Eastern European restaurants in Europe
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A
Sokol
In this old vaulted house near the Central Market, traditional Slovenian food is served on heavy tables by costumed waiters. Pizza is available if traditional dishes like obara (veal stew around €6) and Krvavica sausage with cabbage don't appeal.
reviewed
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B
Gostilna As
The 'Ace Inn', in the passage linking Wolfova ulica and Slovenska cesta, is the place for a special occasion, with seafood, a good wine list, and a few classic Slovene dishes dominating the menu. You can also enter from Slovenska cesta 30. The As Lounge in both the cellar and a glassed-in terrace is much more informal, with sandwiches (around €4.15 to around €7.25), salads from(€4.15), and a few less elaborate main courses (from€8.30).
reviewed
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C
To Be or Not to Be
Somewhat similar in style to the Dveri, To Be or Not to Be offers grills, generous salads and tangy seafood dishes in its cosy dining room. We ended up with a whale of a fish and more veggies on one plate than we've ever seen in a Balkan restaurant. If you look at the signboard outside you'll notice that the words 'or not' have been crossed out; this alteration was made during the siege when the owners wanted to present a far more positive message.
reviewed
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D
Šešir Moj
An intimate little restaurant that has alcoves decorated with an art gallery of oils and pastels. A place for romantics, especially when members of a Roma band swirl in, playing their hauntingly passionate music. Go for the punjena belavešanica, which is a pork fillet stuffed with kajmak. Finish with Serbian coffee and a piece of orasnica (walnut cake) if you've any room left.
reviewed
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E
Pod Rožnikom
This place 'Under Mt Rožnik' (sort of) and just downwind from the zoo in Park Tivoli serves southern Slav-style grills, like pljeskavica (spicy meat patties) with ajvar (roasted red peppers, tomatoes and eggplant cooked into a purée) and starters such as prebranac (onions and beans cooked in an earthenware pot). Worth the trip.
reviewed
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F
Manna
Festooned across the front of this canal-side restaurant in Trnovo is the slogan 'Manna - Bžanske Jedi na Zemlji' (Manna - Heavenly Food on Earth). It didn't feel quite like paradise the last time we visited, but the decor is stylish, there's a wonderful covered inner courtyard for dining almost al fresco and the setting is pretty nice.
reviewed
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G
Varenichnaya #1
Specialising in varenyky (Ukrainian dumplings), this mimics the homy interior of an early-20th-century private apartment. Nearly 25 different varenyky fillings are offered. Surely, though, the live piglet in the basket near the door (so cute!) must deter anyone from ordering pork? Careful – beer is obnoxiously expensive here.
reviewed
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H
Smrekarjev Hram
Smrekar's House starters from €5, mains around €17. This Art Nouveau jewel run by the Grand Hotel Union and named after artist and illustrator Hinko Smrekar (1883-1942), famed (in certain circles) for his 'pan-Slavic' playing cards, has always been considered the poshest international restaurant in Ljubljana. It closes in summer.
reviewed
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I
Puzata Khata
Puzata Khata ‘Hut of the Pot Belly’ is an upscale stolova and an excellent place for budget travellers to sample traditional Ukrainian cuisine. There are cheap veggie options, delicious pastries and beer, and even hard booze. Other branches are on vul Sahaydachnoho 24 and Pasazh.
reviewed
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J
Muğam Club
A wonderfully atmospheric two-storey caravanserai offers alcove and courtyard dining options accompanied by impressive cabaret shows demonstrating tasters of various Azeri musical and dance styles. The Azeri food is excellent, but prices can be exorbitant (kebabs AZN12!). Often closed for private functions.
reviewed
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K
Strawnya Talaka
This small Belarusian eatery is suitable for a romantic, intimate dinner amid sophisticated Slavic décor, although it can get a little smoky, depending on the other diners. It's a stone's throw from Rakovsky Brovar, if you're up for something rowdier afterward. Reservations are required.
reviewed
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L
Dveri
A tiny restaurant-in-hiding, which could just pass as someone's kitchen laid out to receive family guests. Try one of their home-made brandies (quince, walnut?) while you watch the cook prepare your meal in surroundings hung with strings of garlic, chillies and corncobs.
reviewed
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Sofra
Often touted as the most authentic Bosnian restaurant in town, there's also live music every night from September to June, when your fellow diners are likely to provide as much entertainment as those performing.
reviewed
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M
Harambaša
At this small place in Krakovo you'll find authentic Bosnian - Sarajevan to be precise - cuisine served at low tables in a charming modern cottage atmosphere with quiet Balkan music and a lively crowd.
reviewed
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Kazbek
Don’t be misled by the flashing neon lights and adjoining casino – this place is quality. Our favourite Georgian restaurant.
reviewed
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N
L’Aparté
Open all-hours with a phenomenally wide-ranging menu and surprisingly plush décor given the incredibly modest price range.
reviewed
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O
?
