Serbs are very proud of their food, which is heavy on grilled meats and sausages, local cheeses and bread. Salads are primarily tomato, cucumber, and onion, or cabbage. Local produce is fresh and organic.
Belgrade has hundreds of restaurants specializing in local cuisine and a few international restaurants. On the whole, prices are cheap compared to Western Europe with main dishes ranging from €5–20 per person.
Most Serbian restaurants offer rostilj, a large plate of various unseasoned grilled meats, or any possible variety of grilled chicken wrapped in bacon and stuffed with cheese. It is possible to order fresh salads, plates of grilled vegetables, crepes, or omelets if you are not carnivorous. Serbian cuisine is famous for its heavy use of varied vegetables, fresh or cooked.
Snacking and eating on the go in Belgrade are easy and cheap. Bakeries – called pekara – are ubiquitous in the city center, and you will find a wide assortment of breads, sweet and savoury pastries, sandwiches and pizza on offer. A snack or light meal of pastry and drinkable yoghurt (similar to kefir) will give you an added healthy boost when walking about the city center. For good taste of Sarajevo pie try Fofa (Cyrillic: Фофа) at Kralja Petra 75. Nice gesture is that Fofa does not charge to pregnant women.
Foods that vegetarians and meat eaters alike should try include kajmak (something between cream cheese and butter) and ajvar, a savory spread made out of roasted red peppers. It is also worth visiting a pijaca (green market) to buy some fresh fruit, vegetables and other grocery items. The farmer's market at Zeleni Venac, close to the Hotel Moscow, is not one of the largest, but it is the one with the least expensive merchandise – in the city. Contained in a newly-built complex, it makes for an enjoyable Saturday morning experience, with the lively hustle and bustle of people milling about and stall-owners trying to attract customers. Depending on the season, an amazing assortment of fruit and veg can be found in farmer's markets, including watermelons, olives, wild mushrooms and fresh figs. Take the time to explore the stalls, and compare the quality and prices of the produce. Most produce at the farmer's markets in Belgrade are organic and fresh from the farmer's gardens brought over daily from the villages surrounding the city. You will notice the particularly good taste of this produce.
There is also pljeskavica, the Serbian version of a hamburger which can be purchased from fast food restaurants.
You can find your typical McDonalds, Pizza Hut and KFC, but most of the fast food restaurants in Belgrade are local and sell baked goods, pizza, sandwiches, and pancakes (crepes). Some may go beyond that, selling Turkish delicacies such as baklava, tulumba and other Greek/Turkish treats. Coffee culture in Belgrade is particularly developed, walking about the central areas of the city you will find sprawling terraces and cafés, serving all types of coffee and sweets, particularly vienese type torts and local specialties. Be sure to try Serbian Turkish style coffee, and chestnut purée with whipped cream, a local specialty especially at the republic square (available mostly during winter).
However, the most famous dish in Serbia is cevapcici. Also called Cevape, they are a traditional Serbian food that is also eaten throughout the former Yugoslavia. It consists of different types of minced meat mixed together, and then put on the grill. It is usually eaten with diced onion, and is very tasty.
Do not forget to taste the Karadjordjeva Snicla. It is meat that is filled with kajmak and bacon, and then also grilled. It is another traditional Serbian dish that honors the leader of the first Serbian uprising .
Try other traditional Serbian dishes that are delicious, cooked, and grill or pecenje(roast pork or lamb), veal soup ,Serbian ajvar (something like a cream containing grinded, roasted red pepper plain) ...
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Belgrade
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Belgrade - updated May 2024
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Belgrade Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
