFklMjIlMkMlMjJyZWZlcmVuY2VUeXBlJTIyJTNBJTIyZ29vZ2xlX3BsYWNlcyUyMiUyQyUyMmxhdGl0dWRlJTIyJTNBNTIuMjQwODY4MTk5OTk5OTklMkMlMjJsb25naXR1ZGUlMjIlM0EyMS4wMjMzMjA1JTdE

Stars: ****

The Goood Burger

Chłodna 20a, 00-891 Warszawa

Purpose: Burger Assessment
Good for: Clubby vibes
Verdict: Despite a solid range of beef and chicken options, there isn't a Cheeseburger that doesn't come without bacon, so I had the classic with cheese which got lost in translation as it didn't have any. Should have just had the Bastard Joke. I did get coleslaw though, so maybe that was it. You can also ask for the meat to be cooked to your liking which is a nice touch, although medium ended up pretty pink. Also heavily peppered in the seasoning. Another large burger, probably the biggest, with a big patty which wasn't lost in the salad (which probably qualified as all 5 of my 5 a day) and a flood of mustard (plus ketchup). I never thought I'd think a burger could have too much salad, but this was close. It was all good with the possible exception of the Frisee lettuce which may have had some grit in it (something did). On the whole though, pretty good again. Crispy industrial chips, and a range of craft beers, primarily fruit based, presumably from the Pub Landlord school of fruit based cocktail for the ladies.
Burger: Quality value.
Cost: £££

Web: https://thegoood.pl/

Stars: ****