Serbian cuisine is a hidden gem. There, I said it. The country itself hardly receives half the number of tourists it truly deserves, but its cuisine, a perfect mix of its own southern Slavic essence enhanced with the country’s previous Turkish and German encounters, is most certainly hardly heard of. If I had to exaggerate things a bit, I would say that it is a combination of all these cuisines, but a bit better. Meat quality is top notch, waiters etc. are often quite hospitable, serving sizes are out of this world, and prices are sweet as heck. Let me go ahead and share some of the finest food I have had in Belgrade during my time there.
Breakfast often means a visit to the nearest bakery for most that lives in the Balkans. That is not so different for Serbs, who seem to really enjoy a decent baked good in the morning. Pictured here are two extremely crispy slices of byreks from Pekara Bobe. Alongside with the yoghurt-based drink that you see on the left, the whole feast barely came to a 380 RSD. Now that I think about it, this would be a very fitting entry for THIS article of mine on budget eats around Belgrade as well. After all, many stick to a slice of byrek in the morning, not two like me. I just had to try both the minced meat and the cheese versions, and the former turned out to be much better than the latter.
Sarajevski ćevap „To je to“ is the place to be if you want to enjoy the best Serbian meatballs out there, cevapcici as they are often called locally, all the while dining in a rather traditional and hospitable spot. The food is amazing, both the cevapcici and the pljeskavica are top notch, perfectly grilled, almost crispy on the outside, and certainly juicy on the inside. Comes with a veggie of your choice on the side, and a freshly baked pita that itself tastes amazing. I opted for a “small” portion of pljeskavica and another “small” portion of cevapcici and let me tell you, you get these portions as “normal” in Turkey and some other countries I have been to. Onions were on point; sweet and crunchy as any good onions should be.
Grilled meatballs of many varieties, sizes, and spices, are quite ubiquitous in Serbia, though that is not all there is to it when it comes to Serbian cuisine. Their side dishes, or appetizers, or perhaps we may even call them sauces are the real deal as well. Here is ajvar, which is a mildly spicy mix of a variety of different peppers. It goes perfectly with any and all meat dishes, as it more or less removes the fat out of the equation by cutting through it thanks to its acidity.
If ajvar is not up your alley, you may find it easier to enjoy some kajmak instead, which is basically a creamy cheesy milky paste, akin to clotted cream. It is often salted and goes perfectly with some cevapcici if you eat them in a sandwich. What you need to do (though I have no idea if this is the traditional way to do it) is to put the kajmak in between the fresh pita that you are served, so that it can melt like butter. Then place the meatballs in between as well and bite into this greasy but extremely satisfactory makeshift “burger.”
Though To je To has no rivals if you ask me, since it sits in a perfect spot in which both the price and the taste of the meal you get is as good as it gets, some argue that there are other grills around the city that serve even better cevapcici and other grilled goods. Sarajevski ćevap Ćevabdžinica Savčić is one such spot. Its cevapcici is on par with To je To if you ask me, and its sausages are indeed to die for. Bread’s texture could be improved somewhat, and the onions too were subpar compared to some other places we had them. What really shocked me with this place was its service though, which was really unfriendly and extremely slow. I felt like I was being a nuisance to them by just being there all the time, just so I can pay almost twice the amount that I paid for a decent dinner at To je To to enjoy a similar grill experience, in a more “posh” environment where people hesitated to even touch the bread with their own hands, opting to use a knife and fork to eat their “sandwiches” instead. If you are travelling as a couple or something, and need a more “upscale” place to dine at while still enjoying some actual traditional Serbian food, this spot may be a good choice for you.
Grilled meats are not the only type of food Serbian cuisine can throw your way, as they also have fried meats. Joking aside, this monstrosity called Karageorge Schnitzel is a veal cutlet, stuffed with kajmak, rolled around, and then fried. It is quite heavy but I assume that goes without saying. I felt like a few months were shaved off from my lifespan by just eating one of it… The taste was okay, nothing amazing to be perfectly honest with you. It is crispy, meaty, and fatty. Nothing “bad” about it, it is just not the best dish out there. The accompanying sauce was amazing though, but I am sure it was not the point of the whole meal nor its most traditional part. With a beer on the side the meal came to around 1400 RSD too so make up your own mind whether you really want to gamble or not with this pretty looking dish.
