Zagreb has many great restaurants and it is easy to find nice place with great food. Many are modern and quite inovative but most still play it safe with either “Italian” menus or classic Croatian restaurant menus offering same octopus salad, pršut and cheese, few pasta dishes, few variations of steaks… Boring.
But, in Zagreb, one can find some restaurants still cherishing typical, central European cuisine of the region. One of them is quite well known Stari Fijaker in the old part of Zagreb.
It is located in the very heart of old Zagreb – Mesnička street. The street is best known for August Šenoa who lived and died in Mesnička. He was one of the greatest Croatian writers of 19th century and most of his novels took place in Zagreb which he loved dearly.
The food at “Stari Fijaker” is classic. Typical hearty dishes of northern Croatia but the restaurant offers traditional dishes of other Croatian regions so one can even find there a very Dalmatian pašticada. But, when in Rome… So we opted for local and ordered soups, wild game gulas and cabage rolls with traditional sausages.
Again, this is nothing inovative. Just a great selection of classic dishes from all over Croatia (mainly from Zagorje and Northern Croatia) and prepared the right way. Make sure you take a look at their great offer of homemade soups, fresh mushrooms, and an array of duck, turkey and lamb dishes. Perfect stop if you are hungry and close to the center of town as you will definitely not leave this place wanting more food! The prices are quite resonable so this is also one of the places offering the best value.
This was the first restaurant in Croatia labeled with Authentic Croatian Cuisine label as over 70% of all the dishes on their menu are local.
Also, Stari Fijaker is an ideal stop if coming to Zagreb in cooler months as the menu is filled with calorie heavy itmes even though they have some lighter food as well (and cold beer)
Address:
STARI FIJAKER 900
Mesnička 6
1000 Zagreb
Croatia
Tel: +385 1 48 33 829
+385 1 48 31 236
e-mail:
info@starifijaker.hr
Having been a hobby cook all my life (lóng ago started as a educated pro), I often think “come on guys, you can do só much better” when looking at menu’s or sitting down for another grilled thing.
With só many quality ingredients it’s a bloody shame what restaurants do with it (in and around Omis).
Sometimes think about opening my own place, but than again, I am retired and love my freedom.
Poz, Pim
(See http://www.fosal.hr, however about local politics, a refreshing website about changes in local politics).
😀
I’ve never once eaten in Zagreb, and rarely eat Austro-Hungarian fare in Croatia, so thanks for the heads-up. Just wondering what the “wild game” is, though. Boar? Venison? something “wilder”?
@ Pim – I hear you. Bunch a losers in restaurant business in Croatia…I think there is so much space for creating a great restaurant. But with Croatian bureaucracy…? 🙂
@ Morgan – Zagreb has some great restaurants with very modern menus and this is very traditional and worth trying! They have both boar and venison. Nothin wilder 🙂
Yum, looks great! I’m living in Zagreb at the moment so I’ll have to check it out