The shortest restaurant name in town came about because of a dispute between a long-past owner and the abstemious clergy of the Orthodox cathedral opposite, who objected to its then name, Cathedral Tavern. The clergy threatened action so the landlord changed the signboard to a '?' signalling his perplexity as to what the fuss was about. Inside is an original Balkans tavern that could be a set for a noir film.
Chiaroscuro light from panelled windows creeps in to pick up cigarette smoke and dust specks dancing through the sunbeams. Furniture and foot-polished floorboards glow with a patina of antiquity, diners sit at low wooden tables on equally low half-moon chairs while…
reviewed
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Restaurant Kaj Maršalot
A life-size cardboard cutout of Tito cheerily raises his glass as you enter this bizarre socialist-themed restaurant where, according to the advertising, 'proletarians as well as the capitalists feel the equality of the transition'.
Among the communist posters and busts, our leading English-speaking revolutionaries Bob Marley and John Lennon smile down benignly, exhorting us simultaneously to 'Get Up Stand Up' and 'Let It Be'. Surely 'imagine no possessions' would be a more appropriate slogan for the latter, especially given that McCartney was responsible for the laid-back lyric they've chosen. There's no such confusion with the food, which is wonderfully authentic…
reviewed
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P
Amadeus
The refined interior, peaceful music and patio perfectly placed in the shadow of three churches are reason enough to plop down in one of Amadeus’ stylish wicker chairs. But it’s the food that puts it on another level. The menu leans toward fancy European fare like fondue and risotto, but there are stuffed baked potatoes (10 to 20uah) and varenyky (dumplings) on offer for the price-conscious hryvnia hoarders. The pizza-sized omelettes are legendary, and the surf-and-turf ‘gypsy shashlyk ’ is quite simply the best shashlyk we’ve ever tasted.
reviewed
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Q
Restaurant Jež
A mood of intimacy is felt from the moment you walk into the warmly lit antiques arcade leading into this basement restaurant. Bring the love of your life for that 'heads together, rest of the world doesn't exist' meal. If solo, then fill those noneating moments checking the grandmother clocks on the wall - how many tell the correct time?
The cuisine is typical Bosnian tinged with international extras. Our waiter offered a surprise meal, which revealed itself as steak à la chef, served on a wooden platter surrounded by a dam of mash potato to retain the Camembert sauce.
reviewed
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R
Tavola
A simple, elegant, old-fashioned restaurant where frequent customers are greeted like old friends. Voices here will tend to be non-Bosnian as it's popular with expats, who have the time and networks to discover the best a town has to offer. Parting guests have left messages written on muslin pieces, which have been framed, backlit and hung on the wall.
If you're on the lower level, you can see right into the kitchen and watch your meal as a work in progress. Superb pasta, especially the salmon, but memo to the chef: a little less salt please.
reviewed
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S
XVII Әsr
Decorated with old hunting weapons, this cosy mid-market restaurant offers Talysh cuisine that goes well beyond the predictable nut-stuffed ləvəngi dishes. Delicious starters (AZN3 to AZN4 per plate) include XVII əsr qəlyanaltısı (stuffed dried fruit and walnut-coated chicken balls), qoz küküsü (a patchwork of omelette-like morsels) and incə salatı (layered egg-salad with cheese and fruit topping). There’s also an AZN7 bizniz lunch.
reviewed
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Visiting the Khan
Not all Crimean Tatars are teetotal, despite being Muslim, and the sociable owner of this pleasant casual restaurant can often be seen sharing shots of vodka with her guests as she works the room. Nab a bench seat on the terrace, order plov (lamb, carrot and rice stew) or chebureky (meat or cheese turnovers/pastries) and gaze over the netting at the valley beyond. Look for a white building and a sign в гостях у хана picturing a camel caravan.
reviewed
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T
Harem
Harem is an unusual thing – an upscale Crimean Tatar restaurant. Mostly, they’re quite casual. But on the terrace or in the lovely tiled Oriental room, you can sample a wide range of the Tatar cuisine, from top-notch deniz (seafood soup), biber-sarma (sweet peppers stuffed with minced beef, rice and spices) and lampa bykadina (bulls’ testicles grilled in brandy). French, Italian, Chilean, Argentinean and Georgian wines provide libation, and there are hookah pipes.
reviewed
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U
Tas Pide
This is an established chain of very good Turkish restaurants with a roll call of stews and grills that will never disappoint loyal customers. There are eight outlets all together, spread out all over London, including a Waterloo branch. However, our favourite is easily Tas Pide, which specialises in pide (Turkish ‘pizza’, for lack of a better word) and is excellently located opposite Shakespeare’s Globe in Bankside.
reviewed