Aforementioned venues:
Pekara Bobe – https://goo.gl/maps/WuRrBds1ByPDvF4U8
Sarajevski ćevap „To je to“ – https://goo.gl/maps/81P9wnByrdeDV7i86
Sarajevski ćevap Ćevabdžinica Savčić – https://g.page/savciccevabdzinica?share
„Пролеће“ – https://goo.gl/maps/w3yed9w2LRA52CdK7
Asian Food in Serbia: A Much-Needed Addendum
No matter how tasty Serbian food may be, one can be forgiven for asking for something a bit different every now and then. Sure, there are plenty of fast food joints, many Turkish restaurants, and your usual Italian places all around, but what about something “more different.” Here comes the many Asian cuisines to rescue! Chinese and Japanese food is quite widespread in Belgrade, and some other Asian staples follow them up quite closely. I only had time to enjoy some decent food at two such places, but I have seen plenty of Serbs enjoying their noodles in the afternoon or having a decent looking sushi platter for dinner. Next time I am in the city, I too will try more such places as I was positively surprised at their affordability and quality after my own brief experience with them.
It is a bit awkward to say this, but the worthiest meal I have had in Belgrade just happened to be had in a tiny Chinese restaurant called Chuan Chuan Xiang. When I consider “how good a meal was” or “how worthy was my dining experience” in a new spot I try, I look at things in a pretty holistic way. The taste must be good, sure, but prices should match the taste, and the service just has to be great. Chuan Chuan Xiang nails all of that and is on par with To je To in that regard, but personally I prefer Eastern cuisines over their Western counterparts, which is why this place gets the cake! Pictured here is an amazingly simple yet simply delicious Taiwanese beef noodle soup. A nice crunch from the veggies, super tender and tasty meat, and properly cooked noodles on the thicker side. Soup could use some more spicing, but the matter of the fact is that you can just make it spicier and saltier yourself easily, oh and of course also vinegary! That is exactly what I did, and it became quite a heavenly dish for just 550 RSD.
Though the soup itself turned out to be much more filling than I assumed it would be, I had happened to order two dishes without much deliberation, which was the best mistake ever. These 550 RSD pork and chive dumplings are best eaten fresh than talked about. Exceptionally tasty filling, and a rather generous portion of them as well. With some chili oil and vinegar, these little pockets of joy teleported me to the great times that I had in Vancouver, enjoying the best Chinese food that I ever had in my life with some great pals. A special thanks goes to Evan for keeping me company here, with a wonderful discussion on anything ranging from politics to travelling!
My experimentation with Asian food in Chuan Chuan Xiang made me realize that there was a whole world of flavors out there that was not yet explored by me in this wonderful city, which ended up with me ordering some Uyghur food from YXlanzh d.o.o. the next day. Now, although the handmade noodles I ordered were perfect, I just had to go ahead and visit them personally the next day to make sure that I got the best out of my dining experience with them. Pictured here are photos from the venue itself. Their scallion noodles with thin but tasty slices of beef were so good that I seriously considered getting a second bowl of it, and I normally would but “unfortunately” I had already ordered a plate of dumplings.
Beef dumplings in YXlanzh d.o.o. come in such a huge platter, and honestly can be enough on their own for many. For me, there is never enough Chinese food, especially if we are talking about the more orthodox items like noodles and dumplings. Though taste-wise they paled in comparison to the ones I had in Chuan Chuan Xiang, the same can be said for the noodles I had in the latter place in comparison to YXlanzh d.o.o. Therefore, I must urge you all to eat at both places and see what you fancy the most. Both are wonderful in their own regards, and both have extensive and exciting menus. These two items came to a total of 1110 RSD so even the prices are pretty much the same.
Aforementioned venues:
Chuan Chuan Xiang – https://goo.gl/maps/yBpBcitvQadrzscMA
YXlanzh d.o.o. – https://goo.gl/maps/obUyfv5BetR65BA37
Serbia has some great food to offer, and though I have not been able to sample a huge variety of it, whatever I ate in Serbia was tasty as heck, being better than “just” good. This does not happen often, so go there and see with your own two eyes and taste buds just how superb Serbian cuisine is and do try some Asian cuisines there as well for some variety. Do not forget to stay around for even more content on eating out in Belgrade!